The Game that is More than a Game (Warhammer 40 000)

Member Name: monkeyman03

Product:	Warhammer 40 000
Date:	20/02/03 (1051 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun, Higly rewarding, So much to choose from

Disadvantages: A little too expensive

Warhammer 40 000 is more than a game, its a full hobby. Go into a Games Workshop store and you will nodoubt notice at least one wall of 40K gear. This can range from anything from Space Marine scouts with sniper rifles to the M-A-S-S-I-V-E Necron Pylon, a huge mounted laser 25 times bigger that a standard minature.
You will probably also notice one or more large tables in the centre of the room, at least one with lots of minature scenery on it. This is for the main aspect of 40 000 and all the other GW games - battles. From a light skirmish with two ten men squads to huge battles protecting a fortress with over 20 tanks (check out my army - 35 tanks and still rising). And then there is the whole other side to the hobby - painting. There is nothing like sitting back and smugly admiring the Commander Dante model you have spent the last 7 hours perfecting.
Some say that the 40K game is a very limited hobby. But, I have the full and newly updated army list right here. (If there is a $ next to the army it means it is split into smaller armies, chapters or craftworlds.)

Space Marines $
Eldar $
Dark Eldar
Tyranids
Imperial Guard $
Chaos Space Marines $
Chaos Daemons (Yes, they can be used as a seperate army)
Necrons
Space Orcs
Sisters of Battle (I dont know many people who still use SOB, it is quite an old army)
Tau
and the brand spanking new...
Ordo Malleus (or Daemonhunters)

Space Marines are the elite warriors of the Imperium of Man. They are genetically engineered super soldiers, standing 7ft on average. They also have some of the best weapons of the Imperium. They are split up into smaller Chapters. There are over 40 Chapters, each with their own leaders, battle styles and colour schemes. Ultramarines, Dark Angels, Blood Angels and Black Templars are just a few.

Eldar are aliens who have no planetary home. They live on huge spacecraft, often as big as moons called Craftworlds. There a
re about 5 Craftworlds, each with their own history and colours. They resemble humans in lots of ways, but are more graceful and fair.

Dark Eldar are basically Eldar who have turned evil. Most are pirates, massing in armies to swarm over planets and take as much as they can. Their technology and basic look follow a close parallel with their Eldar brethen, but they use colours of the night such as purples and blacks.

If you have ever seen the Alien triology, then you already know what Tyranids are. They are parasites, swarming over worlds destroying anything in sight and taking all resources before moving on. Unfortunately, hardly any Tyranids have any firing capabilities at all. They make up for this by having teeth and claws that could turn someone to salami in seconds in close combat. They also look suspiciously like the aliens in the movies too...

The other side of the Imperium is the Imperial Guard. While being normal humans unlike the Space Marines, the numbers of Imperial armies are unbelievably vast ant literally too many to count. They field the most kinds of tanks, artillery and vehicles of all the armies in 40K. There are more ore less 4 main types of the Guard - the standard blue military dress, the Catachan jungle warriors (think Vietnam clothing) the desert fighters (thing Middle East clothing) and Valhallan ice warriors (umm...think Eskimo?)

For every good there is an evil. In this case, it is the four Chaos gods:Khorne the Blood God, Nurgle the Lord of Decay, Slaanesh the Prince of Pleasure, and Tzeentch the Changer of the Ways. While the gods are not proven to be real numerous Daemons have arisen from the Warp following these gods, therefore looking like their gods 'gifts' (Bloodthirsty madmen for Khorne, rotting slime encrusted corpses for Nurgle, etc.).
On top of this nine Space Marine chapters, amongst the nine most powerful at that, gave in to the ways of Chaos and now have mutated armor, disgraces
vehicles and have a sole purpose to bring down the Imperium of Man.

Necrons are the oldest race of anything in the year 40000. They have been lying under countless plaets for millions of years, and have now arisen to take back the galaxy by force.
Their weaponry is frighteningly effective, using lasers to make the victims internal organs burst out of their body. As for looks, think of a Terminator from the movies with no skin and you are almost there.

The Orcs live to fight. They only wage war for the sheer thrill and rush of adrenaline.They are a relatively crude species, using words like 'shoota', 'launcha' and 'speed freeks'. They also use slaves to full use, and use weapons like machineguns and missile launchers to attack opponents.

Sisters of Battle are basically the female equivalents to Space Marines. GW have stopped designing SOB models I think. The only goon reason I would give for them is that they have some interesting tank choices.

Tau are the most technologically advanced of all the sides in 40000. Because of this, you get about 2 gune drones with every tau purchase. They are also the youngest of all the forces, being just a few thousand years.

Finally, the Daemonhunters are Space Marines solely dedicated to wiping out the taint of Chaos from the galaxy. They are made up of priests, knights and warriors all following the Emporor of Man like a god. Their one objective is to wipe out all Daemonkind and destroy the Traitor Legions (Chaos Marines) and bring harmony to the Imperium.


Phew....if youre still there ,then get away from your computer, run to your nearest GW store and get involved NOW!!!!

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