First of all, here's a full list of Warhammer 40,000 PC games:
1. Space Crusade (1992)
2. Space Hulk (1993)
3. Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels (1995)
4. Final Liberation (1997)
5. Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate (1998)
6. Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War (1999)
7. Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (2003)
8. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (2004)
9. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault (2005)
10. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade (2006)
11. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm (2008)
12. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (2009)
13. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising (2010)
14. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution (2011)
15. Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team (2011)
16. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011)
17. Space Hulk (2013)
18. Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon (2014)
19. Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf (2014)
20. Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance (2014)
21. Warhammer 40,000: Regicide (2015)
22. Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade (2015)
23. Eisenhorn: Xenos (2015)
24. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (2015)
25. Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena! (2016)
10 Things We Love About Warhammer 40k Games:
Warhammer 40,000 games are dark, gritty, and violent. But those are only three reasons PC gamers love them! Warhammer 40,000 games have been on the market for more than fifteen years, and each one seems to be more successful than the last. From Chaos Gate to Dawn of War, Fire Warrior to Space Marine, we've looked at all the games in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise and picked 10 things that make these games so popular.
10. Variety: Universal Appeal
Warhammer 40,000 games even cater to horror fans!
Although Dawn of War is the most well-known game series in the franchise, Warhammer 40,000 games are not limited to tactical RTS games. For more analytical gamers, the early Chaos Gate and Rites of War, along with the recently re-made Space Hulk provide turn-based strategy games more akin to the original table top version.
For those who like to have more action in their games, the aging Fire Warrior and excellent Space Marine allow gamers to get up close and personal with the hordes of heretics and aliens that plague the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
9. Setting: A Struggle for Survival
The forces of Chaos never rest.
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is grim, dark, and brutal. Everything happens on an epic scale. 38,000 years in the future mankind has settles more than a million planets, yet it is nevertheless in a constant struggle for survival.
Conflict is everywhere. Humans, heretics, demons, and aliens all vie with one another for control of planets and star systems. There is always a new flash point where a previously-unknown evil threatens the lives of billions, and this means that there will always be new games and new stories to be told in this epic universe.
8. Scale: Your Actions Matter
Looks like we've got a star system to save.
The epic setting of Warhammer 40,000 means that your actions matter. In Warhammer 40,000 games you don't fight for control of cities or continents; you fight for control of entire planets and star systems.
The stakes in Warhammer 40,000 games are always high. If your Space Marines are not able to stem the tide of heretics and aliens, entire systems will be corrupted by the daemonic forces of Chaos or annihilated by rampaging Orks. Every mission feels epic and intense: building four farms and a barracks just doesn't cut it here.
7. Factions: Something for Everyone
Warhammer 40,000 is more than just Orks and Humans.
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is massive, and is suitably full of diverse factions all fighting for survival – or domination. Orks, Tyranids, Demons, Tau, and Eldar are just a few of the enemies that humanity faces, and just a few of the armies that a player can choose from.
The games embrace this diversity, and although the single player campaigns often put you in the armored boots of the Space Marines, most games give you the option to play as one of the many alien races as well. Unlike in most series, where different races tend to have mostly cosmetic differences, each Warhammer 40,000 race has a unique playstyle that will appeal to different types of players.
Want to overwhelm your opponents with an unending wall of green flesh? The Orks are for you. Prefer to control immortal skeletal robots? Lead the Necron. Whichever you choose, the universe is full of enemies to kill.
6. Voice Acting: For the Emperor!
Gabriel Angelos has a voice that demands respect!
Sound design is often overlooked in many games, but the designers of Warhammer 40,000 games clearly pay close attention to it. While the soundtracks and sound effects are consistently good in their own right, it is the voice acting in particular that has become a favorite among fans.
From the righteous Space Marine cries of “For the Emperor!”, to the ferocious Ork “WAAAGH!”, to the Chaos “Blood for the Blood God!”, the Warhammer 40,000 games have loads of one-liners that are quoted by fans well after the games have finished.
5. Tactics: Outsmart Your Opponents
Use cover to even the odds!
The Warhammer 40,000 table top game is all about using careful planning and innovative tactics to achieve victory, something which many of the PC games share.
In Dawn of War, not only must you effectively use cover and your limited special abilities to achieve victory, you must also plan ahead: choosing to equip your tanks with heavy lasers instead of rapid-fire
cannons will surely cause defeat against a horde of Orks.
Even in Space Marine, the third-person shooter, tactics are vital. As powerful as a Space Marine is, you cannot expect to survive against overwhelming odds without careful planning and clever use of terrain.
As action-oriented as Warhammer 40,000 games are, they are incredibly deep, which is why we keep coming back to them again and again.
4. Customization: Make Your Army Your Own
This is a good color scheme, but neon pink would be better!
One of the best parts of the Warhammer 40,000 table top game is the ability to customize your armies to the smallest detail. Many of Warhammer 40,000 PC games, particularly the Dawn of War series, give you the same opportunity.
In Dawn of War, you can choose your army's name, paint job, and badge from a wide variety of options. In Dawn of War II, focusing as it does on a smaller number of characters, you also have the opportunity to customize the wargear and armor on your important commander units. Space Marine, as well, allows you to customize your multiplayer hero: choose to be a member of one of the many storied Chapters from Games Workshop, or create your own.
3. Weapons: More Ways to Kill
Sign me up for a chainsword, please!
No matter which race you choose to play in Warhammer 40,000, you will always always have unique and devastating weapons to wield. The average Space Marine carries a bolt gun that fires self-propelled explosive rockets, while more specialized soldiers might carry chainswords, flamers, or hand-held laser cannons.
Necron Gauss weapons fire magnetic energy beams that pull matter apart at the sub-atomic level. Tyranids mutate their bodies to fire acid from long range. Nearly every race has a large variety of plasma cannons.
If even these weapons are too subtle, feel free to summon Khaine to smite your enemies with a flaming sword. In Warhammer 40,000 there are always many ways to kill – and more ways to die!
2. Characters: Larger Than Life
Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter. He wants your skull.
Warhammer 40,000 is an epic universe, and the PC games feature a large cast of suitably epic characters to fill out that universe. Even better, many characters appear in several games, which gives them a longevity and significance that characters in other games struggle to match.
Chapter Master Gabriel of the Blood Ravens has appeared in four Dawn of War games, and embodies the pride, loyalty, and xenophobia common to the Space Marines. Titus, on the other hand, the hero of Space Marine, brings a bit more humanity to faction.
No other character, however, can compete with the Ork Warlord Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, who features in all three original Dawn of War expansion. Incredibly arrogant, and with a penchant for collecting his enemies' skulls, Gorgutz is an entertaining villain who keeps coming back for more.
1. Brutality: Blood for the Blood God!
More action than you can shake a chainsword at.
The Warhammer 40,000 universe is brutal and violent, and the PC games are no different. Even in 2004, battles in the original Dawn of War were intense. Every unit has unique finishing moves: Space Marines execute enemies with a bolter to the head; Dreadnoughts incinerate soldiers with their flamer; Defilers repeatedly slam helpless units into the ground.
Dawn of War II features all of that and more: grenades and rockets are everywhere, and explosions send units flying. In Space Marine, you get to experience all of this devastation up close and personal. Send Orks flying with your bolt gun and cleave them in half with your massive chainsword. Nothing makes you feel quite like an avatar of destruction like a Warhammer 40,000 game.
