Re: Free Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War!

On Thu, 22 May 2025 17:31:16 -0000 (UTC), ant@zimage.comANT (Ant)
wrote:

https://www.gog.com/en/game/warhammer_40000_rites_of_war until 05/29/2025 18:59 EEST.

It'll surprise no one here to learn that I already own that game and
can't grab it as a freebie, I'm sure. Oh, to be patient enough not to
rush to buyevery old game and instead just wait for them to dribble
their way into my library for free!


I don't have any strong memories of this one. I was much more familiar
with "Chaos Gate", another turn-based WH40K game, also produced by
SSI. While it --and the earlier "Final Liberation"-- weren't my
introduction to Warhammer 40,000 (I already knew of the franchise from
tabletop-gaming, and also from video games like "Space Hulk"), they
were really the first time I deeply immersed myself in the universe.
They were fun... if a bit dry in gameplay.

But by the time "Rites of War" came out (1999), I was tiring of that
universe and the slow-pace and unassuming production values of SSI's
games. "Rites" was competing against games like "Alpha Centauri",
"Heroes of Might & Magic 3", "Dungeon Keeper", Starcraft", and
"Myth"... and it did not compare favorably to any of them. It felt
like a game from a previous era of gaming; a throwback to the strategy
games of the late 80s, except with slightly improved visuals. IT felt
old, and in an era when the industry was reinventing itself every six
months, it struggled to hold my attention.

Nowadays, I can be a bit more forgiving; it feels old, but not that
much worse than any other games from that time. If you want a
turn-based tactical combat game based on the WH40K universe and don't
mind the lack of QOL and aged visuals, "Rites of War" is as good as
any other from that time. It's fine.

I still prefer the "Dawn of War" games, though.