The success of the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War games makes a compelling argument for translating the tabletop Warhammer Gold  game into a traditional base-building RTS. The question, then, is whether Warhammer's fantasy manifestation is equally well-served by modeling the gameplay after another strategy powerhouse, the Total War series. After playing Warhammer Gold: Mark of Chaos and seeing firsthand just how well it works in delivering the seminal Warhammer fantasy experience, no one will ever ask the question again. The tabletop game's driving elements have been smartly recreated in an interactive environment, but not to the detriment of the game as a whole. It's a great computer game translation for Warhammer Gold  fans and a pretty decent real-time strategy game to boot. Granted, the game has some issues, but as a starting point for the ongoing digitization of the world's most famous toy soldiers, it's a great start. 

The single-player aspect of the game bears a superficial resemblance to the Total War formula, though without as much depth. There are two separate campaigns: one in which you control the Empire and its High Elf allies (the Empire being a medieval European-style kingdom), and another that puts you in command of the Chaos army (demon-possessed Norsemen) and their Skaven friends, a race of dastardly rat-people. Each campaign tells the same story from opposite sides, though it's strongly recommended that you start with the Empire -- the Chaos campaign is considerably more difficult.

The single-player game plays itself out on an overland map where every point represents a single battle. Ultimately, the game could have done without the map, since it doesn't really factor in from a tactical standpoint. It's just an abstraction used to represent your army's movements throughout the Warhammer Gold  campaign. The game flows in a largely linear fashion, though you'll occasionally encounter forks in the road that lead to optional missions. Settlements are scattered throughout the map, and when you visit them, you get access to a variety of amenities. There are shops in which you can outfit your heroes, barracks and armories where you can purchase new regiments and upgrades, and temples where you can resurrect fallen heroes, replenish battle-worn units and purchase combat buffs. All of these services are available even after you've moved beyond the town's point on the map. Simply hit the "make camp" button and you're back in the interface.