Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat
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| Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Mindscape |
| Publisher(s) | Mindscape |
| Platform(s) | Windows, PlayStation |
| Release date | November 11, 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics, Fantasy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | 1 CD-ROM |
| System requirements | 80486, 8 MB RAM, |
| Input methods | Mouse, Keyboard |
Published in conjunction with Mindscape in 1995, Shadow of the Horned Rat (WHSHR) is a real-time tactics computer game of medieval and fantasy battles based on squads and squadrons (as opposed to single individuals) as the minimal unit of interaction (see military units).
WH:SHR was a groundbreaking game, partly for being one of the very first real-time tactical games (as contrasted but genre-wise often confused with real-time strategy), and partly for its innovative use of a freely rotatable and zoomable overhead isometric 3D perspective to render the battlefield. Unfortunately, the game as released was afflicted by bugs which may have reduced its popularity.
Based on Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules and set within the Warhammer Fantasy world, the storyline focuses on a mercenary general's quest to stop a Skaven plot. Playing as the mercenary commander Morgan Bernhardt, the player must defeat a variety of foes in pitched battles using traditional fantasy battle methods such as shooting and close combat as well as magic. The finances of the mercenary army are handled by Paymaster Dietrich.
WH:SHR was innovative but largely overlooked in computer games history. One of the main criticisms the game received was for being too difficult. Losses incurred in previous battles remained, and combined with the steeply increasing difficulties of battles the game grew very difficult relatively quickly. The roaming unit losses was offset by that reinforcements could be bought in most towns between missions, towns which had a certain amount of reinforcements that can be bought for gold gained from combat, gold which, however, was generally less than the replacement value of troops. However, when the game was learned, these reinforcements could cover most if not all the losses. Units gained experience and became better through use, but this in turn increased the unit cost of replacement. Another issue was that a fallen soldier could also be merely wounded, which would leave them out of the action for the next battle, after which they'd be healed for free. While this reduced the strain on your resources, you could end in the unfortunate situation of having plenty of gold, but unable to reinforce your army sufficiently to stand a chance in the next mission.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat at MobyGames
- Review of PC version at Answers.com
- Review of PlayStation version at Answers.com
- Mark Knight's Gamesounds, download the Shadow of the Horned Rat music from the composer's website
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