Total War: Warhammer 40,000 looks to be a new standard of sci-fi grand strategy game. Unlike the fantasy Total War: Warhammer games, we won't be getting a trilogy here. Just the one game, which will expand to fill a galaxy with conflict. To make that seem even more realistic, we'll not only be able to destroy enemy units, but take out entire swathes of land if we wish.
This was revealed in the new Total War: Show & Tell stream yesterday (thanks, PC Gamer), in which Creative Assembly showed that you can get rid of environmental details if you don't like them. Forests, buildings, enemy cover, it can all be gone via bombardment and other forms of heavy ordnance if you want to make the most of the grimdark far future's enhanced weaponry.
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Battle product owner Dave Petry said that we don't have to worry about the entire map becoming a blank slate. "Being completely clear, not absolutely everything is destructible. We've kept it to areas where it really works and it makes sense and it feels like it can add to that depth." As the camera pans over a hive-city warzone with plenty of steep angles and gothic architecture, he says, "We are dealing with a universe which is full of really powerful but flat-firing weapons, so cover becomes incredibly, incredibly important."
Total War: Warhammer 40,000 doesn't yet have a release date, but could get one soon. We've got the Warhammer Skulls event likely to make its return in May, and Summer Game Fest coming our way too.