Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000

Amazing classic, if you have the same problem I had where the game crashes after the loading cutscene go to the video folder in the games files and delete FLINTRO, HDILOGO2, and SSI_LOG from the folder. then when you boot up the game it should start at the main menu. Hope that helps

To start, I have played this game since it first released. Second I am a Warhammer 40K fan. I would easily knock one star off if you are not a Warhammer 40K fan. I say this because the learning curve for this game is huge and most units are useless. What is impressive is the sound design. You will learn to associate each sound with certain units and come to rely on BOTH visual and auditory queues to understand what is going on around you. I will lay out the criticisms I have with this game first before continuing. First, the game can be unstable on some peoples systems though I have not experienced that with my setup. Second, the game DOES scale its army to your army size which can lead to you the player purposely building a small but efficient army that pummels the computer. Another to note, the AI does not seem to be too interested in making use of artillery. Having said that, I think that if you are a Warhammer 40K fan that this game is worth 4 stars. You can build the army to you want in skirmish mode or go for the campaign that sees hilarious but accurate depictions of the Warhammer 40K universe conveyed by FMV sequences. Now what makes this game good, if has great music and sound design. You can build the army you want. It has great replay value and a good single player campaign. The game is very accurate to its source material and it is to be commended for this. Despite the AI falling into some predictable routines I strongly recommend this game to any fan of turn-based strategy games. The most difficult setting is absolutely grueling and if that is too much and you think Normal mode is too easy then I suggest you create your own rules like: no artillery or no Titans. This game surprisingly shines the most when the random number generator is in full swing. This creates tension and stresses that the player learn the importance of troop deployment and movement.

Final Liberation tells the story of a planet which falls to the Orks (one of the many races in the 40k universe). Only one area remains lightly defended, and after an assault by Imperial Space Marines, this area forms a beachhead for the Imperial Guard, who are then tasked of reclaiming the planet. During every campaign turn you move your armies across the map and attack the Orks. You can expand your armies with new units and even add extra army groups so you can more effectively fight the Orks. When attacking an area, you move to the battlefield and fight a turn-based battle. You quickly learn to keep a good eye on morale: units might run away if they come under fire, and if they run of the battlefield, they're gone. It also means you don't always have to completely destroy the enemy. Taking objectives and destroying big units like Titans have a huge impact on morale! Winning battles gives you points, and with enough points, expand armies and buy units. You can also earn new armies by conquering certain areas of the map, with the description of these areas giving you hints on what might be there. The first time you get a Warlord Titan, accompanied by a lovely cut-scene, is a great experience. Speaking of cut-scenes, these are something special. Not only because of the now famous commissar Holt, who supports you in your role of commander, but they bring the Warhammer 40k universe to life via a mix of CGI and real-life actors. The game is easy to learn, and not that hard to master. When you figure out which units work well with each other, you can almost win every battle against the AI. The manual adds extra value: it not only teaches you how to play the game, but gives extra information on Volistad and the many units available to you.

Pretty retro these days, but a glorious strategy game and a great look into 90's Warhammer 40k. Though it's named Epic 40,000 to time in with the 3rd edition release back in the late 90's, it has a lot more in common with the older editions, with alot of lost classic Orc and Imperial units represented from the late 80's and early 90's. The campaign is a good challenge, and I really enjoy the map based system, with some hard decisions on where you attack and where you supply. Simple decisions, but hard, because the game does not hold your hand - the Orcs are unrelenting and some of the later battles are very difficult. I like the way it feels like a table top game when you're playing it, you can almost hear the dice rolling. The units are pretty well balanced for the most part. Where the game tends to break is in skirmish at higher point levels, where the Orc AI will spam about a 100 tanks, and there isn't much you can do as all that firepower comes in. Keep it around the 3-4k mark though, and the armies are well balanced and you can find some challenge. Special mention to the cutscenes. So retro. So old school Warhammer. And so heavy metal. I love it. This was the setting I grew up with ha! Before the setting took itself very seriously. There hasn't really been a 40k strategy game since that allows you to field hundreds of tanks and infantry like this. If you can get past the retro presentation, or if that is exactly what you're after like me, then you'll find a gem of a 40K game here.

And to this day, it remains the only game in which they do. Final Liberation has quite a few issues(balance favours titans, as vehicles are too weak, there is some "army scaling" involved), but there is really no game like it that would capture the feel of Space Marines(ie, Epic 2nd edition) fights. The game system is a weird hybrid between epic and Steel Panthers, but it works. The cutscenes are pretty atmospheric, being FMV. Slitherine has not been able to reach the quality of this game when it comes to single player campaign. It is also one of the only games in which you can play Imperial Guard with some supporting Space Marines. Highly recommended if you are into 40K!