Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

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Review:

29th October 2004:
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Chaos comes in many guises, the fate of Humanity rests in your genetically enhanced hands, may the light of the God-Emperor of the Golden Throne guide them!
Posted by Chris Snook - PC - UK and Europe

It is the fortieth millennium and humanity is at war, at war for its very survival as it spreads across the galaxy in mighty ships through the medium known as the warp. Humanity is also not alone, there are Orks, bloodthirsty beings who live for nothing but war. The Eldar, a dying race, immeasurably old and still powerful despite their declining numbers, offset by the powers of the mind. Finally there are the beings of chaos, demons and their ilk, born of the warp and tempters of humanity.

Standing against them, instrument of the Emperors will and the last bastion are the Space Marines, genetically created übermensch whose sole job is to serve and die, so that the rest of us can sleep nice and cosy and not wake up to a ravening hoard of terrors and stealer of genes. Still even they can be corrupted.

There are new horizons and new threats, beings that are barely believable stalk the stars and pose challenges to the empire of man, this surely is another

Games Workshop over the years have with the Warhammer 40,000 licenses given out created some hefty slices of turkey, now with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War they have finally found a polished and fun real time strategy on their hands. For those who have followed the vicissitudes of the table-top games over the years, it is a triumph and a challenge to those who are RTS experts.

Though each race has equivalent units, that is they do roughly the same jobs the armies that you amass most certainly have different flavours, ones that capture the spirit of the table game and do allow real tactical thinking to take place, including the use of terrain and capturing strong points that aid your efforts. The Eldar are sleek and manoeuvrable but when they take any kind of damage they fold like a soggy house of cards, Orks can only build bigger and better buildings by creating more and more troops, the exact reverse of the other armies who follow a more traditional resource gathering route.

Resources themselves are fairly straightforward, power generation and the building up of requisition points, which is accomplished by the capturing and retention of those strategic areas all of which means more men and more power to your elbow. Or bolter gun. This is welcome as it allows there to be a greater concentration on the combat elements whilst providing a strategic and tactical need to go places, after all if you stay at home whilst everyone else is grabbing the good stuff it will be a case of mown down in a blaze of ignominy. Which is how it works in real life for the most part. As is the selection of the right unit for the right job and there are a ton of units dispersed amongst the races, each again reflecting the speciality of that race - with Space marines being the far more utilitarian and flexible. Weaponry and research, other staples of the RTS are here also, as mentioned the Orks do things in a backward manner but for everyone else it is reasonably standad and again the options available reflect the thinking of the races - there is a handy Tech Tree pullout included in the box that shows the progressions in clear and simple terms, making upgrade planning so much swifter.

The models and units are detailed and whilst looking chunky, though not blocky (so realising the style of the lead models they are based off of), they are detailed and distinct. The one exception to this are the Eldar who are all curves, flowing and precision, form and function over function. If you zoom in on the heavy weapons unit and watch at the highest graphics settings you can see shell cases ejecting and landing on the floor as he unleashes a hail of bolts. Backgrounds are well done and depict the terrain in a way to show the utility of the different units. Assault marines being useful for avoiding rough areas and getting in close to the enemy, whilst walls and rubble can be used as cover, again adding to the tactical feel of the game. Same goes for vehicles, there will be places where Eldar and Orks can go that marines cannot. Power swords glow, there are explosions and visual clues to what is going on and each unit has a distinct look. Even the vehicles have a certain 'mmmm' factor about them.

Sound wise things are again pretty sweet, there is audio and phrases from the troops, call for help, sound of gunfire and heavy weapons explosions, vehicles rumble and each unit looks to have a distinct sound, helpful in the middle of a firefight to identify who is who. There are even death cries and sounds of injury. Music plays a part, setting mood and once again adding to the essence of the game, you want to be there. Another joy.

There is a lot to the game, a heck of a lot. There is no doubt it will keep you playing for ours on end as it sucks you into the universe it uses as a start point. You do feel as if you are on high running a war, with fog of war prevalent, you have to go out and get information, otherwise you do not know where or when an attack may present itself - generating the all important atmosphere and generating it by the spade load, another plus point. Learning curve is not steep and progresses nicely so that even novices to the world and RTS games can pick this one up and have a fighting chance of survival, the tutorial being clear, crisp and very understandable, even as it makes you consider just what it is showing you. One minor grumble and in a game that manages to avoid so many of them, there is an inability to set patrol waypoints for your troops to follow, this will for some detract and for others add another element of tactical play to be factored in by not allowing you to send a squad off into a pattern to see if anyone attacks it.

Over all this is an impressive title, for once not squandering the name and living up to what it is billed as and has the potential to track the offline content with expansion, such as one for the Tau (last seen in Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warior) and other elements of the current universe. There is but one final thing to be said and that is that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War has gained a Seal of Purity.

Chris Snook

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Review Summary:

Hugely enjoyable game that captures and builds on the spirit of the original tabletop game. With elements that will appeal to Warhammer 40K devotees, RTS fans and complete strangers to both. With a gentle but comprehensive learning curve, great graphics and sound and a deluge of options. Dawn of War is quite simply the best Real Time Strategy out there.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
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