First and Second Impressions: Warhammer Online
Every Warhammer-based PC game released this decade (that I could find) has had an M rating. Were the designers of those games just not clever enough to do an end-run around the ESRB using the sort of Simpsons-esque innuendo Josh describes?
But, all of this is just beating a dead horse. The decision was made long before this article was written, and nothing anyone says, least of all me, is going to get someone back at Mythic HQ to stand up and shout, “By God, that man is right! Call a meeting of the art leads, I want to see GEYSERS of blood the next time a mob gets so much as a paper cut by this time tomorrow!”
So, let’s move on…
The second question I asked while already knowing the answer was the one regarding any plans to port rules from the tabletop version of Warhammer, and applying them to the MMO.
I could have told you the answer to that one was no after playing the game for two seconds. Still…
Back at Games Day, I caught Adam Gershowitz returning to the Mythic booth from the show floor, cradling bags which seemed to be full of model kits, and overheard Carrie Gouskos discussing the game nights they held at the office, confiding that she, too, had been hooked into them and now enjoyed wargaming herself.
Clearly, there was no shortage of awareness of the material here, and, being at Games Day, they (and I) got to meet the most rabid fans that Warhammer had to offer face to face.
Take the most diehard Star Wars nerd you know, add in a heavy dose of Star Trek and Lord of the Rings fetishism, then stain his clothes with paint, cover his fingers with glue and fill his pockets with D6 dice, and you start to get a sense for the fanaticism of the average Warhammer tabletop player.
These were not people to be trifled with. They may not be able to cause much of a ruckus in real life from the spare bedroom in their mother’s house, but believe you me, they can write you one hell of a flame on every message board they can find.
So, I wanted to hear the reasons why (aside from the obvious one that tabletop gaming and MMOs are two different kettles of fish entirely) they were essentially throwing out twenty-five years of Games Workshop’s rules, and starting over from scratch.
If Turbine were to announce a sequel to DDO by saying “We really like Forgotten Realms, but, we’re just using the setting this time. We’ve decided that AD&D really isn’t appropriate in an MMO, and if you read some of Ed Greenwood’s books…” there would be a riot in the streets in front of their office.
But, again, I’m beating a dead horse.
Summarizing a 4,000 word writeup…
When all is said and done, what was my overall impression of Warhammer Online?
That it’s going to be a solid horserace for a new number two MMORPG this year between it and Conan.
Taking into consideration Funcom’s checkered history in the genre, and what I would assume to be the greater popularity of the Warhammer universe over Conan, I’d put my money on WAR.
Why settle for number two? Well, let’s not kid ourselves here; nothing is going to touch WoW until World of Starcraft is released. And, if EA, Funcom, or anyone else has even the slightest notion of trying to release within the same 90 day period as Wrath of the Lich King, may God have mercy on them, because Blizzard will have none.
