Total War: WARHAMMER II

A maximalist sequel that improves on almost every aspect of the first game.

This sequel improves on the original in terms of accessibility, maps, and improving the heroes through use, but it does falter a bit on the technical end, and keeps its story impenetrable. Fortunately, none of that matters when sending a flaming phoenix to break the enemy lines. During that moment, everything is forgiven, and real time strategy can once again reign supreme.

If you’re not in the mood for the campaign, preloaded quest battles are also available, complete with full rosters of ready-to-go units. These are a great way to get a taste for the feel of battle before setting off into the investment of campaign, and they let you play around with each race’s key units. Warhammer’s long legacy in gaming has found a perfect partner in Total War. If you’re a fan of strategy games, chaotic rat-men, or rampaging dinosaurs, this isn’t one to miss.