When most people think of Warhammer, they think of the massive armies, the giant tables, and the punishing costs to their wallets in terms of figures and paint. But Games Workshop has explored other avenues for their grim fantasy setting in the past, and one of them has been a cult classic: Mordheim. Instead of grand strategy, it's more tactical, more intimate, and combined with role-playing game elements incredibly more personal. Rogue Factor has taken this little known game and translated it to the PC, and it looks phenomenal.
Mordheim is set roughly a thousand years before the main Warhammer continuity. Once the shining jewel of the Empire, the city of Mordheim grew in decadence and depravity as a comet named “The Hammer of Sigmar” grew in the sky. The comet smashed into the city, destroying virtually all of the inhabitants. But within the ruins, a strange substance called wyrdstone was discovered. Possessing miraculous properties, all manner of adventurers and dark cults have converged on the corpse of Mordheim and fight in the ravaged streets for gold, for glory, and their gods to claim as much wyrdstone as they can carry out.
For the press demo at E3 2014, we were treated to a fight between the Sisters of Sigmar and the Skaven ratmen, though other factions from the original tabletop game will be available. One change from the original game is that instead of moving as a force, a unit initiative system has been implemented, giving players a much faster experience and giving individual units the chance to shape the overall battle early on or provide game-changing support at the right moment.
What has not been lost is the persistence of units in the player's warband. Getting injured in Mordheim doesn't get healed up easily, if at all. Units can lose limbs, eyes, or even their lives, and there's no bringing them back.
Of course, they can also improve their abilities, upgrade their gear, and slowly turn into an elite fighting force. Though we didn't get a chance to see it, Rogue Factor stated they are working on making the models highly customizable for players to make a warband that looks not just cool but visually distinct.
When it comes to the battlefield, Mordheim will have no shortage of areas to fight it out in. Each map is procedurally generated, which means the actual details of the map will change from battle to battle, even if the general layout seems similar. What was a clear entryway once might turn into a booby trapped alley the next time. Having the high ground can aid ranged units, but line-of-sight and cover will be equally important, and there's always the chance you might miss and hit one of your own people instead. Blind corners and alcoves offer the opportunity for ambushes, but a unit out of position might just get taken from behind. And if the battle seems to be going badly enough, there's a chance your warband might be routed and run screaming from the fight.
Whether you're a long time fan of the tabletop game or you're a first timer who's just looking for something new, Mordheim: City of The Damned is definitely one of those games that should be on your Christmas wish list. It brings a lost classic of wargaming back to life in the best possible way and looks to be one of those games that you won't mind sinking a few hundred hours into because you're having so much fun.
- Axel Cushing
