Now that real-time strategy has dipped its toes in the console waters, everybody wants to jump in. Warhammer: Battle March is only the latest title to take the plunge, taking the immensely popular fantasy series and remixing it for the Xbox 360. Way back in August during Penny Arcade Expo, we had the opportunity to go hands-on with the game in the Namco Bandai booth. While we're intrigued at the possibility of the franchise making its way to consoles, our first look at Warhammer: Battle March doesn't have us exactly excited about its less-than desirable execution. Simply put, this is a game that needs a lot of work.

Battle March comes to Xbox 360 as a remixed port of Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, which had previously only been available on PC. The entirety of that game, along with an added chapter to the campaign, reconfigured controls, and Xbox Live multiplayer, promise a totally new experience. Joining the two original campaigns--Empire and Chaos--is the Dark Elves, Orcs, and Goblins chapter. We didn't get the chance to check out any of the new missions, although we're told the campaign aligns the three unruly races in a common effort to beat back marauding Chaos forces.

One map was playable in the build shown: a torrid hike through an active volcano range to assassinate a dwarf lord. As expected, the path was lined with all kinds of enemies just waiting to be slayed. Pre-selected units populated the battlefield at the start of the mission, granting control over a large group or archers and basic foot soldiers. The easiest way of dealing with enemy forces involved sending launching volleys from our archers and then rushing in with the remaining forces to clean up whatever was left standing. Completing the mission was a matter of rinse and repeat, rushing into pockets of idle enemy troops--it wasn't particularly difficult nor demanding of strategy.

Getting units positioned for battle, on the other hand, is quite challenging. Battle March joins a host of other real-time strategy titles attempting to cram its interface onto a controller. Surprise, surprise--it's not working out very well. An on-screen cursor selects units with a tap of the A button, which also serves to instruct selected units to move or attack a target. Utilizing the A button for multiple functions is intended to make things easy, but it ends up being too simple and ultimately limiting. Selecting units with only the A button is highly problematic since it demands a mouse-level of precision with the left thumbstick; moreover, relying solely on this method of selection means more time is spent choosing units than setting strategies and engaging in battle.