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If you miss the offer, you can get the game 24/7 via Steam HERE. It usually costs £22.99/$29.99.

Introduction:

Vermintide takes place in and around Ubersreik, a city overrun by Skaven. You will assume the role of one of five heroes, each featuring different play-styles, abilities, gear and personality. Working cooperatively, you must use their individual attributes to survive an apocalyptic invasion from the hordes of relentless rat-men, known as the Skaven. Battles will take place across a range of environments stretching from the top of the Magnus Tower to the bowels of the Under Empire.

The time of mortals is ending, and the reign of Chaos draws ever closer. The Dark Gods are at last united in a singular purpose, losing their madness across the world as never before. In the Empire of Sigmar, Karl Franz's gaze is focused on the incursion of the savage northmen, but it is not the only threat. As the Chaos moon Morrslieb waxes full, shrill voices echo through tunnels gnawed far beneath the Empire's cities, and a Skaven host swarms towards the surface. It emerges first in the city of Ubersreik, a screeching mass that consumes all before it. Soon Ubersreik is a charnel-town, drowning beneath the malevolent shadow of the Horned Rat.

Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide

In Brief

Vermintide is an epic co-operative action combat adventure set in the End Times of the iconic Warhammer Fantasy world.

Suggestions:

If you win one of the 50 keys for Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide please give some feedback about your opinion of the game, for example, what you liked or disliked about it, or how it could be improved from your point of view . If you don't like this genre at all, please explain why. What, improvements, if any, would change your opinion? There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers ideas as to what their consumers (i.e you) would like to see in a game. For example, you could suggest extra content such as better or more original mini games, or a level editor that you would like to see that would make it more appealing to you. Maybe you think the graphics are a little dated and are in need of re skinning, or maybe you've just had enough of the genre and want to see something different or something with more originality?

Yet even in the darkest times, there are always champions to light the way. As Ubersreik cowers, five heroes, united by capricious fate, carry the fight to the rat-men. It remains to be seen whether they have the strength to survive, let alone work together long enough to thwart the invaders. One truth, however, is beyond all doubt: should these five fall, then Ubersreik will fall with them.

Core Features:

⦁ Cooperative Survival For up to 4 Players - Band together with your friends or die alone. Vermintide will continuously test the teamwork and skill of you and your friends. Drop-in, drop-out Multiplayer and the addition of A.I. bots ensures a full team at any time, regardless of available players.
⦁ Play as Five Unique Heroes - Five distinct characters to choose from, each with their own personality, agenda and story to tell. Learning what it means to work together is key to the group's survival.
⦁ Huge Hero Arsenal - Each hero has its own unique weapons arsenal to draw from, allowing you to adjust their combat style to fit their gameplay preference. There are hundreds of different weapons, includíng swords, daggers, axes, hammers, bows, guns, magical staves & more
⦁ Embark on an Epic Quest - Boasting 13 diverse levels - on the ground, in buildings, on walls and underground - ranging from the immense Magnus Tower to the treacherous Under Empire, Vermintide will take you on a journey you’ll never forget.
⦁ Experience the Skaven Like Never Before - A rising tide of malicious and cunning rat-men await you, hacking, clawing and eviscerating all that stand in their way. Face vicious packs of clan-rats and deadly specialized elites.
⦁ Gather Shiny Loot - Rewarding teamwork above all else, you are given loot dice at the end of a mission that will reward you and your team mates with a weapon, a hat or a trinket. Completing side objectives means that better loot dice can be added to the roll.
⦁ Battle Unpredictable Enemies - Vermintide features a dynamic spawn system providing a constant set of new challenges lurking behind every corner.
⦁ Experience an Immersive Story - Games Workshop veterans have banded together to write a fantastic new addition to the Warhammer lore, offering a new perspective on the cataclysmic events of The End Times.
⦁ Find a Path to Safety - The Skaven boast incredible mobility, able to climb and leap fantastic distances to make life a living hell for the Heroes. No matter where you go, they will be there, ready to pounce.

Reference accessed HERE 15th Sept 2017.

Installation:

Assuming you receive a Steam key for Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, once you've found it (should be sent to the email you used to enter the giveaway - it must be the email you first used to sign into the game giveaway site. If you’ve used a throwaway email there may be problems getting a key, because the key may be sent to that email. If you have any problems use the contact form. Hopefully the giveaway team will repost the information they posted several weeks qgo explaining the email situation. ) you have to activate the game via your Steam client. Once activated it will be permanently tied to your Steam profile and you'll be able to install the game at any time, anywhere on any computer, so long as you can validate who you are (usually via emails etc.). If you don't have a Steam account you will first have to download and install the Steam client HERE

Then create a Steam profile/account. Once that has been completed you can input the Steam code that you've received (after completing the form filling) via the game button along the top of the Steam client, (located between friends and Help). From the drop down menu select 'Activate a product on Steam'. This opens a product activation window. Just follow the prompts to complete activation. Once the Steam code has been accepted, the game will be permanently associated with your Steam account and can be installed any time you wish.

If you have a problem installing or activating or getting Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide to work, please visit the problems section over in the Game Discussion forums, which I've now incorporated into the FAQ's thread, and which you can find HERE

The Game:

Vermintide—or, to use its Fully Licensed Intellectual Property name, Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide—is a co-op shooter that borrows heavily from Valve’s Left 4 Dead series. It borrows so heavily it feels larcenous, really, but damned if it isn't a great homage. And if you’re tired of zombies, well, here we have rats.

In the world of Vermintide, the end times are extremely nigh. A tide of angry ratlings, the Skaven, have risen up to swallow the realms of men. In the city of Ubersreik, a plucky band of mismatched heroes fights the vermin menace. From their base of operations, the team ventures out into the city’s filthy streets to save the world from a ratty apocalypse.

Vermintide is in many ways Left 4 Dead with a Warhammer skin. Characters yell out the locations of ammunition dumps and bandages, cry out when a rush of Skaven is on the way, and beg for help when they’re injured. Some missions involve gathering barrels of fuel and depositing them in a getaway vehicle. You know that swoopy camera move that pans over every Left 4 Dead stage, then zooms into the back of your character’s head? Vermintide does that, too. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Dwarven Ranger Bardin Goreksson hates stairs, trains, and lawyers.

And while I do wish that it took more risks in departing from the proven Left 4 Dead formula, the work done here to create an exciting co-op adventure is top-notch. Vermintide is one of the best co-op games since Left 4 Dead 2, and its focus on melee combat, gear upgrades, and a fantastical setting give it its own wonderful, beady-eyed character.

While Left 4 Dead certainly provided the bones, the meat makes Vermintide its own experience. Five distinct characters battle Skaven, each with their own strengths, equipment, and playstyles. Between missions, players choose gear sets that change how characters play. Weapon classes have different characteristics, but individual weapons have special abilities or damage boosts. Getting a sword and shield combo can give a new player the ability to play the role of party tank. Getting a new, more powerful warhammer can be cause for celebration, an excuse to load up the first level and try it out right away.

I have some concerns about how deep this economy goes and its limitations. For example, I have no idea how many individual items might be in the game, or if more might be introduced on a regular schedule. All weapons in the game are locked to individual characters, so it can be frustrating to earn a really rare piece of gear for a character I don’t play. For now, though, the weapons are varied enough to keep me coming back, but a lack of updates might harm Vermintide’s prospects for longevity.

In addition to having different gear, the five heroes play in very different ways. The Elf Waywatcher is an expert at saving allies from special Skaven with a long-range headshot. The Dwarf shoves Skaven with his shield: an essential crowd control tactic. The mage, a fire-slinging sorcerer named Sienna, gradually overheats from her pyrotechnic magic and has a chance of detonating, taking out a crowd of rats in the process. Each is different, and they feel great to play. I love being forced to adapt my strategy based on who I’m playing as, and no one feels underpowered or boring.

As a team, the characters are forced to work together in a tight group by the danger of being alone. It’s easy to get surrounded or overwhelmed by a pack of Skaven, and only a friend can revive you. The drive to stay together is so powerful, it can prompt some action-movie heroics: Once, a pack of angry Skaven surrounded me, separating me from my friends. My Empire Soldier can deal out some damage, but if I get caught and hung up by a Pack Master without help, I’ll be rat food. I sent one half of the Skaven circle sprawling with an almighty shove. Running toward the falling ratkin, I turned around and swept my hammer across six more, flinging two of them face-first into a stone wall. My hastily drawn shotgun blew another group of Skaven into a furry mist, and I ran back to the safety of the group.

Developer Fatshark’s previous games, War of the Roses and War of the Vikings, lived and died on the strength of their melee combat systems, and Vermintide’s combat shines with the polish of expertise. Every character has a ranged weapon of some kind, but limited ammo stocks force ballistics to the background.

The melee system isn’t as deep as Fatshark’s earlier games. Controlling angle or direction doesn’t change a swipe into a stab—Vermintide’s heroes more simply attack, charge up a special attack, block, and shove. Amazingly, this system’s simplicity helps sell the power and solidity of the combat. Great sound design does a lot of the heavy lifting here: the sound of warhammers popping skulls and swords slicing fur builds the brutality.

Vermintide is also a beautiful game—or, at least, a beautiful rendition of a town hip-deep in rat shit. While levels set in the sewers or the marketplace felt samey and dull, like taking a third lap around an uninspired renaissance fair, others are extraordinary visual achievements. In the first level, my entire team stopped to stare across the rooftops of Ubersreik bathed in the light of a full moon. Later, the magic in a mage’s tower twisted the architecture inside until doorways inexplicably led to upside-down ceilings, and ratkin poured up horizontal stairways set into the walls. This sense of place, the flavor of fantasy and magic, does a lot to separate Vermintide from Left 4 Dead’s suburbia-and-malls setting.

I did see a few graphics bugs here and there, but it overall ran very smoothly. On my GTX 970, I saw great framerates in the 60s and 70s at the highest quality settings. During heavy assaults by huge packs, framerates dipped into the mid-40s without any screen tearing or other artifacts.

The only thing that truly disappoints me about Vermintide is the Skaven themselves. As a group, they’re a fine replacement for Left 4 Dead’s wobbling zombie hoards. As individuals, though, the special ratkin are a paper-thin gloss over L4D’s special infected, and this galls me. Clan Moulder’s genetic monstrosities, the Rat Ogres, have lost their prosthetic sword-arms and multiple heads and been watered down until they’re just furry, large-toothed versions of the zombie Tank. The Pack Master, whose sole job in Warhammer lore is to keep Rat Ogres from killing their own allies, instead skulks around alone looking for heroes to drag away: the ratkin version of the zombie Smoker.

This is the area of the game where constant homage to Left 4 Dead becomes distracting instead of charming. Other special Skaven, like Clan Skryre’s famous Ratling Gun or marching patrols of black-furred Stormvermin, break from pre-established patterns and show off Warhammer lore in interesting ways. I wish that, in this aspect, Fatshark had gotten more distance from their inspirational material.

On some creative level, it offends me that Fatshark copied even minor, inconsequential design choices from Left 4 Dead. However, my quibbles with the application of Warhammer lore and Fatshark’s adherence to Valve’s formula are separate from my love of fighting these vicious critters: absolutely every bad guy in the game is a joy to conquer, run from, and kill. Playing with friends frequently devolves into swearing and laughter. Heroic comebacks against unbelievable odds, and acts of great sacrifice, are commonplace. There’s a quiet glow of satisfaction when tight teamwork wins the day. These are the hallmarks of a great game built for amazing co-op experiences.

Vermintide is smart, chaotic, and beautiful. It’s a game that has gotten me hooked on Warhammer Fantasy fiction in a way I wasn’t before. It’s difficult, bloody, and it’s my favorite co-op game to come along in years.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Originally posted by Ian Birnbaum on October 29, 2015. Reposted by Whiterabbit-uk 15th September 2017.

Other Reviews and Videos of :

You can see over 9000 mainly positive Steam community reviews of Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide HERE, you can see some videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Conclusion:

If you've previously played Left 4 Dead 1 or 2 and loved it, then you'll absolutely love this game (probably). If you've never experienced a first person cooperative gamewhere, as a group you fight off hoards of nasty creatures, this is a game you should try. When i first played it two years ago, I knew i'd love it as i'd alsready spent hundreds of hours playing both of the Left 4 dead titles. You can pl;ay it in single player, but I would recommend you play it with friends if you can. It's a lot of fun to go exploring (with friends) this dark and forbidding world and I highly recommend you enter this competition. Apart from Conan #Exiles that was a limited giveaway earlier thgis summer, this is one of the best games ever given away here. Good luck to all who enter.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the developer Fatshark for giving away 50 Steam keys for Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games, in this case a Steam key.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

The problems section that used to be posted here in the Game review is now included in the Game Discussion FAQ's thread; which you can find HERE.

I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals', formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) HERE.

The rest of the information that used to be posted here can be found in the forums HERE. Don't forget, if you have an account with DOT.emu, you need to download any games you have before June, when the site closes permanently. Finally, check out Delenns thread over in the forums HERE. There are games available for free, some of which are limited to the number of free keys available. The thread is worth checking regularly as Delenn has been posting links to various freebies on a regular basis recently.