When battle is joined, the Beastmen are probably by far the most enthralling to watch in combat. It’s for this reason that Creative Assembly has given a large amount of Beastmen units the ability to deploy outside of their zone - allowing the player a chance to set up harrassments and ambushes as the enemy moves in. Few Beastmen units can stand toe-to-toe with late-game specialists and so it’s necessary to be more canny with your placements. Comprised of fast-moving and hard-hitting infantry, the Beastmen area faction that will be beloved by those who like to flank and pull apart the enemy formations. Nowhere is the difference between the Beastmen and the other races more reflected than in the violence of the battlefield. You’ll recognise rock formations and strategic sections on the map and be able to use them time and again, which becomes quite tedious. Though a nice change it can become slightly stale, as the environments created for these battles - while pretty - never really seem to show any real change between battles. The Beastmen also have their own specific stances, whilst their default has a chance to automatically initiate an ambush each time you engage or defend - reflecting on the fact the Beastmen travel in the impenetrable forests of the Warhammer world. This allows for a spring-like movement across the campaign map, as secondary hordes back up the parent in difficult encounters and sieges.

Unlike their Chaos counterparts, who are also a horde faction, Beastmen do not get a penalty for being in close proximity to each other, meaning that you can effectively shelter a smaller horde from harm by its larger parent and upgrade it along the way. The Beastmen are no lovers of diplomacy, either - entreat with other factions and feel the penalty as your hordes’ obedience drops. Holding no cities or provinces, the player will be required to flit between enemy provinces razing, sacking and looting as they go to gain resources. Fast, lightly-armoured and based around hit-and-run tactics, the Beastmen are very much akin to the hordes of Total War: Attila. The Beastmen - a race comprised of man-bull hybrids as well as fauns, centaurs and minotaurs - are another unique roster in a game that already boasts very distinct factions. Call of the Beastmen is the first major race-based DLC that has appeared for the title, and is a sign of good things to come. This will involve two more expansion games, as well as a schedule of updates over the years inbetween.

Eventually the studio wants to release either DLC or free-LC containing all of the represented races in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles tabletop game. Total War: Warhammer is a long term project for Creative Assembly.

Reviews // 17th Aug 2016 - 5 years ago // By Alex Hamilton Total War: Warhammer Call of the Beastmen DLC Review

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