Total War: Warhammer II (PC) Review

Serving as the follow-up to Total War: Warhammer, this sequel focuses on the western half of the map. It seems like such a simplistic set-up since it would be so easy to just copy and paste what the first game did, throw on four new races, and call it a day. But it's not; and that's why it is so awesome. Right from the get-go players, it is easy to feel right at home as all the classic stuff is present. Building up provinces, raising armies, governing the nation in a turn-based map while reverting down to the ground level for real-time action goodness, it all seems pretty straight-forwards.

Yet it isn't. So much has been changed and improved that it's simply amazing. For starters all four races are wonderful to play as. Especially with the newest addition in the form of the vortex victory. With the big bad of the first game busy stomping around on the eastern half of the map where the Empire, Orcs, Dwarves, and Undead vie for control, as opposed to where Warhammer II takes place, a new type of victory has been added in the form of the vortex victory.

At its core the new victory simply requires gathering up enough of a certain item to power a ritual. In order to perform the ritual, a certain amount of provinces need to be controlled. Control those provinces, complete the rituals, win. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. For starters all the other powers are competing to perform their own rituals so even if they aren't outright stepping on each other's toes, they are trying to rush to complete it in time. Then they'll need to actually control said provinces since missing even one will cause the ritual to fail. Plus, to make it worse, letting an opponent complete even one ritual can result in… problems… turning the whole ordeal into a vicious cycle of war and claiming/losing land as people vie for dominance to complete their own respective rituals.

Each of the new nations has their own unique set-ups as well with the newest, the Skaven, being the most distinct since they operate via infesting ruined cities. Is that tantalizingly unclaimed province truly empty? Or might there be something small and furry lurking just inside? There's only one way to find out and it may not be, shall we say, easy?

Then comes the real treat. The thing which really drives home the rating. For those who own both games there is a free DLC that will provide them with the ability to play on a map with both the eastern and western worlds on it. Yes. That is 100% correct. The two games end up effectively merged with the entire world to play around in! Invade the east with the Skaven! Send vampire hordes into the dark elven lands! It is a full-on world-wide war!

Finally, watch as an army of dinosaurs rips through enemy ranks. Yes. Dinosaurs. It's as awesome as it sounds and flat-out wonderful to watch so many rats get stomped by a T-Rex. Plus… Zombies vs. Dinosaurs!