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We take a look at the forthcoming real-time strategy computer game set in Games Workshop's table-top wargaming 'Warhammer' universe.

Step across the blood-drenched fields of The Old World - a high fantasy version of late medieval Europe - with the latest PC game based in Games Workshop's massively successful Warhammer settings.

In the Northern Wastes lies the forbidden 'Realm of Chaos'. This is the home to the four Chaos gods: Tzeentch, changer of the ways; Khorne, the blood god; Nurgle, lord of decay; and Slaanesh, the dark prince. Each of these gods can be thought of as epitomizing rage, hope, despair, and pleasure. In the Northern Wastes, Chaos seeps into the world, such great power causes the environment and inhabitants to become tainted and mutated by it. The inhabitants of the Wastes worship the Chaos gods, and thus the warriors that arise here are known as the hordes of Chaos.

The Empire is the human faction in Warhammer: Mark of Chaos. The armies of men in the Old World are the frontline defenders against the chaos invaders from the north. They have a rudimentary form of magic taught to them by the High Elves after the first Great Chaos War. Schools have been set up in the Empire - each of them representing one of eight different orders - with each specialising in particular disciplines. For example, the Jade Order is considered the Lore of Life that centres on studies of nature and living things. As a result, this magic gives Jade Wizards power over nature.

Along with this primitive understanding of magic is a faith in their ancient god, Sigmar, a warrior god whom they worship devoutly. And Sigmar’s clergy, the Warrior Priest, can channel divine power to use in battle. The Empire has found that its ingenuity and ability to adapt is its greatest weapon against a world filled with monstrous beasts and supernatural evils.

The School of Engineers is responsible for some of the more creative guns and war machines, such as the organ gun-like 'Helblaster Volley Gun'. Their steel armour and swords, combined with their black powder and advanced tactics, allow them to stand toe-to-toe with some of the nastiest things in the Warhammer world.

Generally, the northern tribes of men fight amongst themselves for their specific gods, but every so often, a champion arises and unites the tribes, spreading Chaos into the Old World, usually starting with the Empire to the south.

Politically, the Empire is led by an Emperor. Beneath him are a collection of loose states, each under the command of an Elector Count. In times of peace - which never seem to happen in the Warhammer world - these states are political rivals fighting over trade routes or land rights. But when threatened, the Emperor unites the counts to defend the Empire. There are also Knightly Orders that are called upon by an Elector Count to fight as part of their army. Knights can be great assets, adding the benefits of heavy cavalry to an army.

As the power of Chaos spreads, the Chaos army will continue to mutate and be 'blessed' with new powers from the Chaos gods. Hence, units which were basic foot soldiers at the start may take on more powers and dark forms as the game progresses. Chaos offers great power with living armor and abilities not available to the men of the Empire. Chaos Armor is one of the most recognizable characteristics of the Chaos army. These suits of living armor offer unearthly protection against the enemy, often causing fear in those who stand in their way.

All this comes with a great price as the blessings from the gods often requires a painful existence of rotting and mutated flesh. The minds of such devoted warriors also fall into a black chasm of servitude that only intensifies their faith. As horrible and terrifying the common man may find this, for Chaos it is the ultimate gift.

Game Features for Warhammer: Mark Of Chaos include:

Warmaster

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is about WAR, focusing on the armies and battles while de-emphasizing the tedious aspects of base and resource management

Epic, visceral battles on a massive scale

Epic sense of both scale and detail where big daemons and huge beautifully rendered battalions clash with thousands of characters battling on screens in intricate detail

Use environments to your advantage

A variety of buildable features and randomized, destructible terrains such as forests, swamps, plains, and tundra change the shape of the battlefield and add a layer of strategy that provides infinite replayability

Command heroes and champions

As armies move from battle to battle in an epic war, Heroes and Champions learn new tactics, unlock new abilities, command larger units, even challenge other Champions in a duel to the death

Customise your army

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos takes customization to a new level by allowing for body part swaps, weapon and armour enhancements, and more powerful controls to paint units and customize banners. Additionally, players can accent armies with mercenary 'Dogs of War', augmenting the look and play of their army for a unique game experience

Variety of play modes

Dynamic cooperative campaign mode and a full assortment of multiplayer modes for both casual and competitive gamers

Army Lists

Take a stroll down the threough the ranks with us on the eve of battle - and let us introduce you to some of the colourful forces lined up against each other in Warhammer: Mark of Chaos:

Empire Army:

Jade Wizard

The Wizards of the Jade Order Study the Lore of Life that lies under the province of the Third Lore of Magic, which is called the Wind of Ghyran. Jade Wizards are, of all wizards, the most attuned to nature and the least likely to be found within the confines of cities. They love nature and living things. Their studies teach them about the harmony of nature and the balance between all living things. Because they are so closely tied to the power of nature their own powers tend to wax and wane with the seasons, being vigorous in the spring, most powerful in the summer, waning over the fall to become weakest over winter.

Pistoliers

Pistoliers are nobles’ sons who are not yet old or experienced enough to win their spurs as Knights. In battle, they outflank the enemy and disrupt its lines with sudden hit-and-run attacks. Being rather young and inexperienced, Pistoliers are inclined to be hot-headed and rather wild, bravely dashing into the jaws of danger where a more experienced warrior might bide his time. The armour and weapons carried by a Pistolier are provided by his family.

Mounted Griffon

These are wild and dangerous creatures that hunt from the tallest crags of the northern Worlds Edge Mountains. Brave adventurers seek out their high nests and steal their chicks to raise in captivity. Only in this way can a Griffon ever be made tame enough to allow anyone to ride it, and even then they are temperamental and ferocious beasts.

Captains

Captains are seasoned heroes within the Empire army. Although rare, they can be seen riding upon griffons leading their men into battle. Tales of their heroic actions are well known throughout the Empire and they are often sought out because of this. Often leading regiments, the Captains inspire the men in combat and use their extensive knowledge of command skills to turn the tide of battle leading the Empire to victory. The Captain is easily spotted with elaborate armour and some of the finest weaponry.

Warrior Priest

Sigmar is a warrior god, and his clergy are Warrior Priests. Sigmar, in His divine all-seeing wisdom, knows that there are many unseen and supernatural evils and horrors, which beset mankind, and so channels His own divine power through His Chosen priests. The soldiers of the Empire, trusting in their faith, can withstand and turn back the tide of enemies that assail them, needing only to hear the priests reciting the Deus Sigmar to inspire them to heroism. But it befalls the Priests to contend with the foe on the spiritual and magical planes and this they do with prayers and invocations, almost equal in potency to the spells of Wizards, and with the strength of their unflinching minds.

Chaos Army:

Aspiring Champion of Nurgle

A veteran warrior of Chaos, this champion is dedicated to the Lord of Decay, Nurgle. Nurgle’s Champions, ravaged by disease, are themselves protected from such plagues, for they have become inured to the pain and discomfort, and while their bodies may corrupt, the spirit of Nurgle sustains them when lesser mortals would die. Thus, the Aspiring Champion of Nurgle can endure wounds and afflictions that would cripple others, and yet fight on in his name. They are horrific to look upon, more so even than other Champions of Chaos, for their peeling flesh, their stomachs bloated with corpse-gasses and their charnel stench is a reminder of the fate that awaits all living creatures.

Bloodletters

Bloodletters are Lesser Daemons, known variously as the Footsoldiers of Khorne, the Warriors of Blood, the Teeth of Death, or the Horned Ones. Carrying blades quenched in the blood of a generation of fallen warriors, they march behind twisted banners that flutter in no earthly breeze, accompanied by the chanting of the names of those slain in battle. They are bestial creatures, with snarling, fanged mouths, whose skin drips constantly with blood, their matted manes shaped into spines with dried gore. Like the raging god from which they are born, Bloodletters have no desire but to shed blood on the field of battle. They are clad in fragments of armour, which is sometimes melded to their skin, and wield massive swords.

Warhounds of Chaos

Many Northmen tribes breed and train massive hounds for a variety of purposes, such as hunting and sport. Some Kurgan tribes delight in the spectacle of trained pit hounds fighting against bears, trolls and other creatures. Generations of selective breeding has created the most vicious and powerful hounds, which are more wolf than dog. These natural killers are made all the more horrifying by the warping effect of Chaos, causing them to sprout horns, tusks, and spines.

Hell Cannon

Part daemon, part War Machine, the Hellcannon of Chaos is a massive construct of iron and brass that growls and shakes with diabolic sentience. In battle, these arcane engines heave great blasts of daemonic energy that arc through the air toward their targets, incandescent explosions liquefying anything they touch and sending the survivors screaming in all directions.

Undivided Sorcerer

Those who use the raw winds of magic to cast spells are known as Sorcerers, powerful spellcasters, able to unleash black bolts of energy from their fingertips, transport themselves from shadow to shadow, or flay their foes with burning fires.

Sorcerers are seen amongst the Northmen as the oracles of the gods, and often act as advisors and counsellors to the northern tribes. They interpret the will of the Great Powers, diving with sacrifices and daemon summoning.

Boasting incredible attention to detail, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos lets you zoom out to a near orbital perspective to take in breathtaking vistas of the battle or zoom in so close you can see individual insignias on a unit’s armour. Remaining faithful to the Warhammer universe, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, developed by Black Hole Entertainment, concentrates on battlefield mayhem and bloody carnage with a real-time combat system that gives the player unprecedented customisation and control of his army.

A battle of epic proportions rages throughout the land following an invasion by the Chaos legions, where four fully playable armies (Empire, Chaos, Skaven, and High Elves) as well as additional controllable races (Orcs and Goblins, Dwarfs, and Vampire Counts) go toe-to-toe on gigantic battlefields.

Though no release date has been set as yet, Warhammer: Mark Of Chaos is hitting battlefield in the UK before the years' end, for the PC.

Warhammer®: Mark of Chaos is © Copyright Games Workshop Ltd 2006.

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