Warhammer: Battle March for Xbox 360, is a spin-off from 2006's Mark of Chaos, letting players control Games Workshop-related armies (Hordes of Chaos Invaders, Greenskin clans and Empire troopers) across a war-torn world. Unfortunately, you'll spend most of the time fighting the controls.
Porting PC-related controls to a game controller is always tricky, but Namco Bandai should've done better than this, as the controls feel slapped together. You give command and movement orders to direct your army along the map, while issuing battle commands against invading armies. Sadly, Battle March requires you to press multiple buttons in combination to execute most of these maneuvers, to the point that your thumbs quickly grow sore. Making matters worse, the battles move at such a rapid pace that some commands don't read correctly, resulting in the loss of a few good soldiers.
Even if Battle March had working controls, the game is too straightforward. You don't have any room to explore this world, as you're forced to follow a path to your next battle while occasionally stopping to stock up on supplies and soldiers. Your objectives are incredibly easy to follow (it doesn't get any simpler than "set up that artillery") and you can easily overcome an army with a few hundred extra soldiers. It's a cut-and-dry real time strategy experience with very little complexity. You have the option of online battles through Xbox Live, which run at an acceptable pace, but that means both sides have to accept the game's shortcomings and that's a lot to ask.
Not everything is a waste. While the game's graphics aren't nearly as impressive as its PC counterpart, it still looks all right on the 360. Characters are easy to view and the battlefields are varied and detailed, bringing this war-torn world to life. The music, composed by Jeremy Soule (who also did the soundtrack for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), is outstanding, ready to draw you in to the action. Unfortunately, you'll have to listen to it while enduring tiresome grunts and other sound effects.
In almost every area, Warhammer: Battle March comes up short. Namco Bandai's intentions were good, attempting to bring a console RTS that Warhammer fans could appreciate. Unfortunately, the straightforward mission set-up, lacking AI and complicated controls will leave you pining for some Command & Conquer instead.
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