''Warhammer: Dark Omen'' is a
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
real-time
tactical wargame
Tactical wargames are a type of wargaming, wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or company (military unit), companies. These units are rated based on types an ...
based upon the ''
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
''Warhammer'' (formerly ''Warhammer Fantasy Battle'' or just ''Warhammer Fantasy'') is a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first publ ...
'' table-top game and figurines, and is the sequel to the 1995 game ''
Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat''. Developed by
Mindscape, in conjunction with
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer (game), Warhammer'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''.
Founded in 1975 by John Peake ...
, and published by
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
, the game was released in Spring 1998 for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
. The game's story takes place within the
Warhammer Fantasy Warhammer Fantasy can mean:
* ''Warhammer Fantasy'' (setting), the fictional setting of the various games and media
* ''Warhammer'' (game), a table-top fantasy miniature wargame, and origin of the franchise
*''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'', the success ...
setting, and focuses on the efforts of a mercenary army to combat a threat to the Old World by a vast army of undead forces led by a powerful entity that has recently arisen.
While the game features similar mechanics to that of ''Shadow of the Horned Rat'', it featured a number of improvements including greater
3D generated terrains (which was supported through the first-generation
Voodoo 3dfx 3D accelerator card effects), a more streamlined interface system, and an improved army management system, but with more focus on a linear storyline that offers players choices of how to proceed at various intervals, affecting what units and magic items they receive, and what battles they undertake. Despite incorporating more usage of 3d graphics, the limited hardware of 1998 meant that all units in the game utilised
2D sprites ("
billboarding
2.5D (basic pronunciation two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to ...
") to render them.
Since its release, most reviews of the game have been favourable, complimenting the improvements made over its predecessor, though with some criticism levied against its difficulty level and a few limitations with the new interface system.
Gameplay
As with ''Shadow of the Horned Rat'', the game focuses on players taking on a variety of battles that incorporate a mixture of
medieval warfare
Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social advancements had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artiller ...
and fantasy elements, while employing the use of units based within the
Warhammer Fantasy Warhammer Fantasy can mean:
* ''Warhammer Fantasy'' (setting), the fictional setting of the various games and media
* ''Warhammer'' (game), a table-top fantasy miniature wargame, and origin of the franchise
*''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'', the success ...
setting, ranging from
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
,
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
,
ranged,
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
,
wizards, and specialised units. Much of the gameplay from its predecessor remains the same, in that players are required to deploy units before a battle, and must win by killing/routing all enemy units, while losing if all their units are killed/routed from the battlefield. Losses made in engagements can be replaced when between battles, while units can be given magic items to use to help them with enemies. In addition, wizards can cast spells when the player has enough magical power available to them, which builds up over time, with the spell's cost determining how much power is used.
Compared to its predecessor, ''Dark Omen'' features a number of upgrades and improvements to gameplay. The first is the greater incorporation of 3d terrains, which as a direct result, means ranged and artillery units are affected by the "line-of-sight" rule - these units must have a clear visual of a target, before they can engage them. The second is an improved interface system for the player to use with units, including onscreen HUD indicators to help keep track of friendly and enemy units, especially when they're not shown on the player's screen. Unlike ''Shadow of the Horned Rat'', the single-player campaign focuses on a linear path that features choices the player must make - these choices determine what battles the player encounters, what units they can take on into their army, and what items they can pick up - but includes an improved army management system, allowing the player to freely reinforce units that have lost soldiers, improve their armour (if applicable), make note of which units are new and which are temporary, and provide better control over the arrangement of magic items for units.
One major inclusion to ''Dark Omen'' is a multiplayer mode, in which players can compete online against others, leading armies based upon the factions used in the game - Imperial, Orcish, and Undead - across a variety of battlefields based on the story campaign. Players begin matches by purchasing an army with a predefined amount of resources, whereupon the aim of battles is the same as in single-player. Once a battle is over, the player receives a purse of money, regardless of winning or losing, to help them prepare for their next match.
Plot
A few years after helping to end the
skaven plot in ''Shadow of the Horned Rat'', Morgan Bernhardt, commander of the "Grudgebringer" mercenaries, continues to take on work for those who have the gold to spare with the Empire. After helping to defend a trading post from a
goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...
attack, Bernhardt finds himself called to the city of
Altdorf for a meeting with Emperor Karl Franz, who reveals to him that
orcs
An orc (sometimes spelt ork; ), in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin".
In Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevol ...
have recently begun invading the Border Princes from the south. Agreeing to help Sven Carlsson, a border prince and Bernhardt's old friend and employer, the mercenaries head to contend with the threat, but soon discover that the orcs are fleeing into the empire to escape attack from an increasing number of
undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...
forces.
Returning to Altdorf with news of this matter, Franz sends reinforcements to assist Carlsson. He then assigns Bernhardt to reinforce an Imperial fort under attack, whilst escorting his cousin, Countess Isabella Von Liberhurtz, to a town along his route. During the escort, bandit ambush the group, whereupon Bernhardt learns that a vampire lord seeks to abduct Isabella and make her his bride. After assisting the fort, the mercenaries return to Altdorf, whereupon they learn that Isabella was kidnapped after her escort was over, and that the recently increasing number of undead forces across the Old World is the result of an evil undead entity, known as the Dread King, having returned to the world. Learning that the Dread King now seeks three objects to increase his power, Bernhardt finds himself tasked with investigating what each is and preventing the undead from retrieving them, reluctantly being joined by Witchhunter General Matthias in his quest.
Heading to Sylvania first, Bernhardt destroys the first object - a powerful warpstone - while rescuing Isabella and killing the vampire lord that abducted her. Upon reporting his success, he then proceeds to the Northern Wastes via Kislev, engaging undead and destroying the second object - a necromancer assistant trapped in a glacier, who had become powerful over time. Following his success, Bernhardt travels to Bretonnia and the dark city of Moussilon, whereupon the mercenaries manage to destroy the third and final object - a group of deceased grail knights that had been resurrected to serve the Dread King's armies. Following the final campaign, Bernhardt returns to Altdorf, whereupon the Dread King's location is discovered to be at the Black Pyramid within the south. Tasked by Franz to destroy, Bernhardt leads his men south and engages the Dread King, successfully destroying him and saving the Old World from the undead threat.
Reception
The PC game received favorable reviews. ''
PC Gamer US
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''s Jason Bates found ''Dark Omen'' to be "definitely one of the better strategy games on the market." Although he was let down by its linear campaign, he concluded that the game "combines a rock-solid miniatures wargame system with state-of-the-art graphics into an engrossing real-time thrill."
In ''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'', Elliott Chin compared ''Dark Omen'' favorably to ''
Myth: The Fallen Lords'', and called it "an excellent 3D RTS game that's much more fun than
its predecessor." Although he found the game "frustrating", thanks to its interface limitations and high difficulty, he summarized it as "a deep, tactical game with plenty of magic."
Benjamin E. Sones of ''
Computer Games Strategy Plus
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
'', although he praised its campaign mode as superior to those of other real-time strategy games, and considered its interface an improvement upon ''Shadow of the Horned Rat'', remarked that "a few nagging flaws still manage to drag ''Dark Omen'' back from the brink of greatness.", specifically the inability to issue orders while the game is paused, which emphasizes player response time rather than careful strategy. He expressed uncertainty as to whether those who disliked ''Shadow of the Horned Rat'' would be completely appeased by the improvements.
However, ''Dark Omen''s PlayStation port was widely panned. ''
GamePro
''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' called it "a debacle", and "a real-time strategy game without the strategy", arguing that the factor of troop numbers is so overwhelming that any other decision the player makes is irrelevant to a battle's outcome. They also derided the use of 2-D talking heads for cutscenes. The writer concluded, "Unless you're a huge fan of the ''Warhammer'' franchise, avoid this bleak title at all cost. Major dental work would be preferable to playing ''Dark Omen''."
''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The magazine was fou ...
''s review team agreed that the game overemphasizes strength in numbers to the point that it becomes boring and excessively easy after just a few battles.
[ '']Next Generation
Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:
Publications and literature
* ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company
* Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'', however, found that the deployment of troops is vital to winning, and concluded, "Casual realtime gamers may find it too daunting, but the difficulty level should appeal to hawks looking for a challenge." They acknowledged that the controls are more difficult to manage with the PlayStation's gamepad than with a PC mouse.
According to writer Mark H. Walker, the game was commercially unsuccessful. He dubbed it a "top-notch" title that "should have sold well but didn't."
The PC version was nominated for ''GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s "Best Game No One Played" award in its Best & Worst of 1998 Awards, which went to '' Battlezone''.
See also
* List of Games Workshop video games
This is a list of video games published by or under license from Games Workshop.
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''Warhammer Fantasy''
The following games are set in the '' Warhammer Fantasy'' setting and are based on '' Warhammer'', '' Blood Bowl'', ''HeroQuest'', ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1998 video games
Electronic Arts games
Mindscape games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
PlayStation (console) games
Real-time tactics video games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games scored by Mark Knight
D
Windows games