Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War

Starting with the bad: Too many DLCs (not precisely cheap), lack of a complete edition like Steam has and also lack of achievements (again, Steam has achievements, but GOG doesn't). That being said, Gladius is an awesome game. The overall experience feels really smooth, with units reacting quickly to orders and turns going by pretty fast. Thanks to this responsive interaction, combats are frantic and intense, revolving around land and resource control. First, you'll fight for survival against hordes of xenos, then try to cut your opponent's advance and finally decimate their base. Every faction shines with detail, interesting lore and different specialization paths which you'll prioritize through the research system. Many different combinations are possible and every match feels new and different, making replayability the game's strongest point. Honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be this good! Worth every cent, in my opinion.

The game is very much like Civilization in the way it is played. The main points are: 1. Total war, you are in constant warfare, no diplomacy, you either love it or hate it, I like it, since it keeps you on edge, and you can be overrun from all sides, playing as the Space Marines and having more then 1 Ork faction against you, can be some of the most fun I have had in ages, keeping them off while listening to Chaos Gate music. 2. The music, it is gud, it fits the Warhammer feel, though I personally would love some more choir. More gothic-styled. 3. Combat, the meat of the game, good, but it needs some small touches, the biggest thing that triggered me, was the Ark from the Necrons, it didn't come with any good explanation for how it works, and you sit there with something that shoots, but nothing happens. It seems that lack for information is the main issue when it comes to the combat. Except for that, it does nothing really good, neither bad, the massive issue is balancing the races, from what I have seen, it seems that the Imperial Army can be way overpowerd, mainly because they can build wherever they please, and can pump out units fast. 4. Voices, this is one of my major gripes with the game, I loved the qoutes from the soldiers in DOW2, so I hope they will implement the metallic voices for the Space Marines and ork voice for the orks etc. A text line over the head of the soldiers whenever they attack don't bring out the "Aaaargh! Die Xeno scum" feel. The cinematics have them, so I am hoping they can work on that. TL:DR I like it, it needs some love from the devs though, if you are a Warhammer fan, you will probably like this, though for others it can be a way overpriced game for what it gives. For those, I'd rather tell them to get Civ. Hope: I hope that Imperial Army would be limited to build around those imperial city ruins that are around the map, like with the Necrons and the tombs. Space Marines in this game = Venice in Civ 5.

This game has a much higher focus on combat than most 4x games, and as such the combat is more in depth than other aspects, and there's no diplomacy system to get in the way of fighting anyone and everyone. This lack of diplomacy makes it play out fundamentally differently to Civ, in spite of having many similar systems. Also, the asymmetric races further make it feel more like a bigger, turn-based Starcraft/Warcraft than a true sibling of Civ. While not a truly innovative game, it is well-executed, and with a race expansion and some smaller "fund the mid-sized developer" dlc out already, post-release content is looking decent.

Gladius Relics of War presents itself as being Civilization meets Warhammer 40K. There are cities, you can build structures, enact edicts, and manage your cities focus and development between research, production, growth, energy and influence; this however is where the comparison stops. Gladius Relics of War is more akin to a turn based tactics game, it strongly reminds me of Advanced Wars on the Nintendo Gameboy and thats actually a good thing in my opinion. The combat is fun, you're constantly producing units and moving armies strategically, thinking carefully where to place each unit for the enemy could be just around the corner, lieing in wait through the thick fog of war. If you're looking for a turn based tactics game focused heavily on combat, you will find it here in spades and this is where Gladius excels. The game is not without faults, no game ever is. Unit animations range from being excellent, to being kind of weak, there is a lot of inconsistency in this area. Music is fine, but not particularly exciting. Audio as a whole is great when it comes to gunfire and explosions but units lack any sort of voice over which in my opinion can be viewed as either a positive or a negative. All in all, if you like Warhammer 40K and turn based tactics gameplay then you should have fun here, especially in a multiplayer setting with a couple of friends.

It's fun enough as a limited 4x. It doesn't really have a campaign, so after the first play through you are done with the story and then after that it's just more of the same. On a deep discount it's definitely worth a play through.