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Wargame Rules / Sci-Fi
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Displaying Reviews: 1 - 1
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Average Reviewer Rating:
 
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A far more solid production than previous incarnations
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Reviewed by Antar Howarth (info@totalmodel.com) August 19, 2004
Back in the early 80's - when I was still wearing shorts to school - a new shop opened in my home town of Sheffield. It was called Games Workshop. In those days it sold everything from Rubiks Cubes to Monopoly. Most of the people who ventured through its doors, however, went in search of books and figures for the game which was revolutionising the hobby world and gave rise to an entire industry. That game was Dungeons & Dragons.
The next time I walked into a Games Workshop store was about 10 years later. By then things had moved on considerably. The massive following for D&D was on the wane and GW were concentrating on a games system of their own. They called it "Warhammer" and it came in two flavours. The first was based on the traditional dark age/fantasy realms populated by humans, orcs and elves. The alternative game was called Warhammer 40,000 (40k) which used exactly the same kind of characters but this time in a futuristic, sci-fi setting.
This book is the 4th edition of the 40k rules. It's certainly come a long way from the early days. For a start it packs a massive 270 pages between sturdy hardback covers. Once you peer inside you soon begin to appreciate that this is a far more comprehensive and robust production than previous incarnations. The designers also seem to have adopted a measured approach to the presentation. Compared to the version 3 rule book, for example, which was often littered with visual clutter, these pages are far more subdued and less noisy. Photographs have replaced the old line drawings which were used to demonstrate various aspects of the game. This helps make the rules easy to follow and absorb. There's even a very handy index - which is certain to prove very popular.
The actual core mechanics of the game appear to have changed very little. Some of the most apparent amendments occur in the shooting phase of the turn. Units are now compelled to shoot only at the nearest enemy unit - unless a large target presents itself. If a unit wishes to engage a more distant target they are required to pass a leadership test first. In accordance with this update, enemy infantry no longer block the line of sight.
The Assault phase also remains largely unchanged. Perhaps the biggest shift is that a unit can only charge the enemy which it fired at during the shooting phase. This is a simple amendment but one which tightens up the assault rules considerably. Other aspects of the phase have been bolstered with caveats such as the (so called) "pile in" rule which ensures all troops not engaged in the toe-to-toe action make every effort to do so! Experienced players may also be surprised to find that the Crossfire rule has been removed. It is replaced by a similar formula which applies to all units which fail to fall back a sufficient distance after losing an assault.
At some stage in game unit morale will almost certainly come into play. This is very often where the battle will be won or lost. Here things read pretty much the same as they did in v3. The only notable changes are to the "regroup in cover" and "last chance" rules - which have been completely binned. What's more, henceforth, as soon as a unit so much as touches the edge of the battlefield it is removed from play.
There are number of other minor changes and additions. Armour penetration and vehicle damage are two areas which appear to have received a slight nip & tuck. More often than not, however, these updates have been made more for the purpose of clarifying the older game mechanics than to actually expand the system. Indeed if you are familiar with the 3rd edition rule book you may even notice that much of the text has been copied over to v4 - word for word!
Thankfully, it's not all about words and rules. A fairly large chunk of this book is given over to modelling tips. There are figure painting guides, advice on building terrain and even templates for creating your own futuristic bunker. The pages are also stuffed with full colour photographs of figures, vehicles and gaming boards which - if nothing else - will provide hours of endless inspiration!
Other chapters are used to introduce the various warring races and factions. The galaxy in the 41st millennium is a pretty wild place and the designers have ensured that the reader can become suitably acquainted with its history and many of its most colourful characters. If the "For the glory of the Emperor" narrative starts to grate, however, you can always pass your time admiring the artwork of John Blanche and the host of other talented illustrators who contributed to this work.
The rest of the book is dedicated to mission concepts. It explores a variety of different game types such as night missions, sabotage actions and bunker assaults. There is also a lengthy look at campaigns which introduces concepts such as experience points and battle honours. The book demonstrates how players can conduct 5 very different types of campaign each with their own structure and order of progression.
During the last 6 months GW have been at pains to point out that the new rules will not invalidate the current series of army codexes. This is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, what they haven't mentioned is that if you don't already own at least one codex, this book is utterly useless. That's because these rules, unlike version 3, do not contain a shred of unit data. There is no wargear, no vehicle stats - nothing. There are one or two token examples, but that's it! This may be OK for existing players, who probably own a few codexes already - but what about newcomers? This book costs £30. If you want to play even a basic game you will also need to buy 2 army books - which could set you back another £20. Then there are the figures...!
In the blink of an eye the cost of your entry into the 40k universe has rocketed beyond the £80 mark! Not so long ago you got everything in a box - and a few extras - for only £50.
Don't get me wrong. This version of 40k is certainly far more comprehensive than any of the previous iterations. The designers have tightened up the ratchet on the game mechanics another notch making them altogether leaner and more effective. Although some of the new rules have been aired before in supplements such as "Chapter Approved" it represents far more than a tidying-up exercise. The book is packed with useful modelling tips, background text and a plethora of mission and campaign material. It's a great job from cover to cover. Then again, it has to be said that the omission of the unit stats does leave a hole. In this respect I can't help feeling that the new rule book - by definition - is incomplete.
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80
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86
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