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Dark Omen is a tactical real-time wargame set in Games Workshop's popular
Warhammer fantasy world. You assume command of Bernhardt's Grudgebringers, a powerful and
prestigious mercenary army forced to defend itself against armies of the vengeful Undead. All the while, the
Greenskins - orcs, goblins, and worse - will be a thorn in your side. Dark Omen is exciting, visually superb,
and features an elegant interface. The end result is a game that will more than satisfy virtually any real-time
strategy fan - even as it alienates those turn-based strategy gamers who made Warhammer what it is today.
The 3D landscapes in Dark Omen look gorgeous (it's almost a shame to litter them with the corpses of your
enemies). Lush rolling hills, sheer cliffs and castle parapets, trees, waterfalls - everything looks colorful and
beautiful, and even more so if you have a good 3D accelerator at your disposal. And just as the scenery
appears real, so does it have realistic properties. Your infantry will have a difficult time scaling steep slopes
while your archers will fare better on high ground since they'll have a better view of the situation. Rough
terrain will slow your forces down, and obstacles like trees and boulders make for life-saving cover from
ranged attacks. The 2D soldiers are well animated and easily distinguishable from one another. Better still,
their corpses remain on the battlefield indefinitely, and things will look pretty grizzly toward the end of any
particular fight. Among the great aesthetic touches in Dark Omen are the 3D animated facial portraits
representing the different regiments. It's more than a little unsettling when a skeletal wight commander shrieks
"Charge!" as his undead forces rush forth to strike. Wounded regiments' commanders will appear bloodied
and scarred, and when a regiment is completely destroyed you'll see a close-up of the commander as he
screams and dies. All the portraits are unique, realistic, and expressive and add a great deal of character and
personality to Dark Omen. Unfortunately, though its graphics are so distinctive, Dark Omen's sound is less
than fantastic. All your different characters speak in exactly the same dull voice during combat, which goes a
long way to stifle the various characters' personalities. And while the music in the game is appropriately grave
and dramatic, it grows rather repetitive
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