By all accounts the in-store promotion was appalling, consisting of GW staffers dressed as pirates but lacking the actual game, sprues for the models contained etc.
Like everyone who actually wanted information I was required to visit the GW website where they had prepared a ten minute video. I had heard that it was pretty crap but when I watched it, I thought Phil Kelly did a pretty good job explaining the game. The models look very nice and the playing mat etc look good.
So will I buy it? I don’t think so.
My reasoning is two-fold. The local price is NZD 220.00 which is not a small amount of cash. Now I’m sure I can access it cheaper offshore but even at $150-160 it is still a lot for what I perceive as a shelf-sitter i.e. you play it once or twice. This leads onto to the second reason – the game is close-ended. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. An advantage in that you know what you are up for from the beginning but a disadvantage in repeat playability.
Far better for me if they had designed it as a new specialist game with 2-3 expansions. Then I could have used it in campaigns such as the Runefang and Horned Rat events. The ability to run a Skaven fleet has enormous appeal to me and would have given the game far greater utility.
Is it an opportunity missed? Yeah at one level, I guess but I’m sure they’ve done their numbers and this is a more economic model. We’ll see how it sells…..my pick is slowly, locally at least.
I've never been interested in naval battle games, even naval history holds little to no interst, so I found it entirely uninteresting.
ReplyDeleteThat's just me though, and I'm sure lots of people who loved man'o'war will be getting all over this.
One thing I've found is that close-ended games are more unappealing to people like us, but work quite well at gatewaying people into the core games themselves.
Some of the models look great and I'd love make them up....WLC broadside anyone?
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with it and ordered it. Funnily enough after I asked several non-gamers and showed them pics they all thought it was value for money. I guess it all depends on your vantage. I brought Spacehulk and have played that more times then 40k in the last two years.
ReplyDeleteSo for me , I stress, for me it is worth it I will spend ages painting and may even be able to convince the wife to have a go!
I actually think they have too may open systems as it is and a couple more one-off's like this may actually rejuvenate them into a GAMES-workshop again.
I still play Man O War and still love it, but lost most of the models when I moved last. May have to take a look at this...
ReplyDeleteI hate Pirates...I am a Ninja man.
ReplyDelete