Total War: Warhammer III - Omens of Destruction

Creative Assembly has followed the same fine structure a number of times now: A major update is released alongside free content (FLC) and some paid content (DLC). There are new units, heroes, commanders and updates to parts of the game that are slightly out of balance, so a few factions can become a little more balanced.

This time it's Khorne, Ogre Kingdoms and Greenskins that have been updated, and as someone who once played two of the three in real life, I think I'm pretty well qualified to judge.

The first lump of meat on the table is Golgfag Maneater, a truly accomplished mercenary that, unlike many others, can be played 100% as a mercenary army performing contracts. And because Ogre Camps can now be moved, it can actually work for those of us who have to play as them. There are several new units: Yetis, goblins that ride other goblins, vultures and a legendary hero - for those used to playing the character game, this is the equivalent of a Special Character. It's a significantly different way to play and a nice break from the other campaigns in the game. You don't have to spend days managing 119 cities, and if you don't like playing Sim City while fighting, this is a great way to play.

This time there is also a free general, Arbaal the Undefeated. I have a soft spot for him for the simple reason that back in the day I played Khorne with him as the main general. His mechanics go hand in hand with the new Khorne system and not least a more logical tech tree. His 'thing' is to kill certain armies and generals, and he can even travel directly to them - for a price. This is rewarded in the form of boons, such as greatly reduced costs for new units for a number of rounds. He also has a number of attributes that make him a fierce fighter. He gets stronger the more enemies are around, he can cause explosions, and my favourite, the Eye of Khorne, which can kill an entire unit instantly and turn the survivors into Chaos monsters. Arbaal is the pure, unadulterated Khorne experience - and extra points for that.

The other Khorne general is not free. He's rather generically named Skulltaker, and since Khorne has been slightly remodelled, you can guess whether a demon general should base his campaign on humans or demons. His 'thing' is that he gets buffed after killing others. Not just in the normal way where killing specific generals gives a specific buff, but through a system of collecting - that's right, skulls - which then makes his cloak stronger. It's not much, but on the other hand, he can teleport to those who would be fun to kill. It just costs a lot of resources, to a level where it's not always worth it. It's a bit too reminiscent of an old Norsca mechanic and also Arbaal's play method, and the buffs you get are too small and should go to your army and not just the general to differentiate from existing mechanics in the game. On the other hand, you get nine new units, and one of them is another familiar monster in the form of Scyla Anfingrimm.

Greens have a wise orc - no, not an oxymoron, but relative to an orc, Gorbad Ironclaw is actually so smart that he can apply different strategic contexts. For the rest of us, this would be a cognitive ability on the level of a five-year-old, but for an orc it's close to true genius. However, it typically requires specific combinations of units, as these must be actively used to make the tactic work, and this typically translates into specific buffs. Each of these can be amplified and are available in multiple levels. He's also got new units, with Mangler Squigs - squigs tied together with chains - being the most fun, and there's also a giant squig in between. How they lore-wise explain that it doesn't just eat the rest of the army is beyond me. Gorbad is quite fun to play, and the new units add some variety and flexibility that I've been missing. As an old Ork player, it's also fun to see how you really utilise the breadth of the many different units.

You can buy the parts separately or in a bundle for just under £25. That's a lot of money to play the Immortal Empires campaign three times over. I realise that per hour of entertainment is suddenly not that much - but it's still quite a lot for three extra generals and some extra units.