-
Source: Gamefreaks -
Related
Genre: Real Time Strategy
Publisher: THQ
Platform: PC
The Orks are attacking the planet of Tartarus and it's up to the elite Space Marines of the Blood Ravens chapter to put an end to the rampage. Things get interesting, however, when the forces of the Elder and Chaos Space Marines also arrive - fighting for control of a secret which could doom all of humanity.
The Warhammer 40K universe is a sci-fi offshoot to the fantasy Warhammer games, both of which saw their start as tabletop wargames. You know the sort: Painted miniatures, dice rolling and meticulously crafted environments.
This is not just the original Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War, which was first released approximately four years ago, but also its three expansion packs, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, all in one glorious and affordable package. For those particularly keen on sampling the delights of Dawn of War II there's also a multiplayer beta key.
DOW's pedigree is high. The developers are Relic who are just as well known for their space epic Homeworld and the more tactically oriented Company of Heroes games set during World War II. With DOW these talented developers have managed to capture perfectly the gritty intensity, gloom and violence of the Warhammer 40k universe.
One of the most notable aspects of the game is that soldiers won't just stand back and shoot at each other, but will close in to get to grips with their opponents hand to hand. The results are fascinating battles where troops and machines will react to each other instead of just flailing away repetitively, instead with various, and more often than not gory finishing moves performed on each other.
They've also stripped away the resource gathering to focus the game on combat alone - great seeing as the idea of having peon equivalents mindlessly gathering money is not one that really fits in Warhammer. Instead players need to capture strategic control points located in various junctures around the map. These will slowly trickle credits to you which can be spent building new units, buildings or purchasing upgrades. Infantry also play differently, being built as platoons of soldiers who can have their numbers bolstered with specialists like healers and hero types.
There are a large number of factions to pick from when you include the three expansion packs allowing for plenty of variety when you get stuck into the fun packed multiplayer games. The original DOW game provides the Space Marines, Orks, Elder and Chaos Space Marines. Winter Assault brings in the Imperial Guard; Soulstorm the Dark Elder and ultra religious Sisters of Battle and Dark Crusade the seriously fun Tau and Necrons - the latter especially notable for their massive end game units.
Synopsis: The graphics might be showing their age in this day and age but Dawn of War is still one of the best RTS games out there and the combination of expansion packs makes for one great value package overall.
This review bought to you by Gamefreaks.
