Total War: Warhammer Preview - E3 2015

The Total War franchise has long established itself as one of the most notable strategy franchises on PC. And while the series has always focused on various historical settings, it was always more or less grounded in reality. With Total War: Warhammer, the franchise can finally spread its wings and be free from conventional restrictions, Kerri West of SEGA told us at the demo. The strategic depth of Total War combined with the deep lore of the existing Games Workshop universe will allow Creative Assembly to create something truly unique, thanks to a partnership that has been going strong for over two years of development.

The most obvious differences in TW: Warhammer will be the units on the field of battle. Now with a whole new arsenal of willing combatants to choose from, the game will feature not just melee and ranged units, but also new creatures and the introduction of magic. This promises to create the most diverse and unique experience for a Total War game to date. The classic system of factions is no longer suitable, so the idea of races is introduced. In our demo, we got to see the game in action during a lengthy battle between two armies.

The demo was representative of The Battle for Skull Pass, a notable event in the Warhammer lore that has a playset based on it. We observed as an army of humans led by a general riding a flying griffon advanced across a vast battlefield, in what appeared to be a ravine surrounded by lava-spitting mountains. On the other end – the forces of greenskins (orcs, goblins and the like). As the armies marched towards one another, the humans were notably in a strict formation while the orcs were simply running forward together. The humans attacked first, using rocket launcher-type weapons to deal some long range damage. But it wasn't long before both armies were in melee range of each other, and the real chaos was unleashed.

What followed was a battle on a very large scale with a large amount of various units. We didn't really get to find out in detail the unit types on display, but the most notable were definitely on the side of the greenskins. They had giants, spider riders, and wolf riders in their midst, who looked like they had unique abilities and did serious damage to the ordinary pike-men of the humans. They also had a Doom Diver – a goblin that launched himself from a catapult with the help of his friends, and plunged into the enemy formations. During flight, the player had direct control over the goblin in order to aim his descent for maximum impact.

The forces of the Empire were not about to surrender however, as a cavalry unit appeared to flank the enemy forces. These men riding on griffons smashed through the sides of the enemy formation and dealt a considerable blow. But a nearby giant spider with goblin archers on top of it dealt with this mounted assault. To add insult to injury, the goblin shaman cast a powerful magic spell which decimated quite a few Empire units. The developers note that magic will play a key role in battle, and will almost always have powerful effects.

As the epic soundtrack played in the background, the camera swept across the battlefield, in a Total War style showcase of carnage and chaos. But the action wasn't just on the ground. In the air above, two opposing griffons were fighting each other, until a victor emerged. He then proceeded to attack the ground units - who focused their fire and shot him down to the ground, to create a fairer fight.

Magic abilities came into play again, as an Empire mage used a huge cannon to shoot a beam of energy and instantly kill a giant that has been mercilessly killing and eating the nearby infantry. Not to be outdone, the orc shaman cast a spell which summoned the spirit of an ancient god, dealing massive damage to enemy forces. With the tide of battle turning against them, out of desperation (or perhaps to conclude the demo on a dramatic note) the Empire wizard cast what looked like a powerful spell, as a huge ball descended on the battlefield, evidently eviscerating everything in the area. That's where the demo concluded.

While our time with the game didn't extend beyond observing this huge battle, it's easy to see that Total War: Warhammer is going to be a very different experience than what fans are used to. The battle mechanics looked very familiar to what the franchise usually delivers, and with the addition of a whole new world, this could be one of the most unique Total War games. We didn't get to peek at the UI, but the attention to visual details was already impressive even in these early stages of development. Look for Total War: Warhammer on PC in 2016, with two expansions to follow later on.