Deep in the grim darkness of the far future there are, well, plenty of connection errors. A multiplayeronly third-person shooter set in Games Workshop’s unrepentantly Darwinist sci-fantasy universe, The Eternal Crusade will support more than 60 players per battle at launch. The preview build we’re presented with, however, struggles to accommodate a dozen. One encounter pits nine of the Imperium’s finest against just one Chaos Space Marine, who winds up trapped inside his base like a saucepan-wearing toddler surrounded by vultures.
In subsequent matches, we’re able to get a proper bout of 15-a-side going – cue some pleasing rampages at the wheel of an Eldar Falcon, but at the price of a horrible framerate. Don’t get us wrong, Warhammer skirmishes are supposed to be messy, but when you can’t wave a chainsword without stuttering yourself into a corner, something’s amiss. Behaviour assures us the performance will improve, pointing to the acceptably fluid PC version as evidence. We hope it’s as good as its word, because while The Eternal Crusade isn’t quite Planetside meets *cough* Gears Of War, it has the makings of something both grand and enticingly stupid.
Eternal Crusade is set on Arkhona, a miserable backwater planet that everybody in the galaxy wants a piece of, for reasons best left to the lore experts. Each of the four current playable factions (Ork, Eldar, Chaos and vanilla Space Marines) spans five or more classes, from aerial bullies, such as the Chaos Marine Raptor; through crater-making supports, such as the Eldar Reaper; to combat medics, such as the Apothecary.
Classes are chosen at respawn, and picking the right mix for the situation is key – among other tactical pressures, only certain classes are able to capture objectives. The combat itself lacks grace, but it’s energetic and colourful. Armour peels and blackens as you take damage, blades chew through limbs and jump-packs belch smoggy purple fire.
Holey War
There’s no traditional campaign, but you can wage war over outposts to claim territory for your faction on an overarching, persistent map. It should give this more longevity than the average multiplayer-only shooter, but it won’t count for much if every match is either drowned in judder or 9v1. Decent framerate and dependable servers, though, and this crusade could be one to Warhammer on about.
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