''Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War'' is a

turn-based strategy A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a Strategy video game, strategy game (usually some type of wargaming, wargame, especially a wargaming#Unit or map scale, strategic-level wargame) where players take Time-keeping systems in games, turns when pla ...

game based on the Panzer General 2 engine by SSI. It is set in the fictional ''

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...

'' universe. It was produced by

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

in 1999, and concerns the invasion of a

Tyranid In the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000'', the Tyranids are a race and a playable army in the tabletop miniatures wargame. The Tyranids are described as a nomadic society of aliens which originated from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy and ...

Hive fleet and the Eldar and

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

efforts to defeat it. The game was re-released in 2015 on

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...

Gameplay

The game has three modes. In the "campaign mode" the player controls the Eldar forces and follows the efforts of the Craftworld Iyanden to conquer a Maiden World, a lost colony of the ancient Eldar race. During the campaign an additional and far more dangerous foe, the alien Tyranids, emerge and the Eldar and Imperial forces unite to defeat them. In "skirmish" mode the player can play as the Imperium, Eldar or Tyranids. The Imperial forces include the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

, the Red Hunter chapter of

Space Marines The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose hi ...

, and

Sisters of Battle ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...

. In

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode the player can battle other players online.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

. ''

PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games mag ...

''s William R. Trotter praised the game's art and interface, and called the game "an agreeable marriage of the ''Warhammer'' license and SSI's tried-and-true concepts." However, he greatly criticized its high difficulty, which he found "obnoxious". In ''

PC Gamer UK ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games mag ...

'', Jason Weston was more negative, writing that the game "plunges straight into this abyss" thanks to its dated engine and bad

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

. He concluded, "Time to buy an 8x4ft table and paint it green. Could offer much more tactical depth." Conversely, Jeff Lackey of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' called the game "thoroughly engrossing". William Abner of ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' wrote that the game "feels incomplete and unfinished", and found it to be derivative of '' Fantasy General'' and ''

Panzer General II ''Panzer General II'' is a computer wargame by Strategic Simulations, Inc. Released October 15, 1997, ''Panzer General II'' is the sixth SSI game in the ''Panzer General'' series and the first in the "Living Battlefield" series. It takes place d ...

'', but "as fun as neither." Despite these criticisms, he argued that "the game ''is'' fun to play—while it lasts." John Lee of '' NextGen'' wrote of the game, "If your PC has the muscle, you may enjoy this one for several days. Especially if you've got a good pair of sunglasses to mute the glare from those uniforms."

References

External links

Official site
(archived) * {{Games Workshop 1999 video games Computer wargames Strategic Simulations games Video games developed in the United States Video games set on fictional planets

Rites of War ''Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War'' is a turn-based strategy game based on the Panzer General 2 engine by SSI. It is set in the fictional ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe. It was produced by Games Workshop in 1999, and concerns the invasion of a Ty ...

Windows games Windows-only games DreamForge Intertainment games Multiplayer and single-player video games