Warhammer (working title) E3 2005 Impressions

We were on hand at E3 2005 to take a brief look at the tentatively titled Warhammer, the upcoming strategy game from Namco. As you may recall, some time ago, the traditionally console-focused publisher won the rights to make computer and video games based on Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play universe (with the exception of Warhammer Online, which has been picked up by Mythic Entertainment). The game is being developed by Synergy Interactive, formerly known as Black Hole Games (the studio responsible for last year's Armies of Exigo, as well as for the special effects in many major motion pictures).

Though we were able to only watch a brief demonstration of the engine in action, we saw that the engine will focus on at least two aspects: a huge sense of scale and a high level of detail. We watched a brief demonstration of a field battle between an army of goblins and a squadron of chaos warriors (heavily armed knights in plate armor). The game in its pre-alpha state already showed off a huge draw distance. We first watched the battle from a highly zoomed-out view and saw a huge part of the battlefield around us. Then we seamlessly zoomed in on the ornate armor of the chaos knights and the fluttering banner that one knight carried.

Though details remain scarce about the actual game itself, its focus will apparently be on large-scale, epic battles rather than on trying to sneak into your opponent's base to destroy his or her buildings. The game will feature many of the fantasy races and monsters you'd expect from a Warhammer-licensed game. However, the game won't be released until the holiday season of next year, so there should be plenty of time for further updates between now and then.