Warhammer 40K: Deathwatch is a cautionary tale of why we, as gamers, can't have nice things. Created by the now-good-as-defunct Rodeo games, Deathwatch initially appeared on iOS first and served as one of the greatest turn based strategies on that platform. Similar to a simpler, stripped-down XCOM, Deathwatch still showed a surprising amount of depth for an iOS game, coupled with attractive Unreal Engine 4 graphics. It's strength was firmly rooted in its staggering array of reliquary items, space marine variations drawing from various chapters and its surprisingly deep tactical game play.

Spacemarines and reliquary items come in four tiers, with Tier IV items being of the legendary variety. A truly impressive variety and attention to detail is lavished upon the space marines and all the weapons all have unique traits and identities. Space marines can gain levels and can spend XP to obtain chapter-specific traits and abilities. Each marine can also hold various reliquary items that may boost or augment his abilities.

Selecting the correct five-man squad that will complete over 40 missions is up to you. The tactics you employ and the speed at with which you also progress are also up you. Obviously, some load outs are more effective than others. A team of high level devastators with Tier-IV plasma cannons will obliterate most targets quickly. A balanced team with strong-melee powerfist front-liners will make short work of most groups.

The story isn't epic but it is satisfactory and once you can complete the campaign, you can reattempt it in two sequentially higher difficulty levels. Obviously the allure of the game is to obtain all the space marines and gear so that you can customize your squad to represent your notion of what a multi-chapter Deathwatch team should look like. With that goal, the game succeeds marvelously.

However, the game has painful flaws that will dissuade any but the most hardened and ardent WH40K fans. For starters, the game lacks any depth outside the combat zone and you don't have access to base-building. The enemies amount to horde waves of Tyranids. The game would have benefited tremendously from other enemy races, like Chaos, Orks, Eldar, Tau or Necrons. Even the offering of such content via DLC would have been welcome.

And yet, despite the game's overall good quality on iOS, it sold in middling numbers and Rodeo was unable to continue developing new enemies, maps, coop, multiplayer and other promised content. In short, the developer's funds dried up. The lack of monetary support also undermined its ability to develop the Steam version, leading to crushing bugs that affect visibility, lack of tool tips, bad achievement glitches and even crashes.

The added chapters on the Steam platform version are poor shadows of the original three and almost no new weapons or items were added. Consequently, the iOS version is a far better value. Finally, because the iOS version had IPA to purchase packs to accelerate the unlocking of rare marines and items, the grind was limited. The Steam version has no access to such a storefront and, consequently, only requisition can be used to purchase packs and items. That results in an impossible level of grind that diminishes the game's fun dramatically. Luckily I was able to grab my iOS save game which had 250 hours on it and port it into Steam so that I could slingshot my development without grinding all over again.

It's a shame that Rodeo wasn't able to complete its vision for its game. The game lacks a ton of content and features that would elevate it to an extremely competent and fun TBS experience. As it stands, the game is a great foray into strategy-based game play for avid WH40K fans. When juvenile and simplistic games like PokemonGo rack up 45 million downloads while complex, rich games like this one wither on the iOS vine, ... that, is why we, as gamers, can't have nice things. A worthy pickup for WH40K fans.

Recommended.

7.5/10.

Warhammer 40K: Deathwatch is a cautionary tale of why we, as gamers, can't have nice things. Created by the now-good-as-defunct Rodeo games, Deathwatch initially appeared on iOS first and served as one of the greatest turn based strategies on that platform. Similar to a simpler, stripped-down XCOM, Deathwatch still showed a surprising amount of depth for an iOS game, coupled with attractive Unreal Engine 4 graphics. It's strength was firmly rooted in its staggering array of reliquary items, space marine variations drawing from various chapters and its surprisingly deep tactical game play. Spacemarines and reliquary items come in four tiers, with Tier IV items being of the legendary variety. A truly impressive variety and attention to detail is lavished upon the space marines and all the weapons all have unique traits and identities. Space marines can gain levels and can spend XP to obtain chapter-specific traits and abilities. Each marine can also hold various reliquary items that may boost or augment his abilities. Selecting the correct five-man squad that will complete over 40 missions is up to you. The tactics you employ and the speed at with which you also progress are also up you. Obviously, some load outs are more effective than others. A team of high level devastators with Tier-IV plasma cannons will obliterate most targets quickly. A balanced team with strong-melee powerfist front-liners will make short work of most groups. The story isn't epic but it is satisfactory and once you can complete the campaign, you can reattempt it in two sequentially higher difficulty levels. Obviously the allure of the game is to obtain all the space marines and gear so that you can customize your squad to represent your notion of what a multi-chapter Deathwatch team should look like. With that goal, the game succeeds marvelously. However, the game has painful flaws that will dissuade any but the most hardened and ardent WH40K fans. For starters, the game lacks any depth outside the combat zone and you don't have access to base-building. The enemies amount to horde waves of Tyranids. The game would have benefited tremendously from other enemy races, like Chaos, Orks, Eldar, Tau or Necrons. Even the offering of such content via DLC would have been welcome. And yet, despite the game's overall good quality on iOS, it sold in middling numbers and Rodeo was unable to continue developing new enemies, maps, coop, multiplayer and other promised content. In short, the developer's funds dried up. The lack of monetary support also undermined its ability to develop the Steam version, leading to crushing bugs that affect visibility, lack of tool tips, bad achievement glitches and even crashes. The added chapters on the Steam platform version are poor shadows of the original three and almost no new weapons or items were added. Consequently, the iOS version is a far better value. Finally, because the iOS version had IPA to purchase packs to accelerate the unlocking of rare marines and items, the grind was limited. The Steam version has no access to such a storefront and, consequently, only requisition can be used to purchase packs and items. That results in an impossible level of grind that diminishes the game's fun dramatically. Luckily I was able to grab my iOS save game which had 250 hours on it and port it into Steam so that I could slingshot my development without grinding all over again. It's a shame that Rodeo wasn't able to complete its vision for its game. The game lacks a ton of content and features that would elevate it to an extremely competent and fun TBS experience. As it stands, the game is a great foray into strategy-based game play for avid WH40K fans. When juvenile and simplistic games like PokemonGo rack up 45 million downloads while complex, rich games like this one wither on the iOS vine, ... that, is why we, as gamers, can't have nice things. A worthy pickup for WH40K fans. Recommended. 7.5/10.