{"id":5696,"date":"2016-07-28T14:24:18","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T21:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/?p=5696"},"modified":"2023-11-30T17:22:21","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T01:22:21","slug":"total-war-warhammer-call-of-the-beastmen-dlc-review-channel-your-inner-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/total-war-warhammer-call-of-the-beastmen-dlc-review-channel-your-inner-beast\/","title":{"rendered":"Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen DLC Review \u2013 Channel Your Inner Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen<\/p>\n<p>SEGA\/The Creative Assembly<\/p>\n<p><em>Total War: Warhammer<\/em> breathed new life into the rather increasing stagnant Total War line of games. Instead of being based on historical events and time periods, it eschewed the rigidity of historical conventions and offered a fictional backdrop in the form of the Old Word within the Warhammer universe.<\/p>\n<p>The gaming review press hailed it as refreshing and also praised it&#8217;s brilliant combination of presenting the Warhammer lore in a digital realm, as well as offering gamers a reason to get back into Total War games, if they had grown tired of them as of late. It was not without its fair share of detractors, however, as many questioned SEGA and The Creative Assembly\u2019s business model. There has indeed been a recent backlash by many gamers who feel that not only was it questionable to charge money for the Chaos Warrior faction DLC (unless you had purchased the game within up to a week after launch), but also felt that many of the systems that made Total War, well\u2014Total War\u2014were missing or \u201cstreamlined,\u201d which was code for dumbed down.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-5698\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/11.jpg\" alt=\"11\" width=\"740\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/11.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/11-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To their credit, The Creative Assembly has released a steady stream of bug fixes and additional free content in order to assuage the gaming masses. Out of the blue, they announced (just a couple of weeks ago) that their first proper DLC would be releasing soon and sure enough, it has arrived on schedule. But to what effect? I\u2019ll leave it up to each person reading this to see how it is being received. In this article, however, I\u2019ll cover the DLC itself, titled <em>Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen<\/em>, instead of all of the peripheral drama surrounding it.<\/p>\n<p><em>Call of the Beastmen<\/em> unleashes the full fury of the Beastmen faction into the <em>Total War: Warhammer<\/em> mix, bringing the total selection of playable races up to six. This comes as no surprise, since the tabletop version of miniature Beastmen have come a long way since their inception. Originally upstart beasts and monsters which were merely an ancillary contingent to the more mainstream Chaos Warriors faction, in more recent times the Beastmen have seen an up swell in popularity. This prompted Game\u2019s Workshop to allot the furry fornicators more and more shelf space in their stores, along with more coverage in their Warhammer literature, guidebooks, and miniatures.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-5716\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/31-915x514.jpg\" alt=\"3\" width=\"708\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/31-915x514.jpg 915w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/31-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/31.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When I\u2019d first heard about the Beastmen DLC I conjectured that they\u2019d be placed somewhere within the forests near the Empire, and low and behold, that\u2019s just where they popped up on the campaign map. Well, perhaps plopped down is more accurate given the faction\u2019s more covert appeal. You see, the Beastmen are much stealthier than any other Warhammer races, that is until the Wood Elves are rumored to arrive (hurry up!). They are experts in subterfuge and remaining hidden until they strike, in fact their default movement setting is even set to Ambush.<\/p>\n<p>Many have remarked that the Beastmen are more or less a combination of the Greenskins and Chaos Warriors factions, but this is not entirely correct. Whereas they do share some similarities with these other two, they have\u00a0unique enough traits\u00a0to make them separate, at least in my opinion. For instance, although the Beastmen armies have what\u2019s called a Beastial Rage meter, which resembles the Waaagh! gauge of the Greenskins, the former do not fall into internal fisticuffs if there isn\u2019t enough action going on. Also, just as the Greenskins can freely move about through underground caverns, Beastmen armies are able to scamper (and gallop) through the Old World\u2019s forests with relative ease. This opens up new options for hit-and-run tactics, since thick forests, like the mountains, cover a considerable amount of the main overland map.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-5718\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/4-915x588.png\" alt=\"4\" width=\"721\" height=\"463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/4-915x588.png 915w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/4-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/4.png 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, although the Beastmen are a race of nomads, a roaming faction without set structures just as the Chaos Warriors are, the way that their stances are implemented make them much more suited to an aggressive play style. They do, however, spread Chaos wherever they happen to show up, inciting riots and other unfortunate events.<\/p>\n<p>The Beastmen can be played in a mini-campaign called <em>An<\/em> <em>Eye for and Eye<\/em>, where it pits them up against their Empire rivals, or they may be utilized within the Grand Campaign itself. When fielded against other factions, the Beastmen have access to an ability called Vanguard Deployment, which means that you can carefully secrete certain units within the forested areas of a battlefield. I found this tactic especially useful against armies with strong frontline troops such as those employed by the Dwarves and the later-stage Greenskins.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, I\u2019d send in mobs of Gors to tie them up as a distraction, and subsequently ambush their rearmost, most vulnerable forces, such as artillery and archer groupings, with whatever units I had concealed in the forests. More often than not, I\u2019d take them out. The Beastmen really stack up against the other races quite well if utilized to play to their strengths (guerrilla-style tactics) and avoid their weaknesses (hitting stronger foes head-on).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-5719\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-915x514.jpg\" alt=\"5\" width=\"766\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-915x514.jpg 915w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Graphically, the Beastmen faction certainly looks the part, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever get tired of watching a phalanx of husky Minotaurs or a mighty Centigor smashing through enemy lines. The animations look amazing, as do the unit models themselves. The sound department also nailed it, and while listening to the savage growls and howls of your various beastly brutes, you get a real sense that these are indeed some very violent and unbridled creatures.<\/p>\n<p><em>Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen<\/em> is a fully-fledged DLC that offers a sixth faction to the already very diverse cast, and is a great addition to the most impressive Total War game to date. They have some similarities to certain faction mechanics already at play, but are different enough to not be a combination of other race\u2019s re-skins. For those who are already enjoying their <em>Total War: Warhammer<\/em> experience, purchasing this DLC is a no-brainer, although gamers on tighter budgets may elect to wait until it goes on sale instead of paying the $18.99 that it retails for.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-5702\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-915x514.png\" alt=\"5\" width=\"748\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-915x514.png 915w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/5.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>SCORE: 78%<\/p>\n<p><em>Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen <\/em>has some outstanding graphics that suit the theme of the Warhammer universe. However, they may require you to have a pretty beefy gaming PC in order to play it. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming PC:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5705\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5705\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/system\/Back_To_School_Special_I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5705 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cpgaming.gg\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BACK-TO-SCHOOL-SPECIAL-I.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BACK-TO-SCHOOL-SPECIAL-I.png 400w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BACK-TO-SCHOOL-SPECIAL-I-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BACK-TO-SCHOOL-SPECIAL-I-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BACK-TO-SCHOOL-SPECIAL-I-58x58.png 58w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5705\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/system\/Back_To_School_Special_I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL I<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CyberpowerPC\u2019s website<\/a> to check out all of the other great deals as well!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen SEGA\/The Creative Assembly Total War: Warhammer breathed new life into the rather increasing stagnant Total War line of games. Instead of being based on historical events and time periods, it eschewed the rigidity of historical conventions and offered a fictional backdrop in the form of the&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/total-war-warhammer-call-of-the-beastmen-dlc-review-channel-your-inner-beast\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Total War: Warhammer \u2013 Call of the Beastmen DLC Review \u2013 Channel Your Inner Beast<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":5722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2732],"tags":[2520,741,2537,2488,2527,67,2486,2530,2586,2588,2587],"class_list":["post-5696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games","tag-4k-gaming","tag-cyberpower-pc","tag-fantasy-games","tag-game-review","tag-game-reviews-2","tag-gaming-pc","tag-ian-kane","tag-rts-games","tag-strategy-games","tag-the-creative-assembly","tag-total-war-warhammer-call-of-the-beastmen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5696"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5721,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions\/5721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}