INTERWEB TIMES

It’s a great pleasure for me to be able to review Dawn of War 2. I have been a fan of Games Workshop’s 40k Universe for over 15 years now and am eagerly anticipating the release of Blood Bowl which is based on one of the greatest tabletop games of all time second to my favorite Necromunda which coincidentally is also made by Games Workshop.

Dawn of War 2 puts us back in to a refreshingly intense action-RTS (Real Time Strategy) control of a Force Commander for the space marines during the 41st millennium. You along with the other Space Marines have been born for war genetically enhanced to be the greatest galactic combat force capable of keeping the universe itself from shrugging off the tyranny of man. You are the chosen Commander of sub-sector Aurelia and like always all hell is breaking loose on your watch while the fate of mankind itself rests on the victory of the Space Marines.

Right out of the gate your delivered into the visceral thick of it. With each swing of his chainblade the Force Commander leaves a bloody swath of  twisted carcasses of alien beasts scattered in every direction.

First let me say that the campaign is fairly short for my liking. In fact I would much rather a campaign for all four of the races available for multiplayer but instead we are only presented with the Space Marines. From beginning to end we are disciplined in the coordinated use of a squad maximizing their effectiveness through utilizing the inherent abilities of each individual unit while maximizing effectiveness in cover.

The Force Commander is the only unit comprised of one individual soldier while other units are made up of squads of supporting soldiers that act as a unit. Each unit advances at their own rate gaining xp from aiding allies, accomplishing objectives, or attacking enemy units. A bonus is given to units for surviving an entire mission but playing on a harder difficulty should have you fleeing back to your drop-pod for reinforcements more often than advancing. Some stunning cinematic sequences advance a dialogue heavy campaign as the spoils of war accumulate in your armory making individual units even further customizable with unique weapons and ability providing items useful on the 3 scorched planets of sub-sector Aurelia.As a competitive multiplayer RTS Dawn of War 2 delivers by far the greatest looking strategy experience to date. Where base building micromanagement was the core principle of the standard RTS it is completely ignored here in lieu of troop additions, upgrades, and glorious battle. This allows for more micro intensive play where a single units loss could shift the entire dynamic of a battle.

Choosing either Space Marines (our human champions), Orks (savage beasts excelling in mob tactics), Eldar (elf-like race focusing on technology and speed), or Tyranids (the bug scourge of the galaxy). Three control points on the map called Victory points are your winning focus but the other capturable points provide either power or resources which are just as important as they can easily allow you to overwhelm someone if you generate to much momentum or unit superiority.

Unless playing Tyranid you can accomplish Tier 1 dominance by building only 2 additional units. For Eldar for example which I pride myself in at this point I build 1 additional guardian and 1 additional Shuriken platform. As a Space Marine the general tactic is to grab a Tac marine and a scout or a scout and then an assault squad.  Orks have a few different strategies but like tyranids they are much better en masse.  Using your initial 4 units you should be able to dominate until you can get tier 2 and 3 units out. The whole game basically revolves around your ability to avoid losing your troops while still capturing points.

Races are extremely well balanced but the learning curve is steep. In a genre dominated by a few core titles Dawn of War 2 appears to deliver an incredibly unique RTS experience.

If you intend to get involved in the Ranked matchmaking system get some practice under your belt first by taking on your friends or players in custom games. The computer opponents don’t offer quite the challenge your human opponents are sure to bring to the table so start practicing. I’ll be sure to put up an Eldar Strategy guide once I hit Rank 40.