The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Warhammer 40k has been the mainstay of the Games workshop line, along with it's fantasy counterpart Warhammer, since it was first released. I've been playing 40k for around 8 years now, so I was looking forward to the new edition.

As a veteran player, I must confess I am a bit disappointed. The way I see it, there was nothing wrong with the second edition, so this new edition is just tweaking for the sake of changing things. Much of the detail has been dropped from the game in favor of a quicker playing time. All infantry now have the same movement, as do all the different vechicle types. Close combat in particular has been changed so much that it is almost unrecognizable, resembling the system from Warhammer now more than it's past systems. Close comabts are a group affair now, instead of being resolved one on one. You can resolve them one on one if you want to, but the mechanics have changed so much that the old strategies for close combat generally no longer apply.

The army lists, which are a permanent part of the book this time instead of a addon to cover them until the army books came out, have been changed immensly. Marine chapters have lost their individuality, Eldar have lost the Harlequins and all Chaos daemons have been standardized, just to name a few of the bigger changes. All of that should, hopefully, be remedied in the army books, when they come out, but sicne this is all there is now that's the only thing to go on. Characters are also much weaker now, so as to keep them from dominating the game, but it has been taken a bit far. All squads, except the Imperial Guard, are now of a variable size, even the Marines. There is also a limit on the number of units of a given type, either HQ, Troop, Elite, Heavy Support or Fast Attack, that you can take, which varies depending on which mission you use.

So there's the bad. The good part is that the game has been made a lot faster, which is a very good thing. Armor uses a different system now, with weapons either giving you and unmodified save or no save at all. There are some good new rules, like the Crossfire rule and unit pursuit like in Warhammer. Vehicle turns have been done away with.

Perhaps the best thing about the game is that it's so easy to learn and teach now. Much as I mourn their loss, lumping all the close combat weapons and pistols together has made things a lot less confusing for new players. Games being quicker also help to keep new players attention as they won't get bored with a small game that lasts for hours.

The new minis are lovely. The Dark Eldar and Land Speeder are nice models, but I really love the new Marines. They have so much detail and extra bits. There are different backpacks and bolters, along with extra holsters, scanners, purity seals and all manner of other things that you can go crazy with them. There's also trees and ruins in the box. Good study ruins, unlike the old cardboard ones you used to get.

The usual multiple books have all been put in one normal sized book, so there won't be anymore looking in one book for army lists, another book for weapon stats and yet another for unit profiles. There's also tons of background, as usual with 40k, and there's a lot of diagrams and schematic type drawings that were absent from the second edition. The book is finally a good size, too. A 300 page book is much preferable to three 100 page books.

So is it worth a hefty $75? It sure is for me. It's probably a bit pricey for non-fanatics, though. When you break it down, between the models, the book and the scenery, it's a good deal, but still a $75 deal. A lot of game stores will run demons, and if you're lucky enough to live near a Games Workshop stop in there and tell them you want to play a demo of 40k. It's a great game and really worth it.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Warhammer 40,000
Author: Andy Chambers, Rick Preistly, Jervis Johnson, Ian Pickstock, Gavin Thorpe Category: Miniatures Wargame [Boxed Set] Company/Publisher: Games Workshop Cost: $75.00 Page count: 288 ISBN: 1 869893 19 0 Capsule Review by Bob Roberts on 10/08/98. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Space	Warhammer 40k has been the mainstay of the Games workshop line, along with it's fantasy counterpart Warhammer, since it was first released. I've been playing 40k for around 8 years now, so I was looking forward to the new edition. As a veteran player, I must confess I am a bit disappointed. The way I see it, there was nothing wrong with the second edition, so this new edition is just tweaking for the sake of changing things. Much of the detail has been dropped from the game in favor of a quicker playing time. All infantry now have the same movement, as do all the different vechicle types. Close combat in particular has been changed so much that it is almost unrecognizable, resembling the system from Warhammer now more than it's past systems. Close comabts are a group affair now, instead of being resolved one on one. You can resolve them one on one if you want to, but the mechanics have changed so much that the old strategies for close combat generally no longer apply. The army lists, which are a permanent part of the book this time instead of a addon to cover them until the army books came out, have been changed immensly. Marine chapters have lost their individuality, Eldar have lost the Harlequins and all Chaos daemons have been standardized, just to name a few of the bigger changes. All of that should, hopefully, be remedied in the army books, when they come out, but sicne this is all there is now that's the only thing to go on. Characters are also much weaker now, so as to keep them from dominating the game, but it has been taken a bit far. All squads, except the Imperial Guard, are now of a variable size, even the Marines. There is also a limit on the number of units of a given type, either HQ, Troop, Elite, Heavy Support or Fast Attack, that you can take, which varies depending on which mission you use. So there's the bad. The good part is that the game has been made a lot faster, which is a very good thing. Armor uses a different system now, with weapons either giving you and unmodified save or no save at all. There are some good new rules, like the Crossfire rule and unit pursuit like in Warhammer. Vehicle turns have been done away with. Perhaps the best thing about the game is that it's so easy to learn and teach now. Much as I mourn their loss, lumping all the close combat weapons and pistols together has made things a lot less confusing for new players. Games being quicker also help to keep new players attention as they won't get bored with a small game that lasts for hours. The new minis are lovely. The Dark Eldar and Land Speeder are nice models, but I really love the new Marines. They have so much detail and extra bits. There are different backpacks and bolters, along with extra holsters, scanners, purity seals and all manner of other things that you can go crazy with them. There's also trees and ruins in the box. Good study ruins, unlike the old cardboard ones you used to get. The usual multiple books have all been put in one normal sized book, so there won't be anymore looking in one book for army lists, another book for weapon stats and yet another for unit profiles. There's also tons of background, as usual with 40k, and there's a lot of diagrams and schematic type drawings that were absent from the second edition. The book is finally a good size, too. A 300 page book is much preferable to three 100 page books. So is it worth a hefty $75? It sure is for me. It's probably a bit pricey for non-fanatics, though. When you break it down, between the models, the book and the scenery, it's a good deal, but still a $75 deal. A lot of game stores will run demons, and if you're lucky enough to live near a Games Workshop stop in there and tell them you want to play a demo of 40k. It's a great game and really worth it. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Warhammer 40,000