Featured Game - Mordheim: City of the Damned

Mordheim: City of the Damned by Rogue Factor

Mordheim: City of the Damned is the first video game adaptation of Games Workshop's cult classic tabletop game Mordheim. Set in the Warhammer World's decimated Empire city, Mordheim: City of the Damned is a turn-based tactical game where you lead warbands into bloody and lethal skirmishes.

Why I have chosen it

I’m a big fan of Games Workshop and both the Warhammer and 40k universes, as well as having bought pretty much every GW computer game.  Some of these have been fantastic (Dark Omen, Dawn of War) and some not so good; hopefully Mordheim fits in to the first category.

Summary

The best way to describe the setting of Mordheim is that of a post-apocalyptic city in the Warhammer world, with various factions searching for items and warpstone.  In-fact the City has been destroyed by a warpstone comet; warpstone being a poisonous and corrupting substance that can give great power, as well as causing mutations.

Mordheim: City of the Damned seeks to replicate the tabletop version of Mordheim with turn-based tactical combat.  You control a group of characters (currently from a choice of 4 factions), each with varying abilities and weapons.  Choosing the right character, weapons and abilities for each combat is crucial to success; you don’t want your priest facing off against an ogre for example.

The basic gameplay works out really well with movement, abilities/casting and combat all very easy to do and well explained in the tutorials.  The game though is one that is easy to learn and hard to master; a lot of trial and error is required.  For example I haven’t quite worked out the best combination of characters, when to change weapons or when to cast certain spells yet.

On to what’s available in the current version now:

• 4 warbands – Skaven, Human Mercenaries, Sisters of Mercy, Cult of the Possessed
• Full range of tutorials
• Warband management
• 4 Maps
• Different winning conditions

  

Strengths:

• Gritty feel of the Warhammer / Mordheim setting
• Variety of warbands and personnel within them
• Enjoyable and easy gameplay
• Using a controller is very easy

If you like Warhammer and / or tactical combat this is definitely worth looking at.  Whether it is worth buying in the current state is another matter, but if you do you certainly won’t be disappointed with the level of content already available.

Current state

It has been in early access since 20^th November last year and has had two big updates since.  The next planned update (I’m assuming in March) will have the option to have max ranked warbands, as well as new maps.

Availability

On steam for £23.99 (here)