PRODUCT REVIEW: Apocalypse Reload
Hi guys,
This is the first of what will hopefully become a regular review column. I have recently finished reading my copy of Apocalypse Reload and wanted to go over it in detail with you guys who may be debating whether its worth your time.
Basics
88 Pages
Full color
Oversided format (same as the Apocalypse hardcover)
Softback
Price: $25 USD
Content Breakdown
Apocalypse Datasheets: 50+
Strategic Assets: 40+
New Mission Concepts
Super-duper Battle Report
Content Review
First up, this book is an expansion for Apocalypse, so right off you will need the previous Hardcover to make use of it. As with Apocalypse, the book mainly covers large-scale units like super heavies and big formations composed of dozens and dozens of models. It is strongly aimed at large scale narrative gameplay.
Datasheets
After a brief introduction and overview of most of the 40k armies, the book dives right into the individual armies datasheets. The armies covered are:
Imperial Guard
Space Marines
Orks
Eldar
Tyranids
Tau Empire
Necrons
Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Daemons
As you wade into each of these armies, you will find a decent set of expansion datasheets. In general many of these are surprising not for their creativity, but for the fact that they are in this expansion instead of the original Apocalypse hardcover. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight it would appear that the original Apocallypse book had a certain amount of “bling factor” to it which left some bread and butter formations waiting for this book.
Things like the Imperial Guard Shield Infantry Company, Ork Green Tide, and the Space Marine Skyhammer Orbital Strike force are just so emblematic of their armies, its hard to believe we didn’t have them earlier. Now its not just basics. There are a lot of flashy units here too. Things such as the Eldar Phoenix court of Khaine (an Avatar and all six Phoenix Lords), The Khornate Tower of Skulls (a daemonic super heavy that can self-repair), and the like are delights to behold and add a lot of character to their armies.
The next thing I’m really impressed with with these datasheets is the reams of new fluff that got added to them. Things like discovering there are only 64 Towers of Skulls that roam the ash wastes defending Khorne’s Kingdom for eternity are really cool. Its nice to see Tyranid formations that start to carve out differences in the combat philosophy between the different hive fleets (Kraken and Behemoth are used in this book). On top of that, there are some solid apocalypse design holes that got filled in this book. So now the Orks and Tau have AAA platforms, and the Eldar can send Swooping Hawks into assault with enemy fliers (how cool is that).
Strategic Assets
After the 50+ datasheets, we move onto the Strategic Assets. These are real treasure, and possibly the most innovative part of the entire book. What we have here are sets of army-specific assets, which are a real treat. Any veteran of Apocalypse can tell you that while the games were entertaining, the missions and asset system was a little “flat”. With every army having access to the same assets, there was a “sameness” that often descended on games. Well no more. Not only are the new assets army specific, but they are squarely aimed at strong narrative mission construction. So for example if you want to play a game against Tyranids during the final stages of a world’s consuption, great you can now. If you want to face the horror of a Necron tomb world being awakened, no problem. Want to have a game where the IG heroicly hold the line in the face of annihilation, well now they can do it with style.
Mission rules/Mega-game
Next up a short section on ideas for putting some constraints on the default Apocalypse missions to create some very directed narrative games. Its is sure to get your creative juices flowing.
Finally we hit the obligatory crazy battle report chock full of pretty pics. Lets just say, its crazy, takes place both on a world’s surface and onboard an orbiting Killkroozer, and pits the Imperium against an gigantic horde of greenskins. Pretty pics abound and its definately insipring.
Downsides
While everything is great so far, there are some defiencies. Once again, we see not a single datasheet for Witchhunters (the Sororitas do get their own Strategic asset). The Dark Eldar are also ignored. While there is a Grey Knight datasheet on the GW website, they have yet to make an appearance in either of the published Apocalypse books. Its a real shame and yet another blow to the faithful WH/DH players out there. Not so much a downside as a reality of the Apocalypse system, is the obvious focus on non-balanced narrative gaming. Its not a product for hardcore tournament players. Finally, as a very minor quibble, the oversized format is mated with the newer glossy thin paper seen in recent GW products, leading to a book prone to warping and getting folded over. You will need to take a little more care of this one compared to the standard codex sized books.
Summary
On balance, it is a great bargain for the price. If you enjoy Apocalypse games, or just giant mega-battles, narrative gaming, campaign play, and enjoy seeing the 40k universe “open up” with loads of new fluff and large-scale items you can’t miss out on this product. If you live only for hardcore tourney play, and live off the adrenaline rush of crushing your opposition in regimented one-on one competitions, it might not be your cup of tea.
4 Stars (out of 5)
