A RTS game on a console that actually works without being dumbed down!
Gameplay wise the game is very much a spiritual successor to Dark Omen and Shadow of the Horned Rat. You select an army from units you have earnt throughout the campaign, before entering the battlefield.
Graphically, the game boasts decent visuals for an RTS. Whilst not as flashy as Halo Wars', they do the job well enough.
The Soundtrack is a tad disappointing, with several pieces of music lifted direct from its Warhammer 40k counterpart, Dawn of War. Whilst this creates brand unity between the two franchises, it doesnt really make up for a lack of a new musical score.
But with all Console RTS's the big question is do the controls work? Well despite the claims of the Gamespot review, who i suspect didnt bother with the tutorial, the game is easy to control.
Unit selection is carried out through holding the left trigger and either selecting a unit with the A button, or a quick click of L3 and every thing is selected. RT lets you select your heroes quickly to pull off a spell or two.
Once a unit is selected, various abilities are assigned to the face buttons and d-pad, allowing you to march the unit, or fire in ranks etc. This micromanagement adds the depth that other console games like the aforementioned Halo Wars severely lacks.
Multiplayer is also a blast, presuming you can find someone to play. The game offers you the opportunity to heavily customise your armies appearance - something which as a confessed Geek and player of Real Warhammer, i really appreciated.
One deciding factor when deciding whether to purchase the PC or console version is the fact the console version actually works. The PC version of Mark of Chaos severely underestimates the hardware needed to run it - the minimum specs quoted are nowhere high enough to get the game to work at a decent level. The slowdown that plagued the PC version is gone on the 360. Unless you are playing a multiplayer goblin fest, the game runs as smooth as a baby's bottom for the most part.
Is Battlemarch the perfect console RTS? No, its not, the console has yet to see a truly great RTS game, usually sacrificing depth for ease of control. But it is a bigger step in the right direction than Halo Wars or Endgame, and a thousand times superior than Stormrise.
Its worth checking out, especially at its current budget price.