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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a game that appeals to all gamers, (Strategy gamers) from Micro-managers to mass-attack
movers. The squad based RTS combat is quite different from most new release strategies, where individual units are built.
The races are well balanced, each with equal drawbacks and advantages. (Except for those damn Orks) The single-player campaign
is quite decent, but the skirmish and multiplayer modes are great. The requirements are fairly low, but the large battles
bring my Radeon 9600 to its knees. (Not that its a great card)
The graphics are great, with awesome scenery, and texture detail. The scroll option lets you zoom in all the way, allowing
for some amazing screen shots. The game is fairly visceral, but the level can be turned down. The hardest difficulty (insane)
is not that hard, so this game is very easy to reach proficiency with. The campaign is fairly well done, with an immersing
story. There is a great ranking system online, with badges transferred with experience, so that a pro can't join a n00b game,
and so on. Also, the magical attacks for your commander units are not all-powerful, but there are some that are quite potent.
Word of the Emperor and Orbital Bombardment being examples. Also, the mod tools for DOW are available all over, and are fairly
easily acquired.
For disadvantages, I would have to say that DOW is hard to take when there's a monstrous battle, bogging down most computers.
Another thing is long load times, longer than most RTS games. Only four races (Soon to be five with the expansion) limit
possibilities, but there are quite a few units and upgrades per race.
Overall, Dawn of War was a very solid, well-made game. I would recommend it to any RTS gamer, or anyone looking to get
into the genre.
4 out of 5
Posted on 2/28/05.
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