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[UbiSoftologist]

Review score: 4.5 / 5.0

Pros: Fantastic unit animations and graphic design; strategically balanced; great-looking battles.

Cons: Voice-overs and music could be better; a few "puzzle maps" in the single-player campaign.

Conclusion: That said, however, there aren't many issues in Dawn of War that would keep me from playing this game until my mouse-clicking finger falls off. Relic had a brilliant insight when they realized that players didn't need a PC version of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Instead, they went and gave us a great PC game that uses the heart of the license as a jumping off point. Fortunately, the Warhammer 40,000 universe is much larger than just the four races Dawn of War gives us, and we're hoping this is only a terrific start to a long and successful franchise.

Read the 3-page review at: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/warhammer-40000-dawn-of-war/548862p1.html?fromint=1

 

[Slo]

 

[Wario64]

Sounds great, I can't wait till my free copy arrives

 

[Dave Long]

I never did get to give Bish my address. Was that supposed to be by done via PM?

 

[TekunoRobby]

The UPS tracking # from Bish's package says it's a few days away, I can't wait.

I never did get to give Bish my address. Was that supposed to be by done via PM?

Yes, it's not too late.

 

[Matlock]

Cons: Voice-overs and music could be better; a few "puzzle maps" in the single-player campaign.

Haha, so true. It was like there were no voiceactors in the lot, but none of 'em were worse than the tutorial guy.

 

[Hooker]

Yay, this game deserves it...



And now I want an expansion with the Tau, Necron and some other races... Come on bish

 

[open_mouth_]

I cancelled by EB pre-order 'cause I got a free one coming from Bish too.

 

[UbiSoftologist]

The following is a brief summary of the review:

On graphics:

Dawn of War's strongest point is immediately obvious the moment the game begins - sheer graphic beauty. The beauty is more than just a powerful 3D engine, though. The game's art design is simply stunning. Zooming in any unit or building in the game reveals a wealth of fascinating detail that's been included on the game's models. Hardened human soldiers sport old scars. Space Marine battle armor bears a variety of insignia, ribbons, medals, and battle standards that, while not affecting the gameplay directly, serve wonderfully to pull the player into the world...

...The majority of the game's graphic beauty lies in the animations, though. I don't think that, to date, there has ever been an RTS game with battles that are this much fun to watch. Every unit in the game has extraordinarily detailed animations with different types of combat moves based on what they're actually doing and whom they're fighting. Units don't just go through a "fighting sequence," they actually get in there and really interact with their opponents. The result of this is that wherever you look on the battlefield, something insanely cool is going on.

On race balance:

The game sports four distinct races, Space Marines (humans), Orks, Eldar, and Chaos (evil humans). Each of the four races is extremely distinct. Space marines are the most balanced, Orks are mindless killing machines that throw tons of bodies at the enemy, Eldar are graceful and fast, relying on mobility and stealth, and Chaos has weaker armor and vehicles but more than makes up for it with magic spells and special powers. The beauty, though, is that Dawn of War manages to deliver these races without sacrificing play balance. Every race's combat style is perfectly reflected in its mix of units and each unit in the game is designed for a specific purpose.

On gameplay:

The strategic "feel" of the game is excellent, as well. While the game contains the standard mix of base building, production, research, and upgrades in addition to managing troop movement, the emphasis in the game is clearly on fast movement and maneuverability. Most of the weapons and units in the game are clearly built for offense and mobility. Base buildings and constructors are cheap in cost and fast to build, and base defenses are fairly pathetic. The game's two resources, energy from reactors and "command points" acquired by holding strategic points on the battlefield, are abundant...

...Many of the missions in the single-player campaign also fall prey to the classic RTS blunder of becoming puzzles. In fact, the missions that were the most fun in single-player were the more open maps that mimicked the feel of multiplayer or skirmish games. The campaign is also quite short, only 12 missions, and only allow you to play as the Space Marines. Fortunately, the actual gameplay is so much fun it pretty much covers for the flaws.

On interface:

The game's interface isn't bad, although it's not great, either. Every unit, vehicle, and building in the game has a number of available upgrades and research options, as well as several battle stances and types of movement orders. The multi-function display on the right hand side of the interface and the button icons do a pretty good job of keeping all of these functions separate and obvious and I had no trouble at all in single player managing my forces using just the mouse.

On voiceover:

More of a problem is the game's voiceover work. Some of it is good: the Orks' cockney accent, for example, manages to be hilarious, yet perfectly appropriate for their characters. The voices for the Space Marines and the Chaos forces, on the other hand, are just awful in that "Look at me, I'M ACTING!" kind of way. Particularly bad is the cringing, subservient voice of the Chaos builder unit. Even worse, the order acknowledgement voice clips are too long and too frequent. Every single time I give an order to a Space Marine unit, I don't need to hear a long passage from the Emperor's liturgy - a simple "acknowledged" will be fine with the occasional longer clip thrown in for variety.

 

[Slo]

So when is this supposed to hit stores?

 

[Hooker]

September 24th

 

[bishoptl]

The beauty, though, is that Dawn of War manages to deliver these races without sacrificing play balance. Every race's combat style is perfectly reflected in its mix of units and each unit in the game is designed for a specific purpose.

Sounds great, I can't wait till my free copy arrives

The UPS tracking # from Bish's package says it's a few days away, I can't wait

I cancelled by EB pre-order 'cause I got a free one coming from Bish too.

I never did get to give Bish my address. Was that supposed to be by done via PM?

Yes, it's not too late.

...

Welcome, bishoptl.
You last visited: Today at 10:15 AM
Private Messages: 12 Unread, Total 19.

 

[Slo]

:lol

Bish, what don't you like about the first comment? It sounds very posotive and directed right at you.

 

[Tabris]

I hate when good game engines are based on what I think are boring licenses

Would have been neater if it had an original story/premise.

Of course I don't know much about the game, or the license.

 

[BuddyC]

I don't know how Bish has been able to resist banning Tekuno this long

 

[AeroGod]

I hate when good game engines are based on shitty licenses

Would have been neater if it had an original story/premise.

Of course I know nothing about either the game, or the license much.

Bwahahah :lol Warhammer 40k and Warhammer fantasy license are second to none. Well, Except for maybe Forgotten Realms and Tolkien.

40k >>> Any other sci-fi

 

[B'z-chan]

I hate when good game engines are based on shitty licenses

Would have been neater if it had an original story/premise.

Of course I know nothing about either the game, or the license much.

Start reading fool, Warhammer is one of the best storylines of any Sci-fi Fantasy role playing game turned into full fledged story. And this game here represents that to a hardcore audiance of loyal RTS fans.

RELIC i love you, now please start working on Homeworld 2 Exapansion or Homeworld 3 or WH40k expansion.

Bish any word on Homeworld did it do good enough to maybe get another one out of Relic? I hope VU games (think that they published both HW games, not sure) would take Homeworld away from you guys? /cry

 

[Slo]

I hate when good game engines are based on shitty licenses

Would have been neater if it had an original story/premise.

Of course I know nothing about either the game, or the license much.

If you don't know what the fuck you're talking about, don't talk.

 

[bishoptl]

VU (formerly Sierra) owns the Homeworld IP, so you'd have to ask them to put together a sequel. As far as the crotch chops go, that was directed to a certain someone in IRC who doubted my boys' ability to properly balance Warhammer given our timeline.

And for the record: NO FREE COPIES

 

[explodet]

I'm *still* a little concerned about the Eldar getting rushed in the early game, but I hear they kick ass if they can get their groove in the later game.

I need to upgrade

 

[Slo]

And for the record: NO FREE COPIES

THE HYPNOTOAD DISAGREES

 

[Hooker]

I'm *still* a little concerned about the Eldar getting rushed in the early game, but I hear they kick ass if they can get their groove in the later game.

I need to upgrade

Fire Prisms are just unfair :/

Jump ability, great AOE and almost 100% accurate. Did I mention it breaks up squads with 1 shot?

 

[Gattsu25]

only RTS i can stand, anymore

was in the beta and thought the game kicked ass...gettings used to the Eldar and amassing an army of hundreds of Orks was especially fun

I know W40K is based off a table top strategy game...was it ever a pen and paper RPG?

Edit: one little touch I loved (not sure how 'original' this is in the genre) was how when ordering units to move, if they passed by a hostile, they would fire of the enemy as they continued moving without slowing them down at all.

 

[firex]

I hate when good game engines are based on shitty licenses

Would have been neater if it had an original story/premise.

Of course I know nothing about either the game, or the license much.

Well guys, isamu has competition for "biggest moron on GA."

 

[bishoptl]

Fire Prisms are just unfair :/

Jump ability, great AOE and almost 100% accurate. Did I mention it breaks up squads with 1 shot?

You big Pampers ad - two squads of Space Marines equipped with missile launchers will tear that sucker down in no time. If the Eldar opponent can get to vehicles without you reaching Tier 2 (and unlocking the missile upgrades), you deserve to get whomped.

 

[Tabris]

I know a little bit about the license, which is enough for me to say they should use an original story.

It's based on a board game/model collecting thing usually played by kids. It's about humans having been in a great war that almost destroyed them, then some super guy becoming an emperor and all spare marines being bred from his dna or something. The space marines are all about cleansing planets, then there's like these zerg type guys, and orcs, and humans infected by some demons and sci-fi elves. My nephew told me all about the game.

So I do know a bit, that's why I would rather it be based off something original, cause the game sounds interesting and the warhammer story, not so much. That's what I meant to say

EDIT - I don't mean to insult all you warhammer fans Just saying, original story > license for me.

 

[Slo]

From what I understand, the table top game is VERY expensive to be competitive with. Kids aren't going to drop $500+ on a Warhammer army. I call bullshit. Again, if you know nothing about a subject, shut the fuck up.

 

[Zaptruder]

Oh how foolish you are tabris.

I'll admit the 'story' isn't the greatest. But then it's not really a story, but one of the most detailed sci-fi settings around. It's hugely different from similarly large existing sci-fi universes and while its based on the origins of fantasy in space, it does it so well that you're not going to encounter a better version of such a thing anywhere else in the world.

WH40k setting >>>>>>> 99.9% of 'original stories' >>>>>>>>>>> Tabris.

 

[Ristamar]

From what I understand, the table top game is VERY expensive to be competitive with. Kids aren't going to drop $500+ on a Warhammer army. I call bullshit. Again, if you know nothing about a subject, shut the fuck up.

Well, there are tournaments (that often require the all mini's to have decent paint jobs) and then there are those just playing for fun with the starter box and a few additions. Either way, it's still hardly a kid's game. A few of my friends play casually. I never took the time to get into it, but it does look interesting.

 

[Hooker]

You big Pampers ad - two squads of Space Marines equipped with missile launchers will tear that sucker down in no time. If the Eldar opponent can get to vehicles without you reaching Tier 2 (and unlocking the missile upgrades), you deserve to get whomped.

But... but plasma guns look soooo much cooler


And I usually just make Possessed Space Marines when I get to Tier 2

 

[bishoptl]

Suit yourself, I play to WIN.

 

[WarPig]

Warhammer ain't great literature by any fucking stretch of the imagination. It's fucking ridiculously over-the-top and completely derivative of a few dead obvious sources.

That said, it's also a completely unfuckupable license for a game like this. Flashy is good, over-the-top is good when the units are a fucking quarter-inch tall on the screen and need to stick out.

I disagree with Gamespy guy about the Chaos voices, by the way, I thought those were a hoot. The Orks are definitely the best ones, though, no question.

DFS.