Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat

"Take a stab at being a mercenary."

Gameplay - Ever wanted to be a mercenary in a fantasy world full of dwarves, elves, and trolls? Here is your chance. You take charge as commander of the Grudgebringers, a mercenary army. You will be paid to take on missions. The missions will normally result in combat against orcs, goblins, and skaven hordes. All battles are real time. Strategy is the key to survival. You decide which troops to hire. You make the decisions in the heat of battle. Most of the game takes place in the battles which are controlled using the mouse mainly. You basically set up your army for battle and then make choices of where to send the different units in battle. You have a variety of items and spells at your command too. Essentially victory is decided by strategy and the strength of your army. Outside of battle you manage your army's funds and such. Warning! This game can be difficult. Many people find it a rather hard task indeed to finish the game. But if you can get past the difficulty then the game is rather fun to play. There are very few real time war strategy games around so this game is probably not like what you are used to playing. Don't blame me if you don't like it. It is an acquired taste.

Story - The game does involve a story line, however it is not the main draw to the game, the battles are. All your missions are tied together through the story but it is not very engrossing. You will probably not care for the characters so much except that they are an asset on the battlefield. I doubt you have any emotions towards them. Basically you are a mercenary in a world full of evil creatures and a Skaven warlord wishes to conquer the lands. You really are just in it for the money though. Saving the world is merely a bonus.

Audio/Video - The game involves voice acting in the cut scenes and it is done well enough. The sound effects on the battlefield are enough to excite you at times when your commanders shout orders or the enemy screams war cries. The music fits the theme of the fantasy quite nicely. The graphics are substandard. You can make out the warriors on the battlefield as they hack away at each other but they are not a wondrous sight to behold.

Replayability - The game has different routes to take. Sometimes you are given a choice in missions and therefore you will miss some stuff in one playing. So you may want to play it more than once to experience the whole game. Also you can find hidden items while in battle and not all can be obtained one time through. This game will take many hours of your life just to beat it once though.

To buy or to rent? - Buy it. Renting computer games isn't exactly that common as far as I have seen. It is an older game and shouldn't be very pricey anyway. Only a certain group of people will like this game though. So only buy it if you have plenty of information on it and think you will enjoy it. And if you have similar taste in games as me then you will find it to be well worth your money.

Summing up - I give the game an 7 because while it is fun and unique it has it's share of problems. Also it is not a game for everyone. The graphics are not that good and the gameplay can run kind of slow paced at times. Nice to play this game though if you are tired of the same old stuff.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/02, Updated 02/20/02