Here is another Warhammer 40,000 game set on the planet Armageddon in the 41st millennium. This time the player controls a horde of Orks that declare war on the humans or as the Orks say “humies” on the Imperial planet. They believe in their war lead by Ghazghkull Thraka, however in the Warhammer universe it is known as the first Ork invasion of Armageddon.
My first impression of the game is of a space fantasy with Orks and men fighting for supremacy. However, The scenery looks more like something from Mad Max and the Orks the warring road warriors with a very large machine conglomerate spacecraft. The Orks’ have that look of an invading horde with intimidating and monstrous vehicles they use to take control of the Armageddon hive cities.
These crazy mechanical makeshift vehicles that the Orks have include buzzsaws, grapples, missiles, and guns. Its very put together and functional but also made to traverse distances and destroy enemy troops and fortifications. Their look is well they are green Orks that use flamethrowers, ballistic and energy weapons, and battle axes. They wear both heavy and light armor and use mechanical walkers and tanks. Everything is designed to intimidate and make them look fierce. In their forces they also have squigs, which are a food source but in this game are used as attack and bomb squigs aiding the Orks in defeating the humans.
Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon Da Orks is a turn based real time strategy game. All the battles take place on the planet Armageddon and you’re in command of the Ork hordes to defeat the imperial forces that include the Armageddon Steel legion and Space Marines. Your mission as the player is to take control of hexes and defeat the humans within the hive cities and surrounding fortifications.
The game has several modes to choose from. A player can go through the campaign or pick a scenario. There is also a multiplayer mode but this review will focus on the campaign and scenarios. These are different scenarios from the campaign and range in level of difficulty. Within these scenarios the player’s mission is either to defeat all imperial forces that leave the hive or capture victory hexes, or defeat all enemies and capture all hexes. The farther you advance in the scenarios the more challenging the scenario becomes and more troops you begin with. In Banished Blood Angels you start with an entire army horde.
The campaign is the main mission mode. Here a player can start out learning how to control your Ork army through the tutorials and learn the basics of combat and game play. Following the tutorials the main story starts with the Orks uniting behind Ghazghkull Thraka on the planet Urk prior to the imperial invasion. The invasion of Armageddon begins in Act I: Armageddon Prime. Here the Ork horde reaching the planet using the Space Hulk Wurld Killa begins there invasion with Armageddon Prime. In Act 2: Armageddon Secundus the Orks launch a surprise attack through the equatorial jungle to capture Armageddon Secundus.
At the start of the first act you have to defeat all the enemies that leave the hive. Hives are the imperial cities where the humans live, which have underground and above ground structures. This campaign begins at the city Hive Volcanus. Enemies are also guarding the main cities within fortifications and towers. Other missions include the capturing of yellow hexes on the map that are controlled by enemy units. The player must defeat the enemy units and take control of the hexes to declare victory.
Game play is straight forward in this game. When selecting troops to move grey dots appear on the map. Units can only move to these dots and the direction of the arrows. As this is a turn based strategy game you can only move units once per turn but have a chance to fire upon enemy units more than once. When in firing range the game gives targets over the enemies. Some units are close range combatants and others like tanks are long ranged.
Throughout the sixteen possible turns during each scenario players can buy more infantry, vehicles, walkers, tanks, artillery, and aircraft. The aircraft are helicopter like vehicles that hover above the ground, and one even has a buzzsaw. There are also options to disband your troops, refit, and rest and replace.
Even though the Orks have makeshift vehicles with buzzsaws and grapples the imperial forces have well designed tanks and bipedal walkers, energy weapons, and proper military forces. The Orks have squigs and a sense of humor that the imperial forces probably do not have.
Throughout the campaign there are the main units and the auxiliary units. Each unit has different weapons with different ranges, strengths, and skills. Infantry can have flame throwers and ballistic weapons or cleavers and clubs. Tanks and vehicles have rollers, guns, or rockets. A player moves the units depending on what is required to defeat a specific unit. I try to flank enemies moving in close range with less armored troops, while keeping armored tanks and long range vehicles at a distance concentrating on enemy armored vehicles and troops. The game also allows for zooming into units for a closer look at the armaments and how awesome the Orks are.
The game’s user interface gives all the stats for each unit. There is a morale indicator to show the units effectiveness and readiness in battle. A stat for how much cover the unit can have with infantry capable of full cover by terrain. Enemies are less likely to hit a target in cover. Defense rating is how hard it is to penetrate the armor of the unit. Expanding the unit’s details give more stats and battle history. Some extra details are cost and hit points showing how much damage a unit can withstand. Sometimes enemies are in fortifications or blocked by terrain. In those situations your units need to find a way around the terrain and for fortifications heavier tanks and ranged weapons are necessary.
I found this game quite humorous, especially with the Ork speak and the banter between members of the invading horde. These voice overs and exchanges with images of the speaking Ork occur between maps. There is talk by Ghazghkull Thraka or unrelated exchanges between troops. Most of it is just banter or talk and not really part of the plot but fun never the less.
Warhammer 40,000 Armageddon – Da Orks is a great turn based strategy space fantasy game. It’s amusing but also challenging and will test your strategy skills. Game play is smooth with directions for units so the player has limitations during each turn. As you move along in the game maps get more difficult even with larger starting armies. Players have the ability to purchase more units and the user interface is very comprehensive containing a wide range of stats. I would recommend this for everyone who likes Warhammer games, ground combat RTS, and wanting to play as da Orks.
Developers: Flashback Games Studio, The Lordz Games Studio
Platforms: PC