

If the player chooses to pursue this chain and wins this fight, the Emperor gets to wield the legendary Hammer of Sigmar. Win this fight and the Emperor gets to wield the legendary Hammer of Sigmar. Blackfire Pass is the final battle for the leader of the human faction, Emperor Karl Franz. Every character in your army has an chain of quests to follow that unlock new items, abilities and mounts. The battle type is new to Total War, but will be familiar to players of Endless Legend-it’s a quest battle. The Empire and Orcs & Goblins battle for control of a crucial lava-dotted canyon that’s traditionally the only thoroughfare between the two factions' kingdoms in Warhammer’s Old World. The Battle of Blackfire Pass is the subject of the demo The Creative Assembly showed me at their studio in rural Horsham. It’s got an unreal energy unlike any previous Total War game, but exactly like I always imagined Warhammer: Fantasy Battle.

The way that a Goblin Doom Diver gibbers as it ploughs into the ground head first, almost incidentally crushing a line of spearmen. The way that Demigryph Knights bound like birds as they overrun howling Savage Orc Boar Boyz. The way that Orc Boyz Waaagh and leap apelike as they charge into the enemy ranks, filled with irrepressible energy. The way Empire handgunners scatter when a Wyvern glides into them. If there’s one thing that’s striking about Total War: Warhammer, it’s impact.
