Warhammer 40K: Fire Warrior

by THQ

Product Features

• First-person shooter action set in a foreboding futuristic universe
• Unique storyline chronicling a single day in the life of the main character
• Command an arsenal of 15 unique and deadly weapons that blow the enemy to pieces
• Online gaming option
• For 1-16 players

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009N118
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches ; 5.6 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: November 17, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,452 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

In the 41st Millennium There Is Only WarProduct InformationYou are Kias a Fire Warrior. As you await orders for battle you dream aboutglory. If you survive the next 24 hours you may stand proud on the sacred circleand feel the pain of the bonding blade slice through the flesh of your chest.The 41st millennium is a dark and terrible time.  The Imperium of Man has endured a hundred centuries of strife and bloodshed since the undying God-Emperor was sealed into the golden throne on ancient terra and spoke no more. Over centuries the ancient monolithic institutions which extend his rule across a million worlds have swollen to the size of nations. Each claims to speak with the voice of the Emperor be it the Adepts of Terra the Ministorum the Space Marines the tech-priests of the Mechanicus the Inquisition or another of the million lesser agencies of Imperial rule. To live in the Imperium is to be part of the harshest regime imaginable for if there is one thing in great supply it is human blood and sweat. Every citizen keeps a zealous watch for the taint of heresy or deviance in his neighbours. Purity and reverence for the God-Emperor is not only expected it is demanded. Mankind itself is locked in a war of racial survival where armies of millions can be raised and destroyed in a single day. The galaxy is a hostile place teeming with voracious aliens like the brutal barbaric Orks and the enigmatic Eldar. No technology no stratagem can keep such foes at bay flesh and blood duty and sacrifice alone can keep the Imperium alive. Endless wars crusades and purges ripple across the stars as mankind fights for its very existence.To breach the impossible distances between worlds Human ships must brave the terrors of warpspace; an alternate nightmare dimension a sea of souls seething with psychic energy. Warpspace is vital to interstellar travel and communication but it is not only riven by warpstorms but the haunt of terrifying entities which hunger for the existenc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars WH40K has never been so bad, December 28, 2003

By 

"jbond1" (Fairfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warhammer 40K: Fire Warrior (CD-ROM)

Having witnessed the evolution of first person shooters and the WH40k universe of games first hand, I have trouble believing how unbelievably bad this game is. Apparently, Games Workshop will lend their WH40K license to anyone.

Visual experience: While the graphics engine is up to the task, the textures and level design are completely uninspired, making this game a visually bland experience. Although, I did enjoy the cut scenes which were well done, with the exception of poor voice talent. With this small exception, this game lacks any style whatsoever.

Weapons: Despite the game being set in the 41 Millennium, the weapons are about as deadly as a roman candle. The Pulse Rifle for example is well over a meter long and looks to weigh 100 kilos, yet it takes several shots to take out an unarmored imperial guardsman, even at point blank range.

Level Design: This game reverts to the stone age of the genera. These guys have apparent missed 15+ years of evolution. I had the feeling of being a trail horse, leisurely making my way about the countryside, not being able to choose my path or stray from the path that I was on. I found that you really don't have to pay attention to your mission or any of the plot development. Just continue to move forward, killing bad guys... If you run into a locked door, find a switch.

Gameplay: Take away the fancy graphics, and you're a playing a Doom II clone, without the cool weapons, spooky atmosphere or feeling of eminent danger. Strafe is the name of the game here boys and girls. Constantly run from side to side, back and forth behind cover and unload on your enemies and you'll be fine. Repeat until game complete. I found this game incredibly easy. I never felt I was in any danger of not completing my mission, even though I rarely knew or cared what it was. The whole game felt like a chore. I kept playing to find out if there was something I was missing. This game was clearly designed for the console platforms. The fact that you cannot use the mouse in the main menu was the first clue to the quality of this game. Then I found out that there are NO SAVE GAMES. Your progress is updated every time you reach a checkpoint. I thought this was banished from PC gaming years ago.

Even if you enjoy mindless action, I can think of a dozen titles that do it better than this game. If you only play it because it is WH40K, this is the ONLY WH40K game that I would suggest skipping all together. If you want to play WH40K FPS style, try Space Hulk, you may actually have fun. If you are an adolescent, not concerned with concepts like realism or suspense, missed doom II the first time around, and have nothing else to de except watch paint dry, this is the game for you!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A big disappointment, December 3, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Warhammer 40K: Fire Warrior (CD-ROM)

I'm afraid they really missed the mark on this one. First off there is supposed to be a printed manual with the game. Mine didn't have one and from various chat rooms neither did most other folks. The developer has acknowledged a packaging problem and the manual is available as a PDF download on the Firewarrior site.

There are a few good points. First the graphics are pretty good. Not the best you have seen but nice. The video sequences are well done and if you are a WH40K fan they are really cool. In fact they make you wish they would just do an animated movie this way for WH40K. Unfortunately the good points pretty much end there. The sound is not well done at all. Dialog is hard to understand, weapons fire is wimpy and your main weapon has so much low-end bass to it that after awhile the sound really gets on your nerves (if you have a subwoofer anyway). Artillery and other ambient sounds seem to cut in and out randomly. You just get a very sterile feel from the whole thing.

By far the worst part of the game though is the combat! The weapons are RIDICULOUSLY inaccurate. I mean you can be five feet away from an enemy and blast away and you'll be lucky to hit him once. If that wasn't bad enough it seems to take an entire clip of ammo to knock down even an Imperial Guard trooper. Ok, actually four shots will do it but you'll use a full clip trying to hit one that many times. SGTs take ten hits or more to take down as they come at you with their chainswords. One example: I entered a room and stopped to shoot at a stationary trooper across the room (a small room). I placed my cursor carefully dead center on the target (we were both stationary). I went through a clip and a half before he died. When you do manage to finally kill a guy the death throw is something out of a Shakespeare play as the guy takes ten minutes to die and fall over. This makes the game not only horrendously annoying but pretty much causes you to scream in frustration from the start.

The AI is also pretty sad. For the most part enemies will end up charging at you and then stop and blast away at you. Of course their weapons are as inaccurate as yours. SGTs and others with close combat weapons will run up to you then run away. In fact you often get the feeling the AI has some sort of pte-plotted movement pattern that the enemies run no matter what you do or where you are.

Other folks have commented on the lack of interaction, the annoying 'find a door key', as well as the claustrophobic feel to the game but those things would have been ok (well, the key thing is REALLY annoying as you back track through levels to get a stupid key). It's the other stuff that makes this game a real bomb. If you are a GW WH40K fan and can get it in the bargain bin for $10 maybe pick it up, otherwise pass.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't know Warhammer 40k Universe = boring game?, November 23, 2003

By 

Patrick Roberts (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warhammer 40K: Fire Warrior (CD-ROM)

I'd never heard anything about the Warhammer 40,000 universe before playing this game. It looks like people who know the universe enjoy it much more. As far as compared to other first-person shooters, this is pretty disappointing. Reading the game features made it sound pretty cool, but the developers just missed opportunites. You can carry one gun in each hand... apparently all the people in the year 40k have two right hands ;) Other than launching rather than tossing gernades and amount of ammo, I couldn't figure out the difference between the two guns you get...other than looks. The shoot exactly the same. You also just run up and fire point-blank range at other players and whoever lands the first 10 or so hits wins. I can't believe that a universe that has been developed as long as WH40K appears to have been could be so lifeless and stale... nothing interesting I haven't seen in other FPSers. Maybe knowing the back-story would make it more interesting. The graphics are pretty nice- so I give it 2 stars for that, but if you are an FPS fan and not a WH40K fan, you might want to skip this one.