{"id":3666,"date":"2009-03-18T01:48:00","date_gmt":"2009-03-17T23:48:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/reviews\/3666-warhammer-40-000-dawn-of-war-ii","title":{"rendered":"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

In case you missed it, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was a real time strategy game for PC that was adapted from Games Workshop’s popular tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000.<\/p>\n

While the title enjoyed generally positive reviews, it was criticized for its week single player campaign and often repetitive gameplay. It was however still a fantastic take on the RTS genre, offering unique and detailed squad customization, memorable unit animations and a well balanced and tactically rich multiplayer experience, all delivered against the backdrop of the vividly portrayed Warhammer universe.<\/p>\n

The interface<\/strong><\/p>\n

The interface that introduces the game is exactly what we would expect from a title of this caliber; slick and well presented. Interestingly, the game makes use of both STEAM as well as games for Windows Live.<\/p>\n

To be honest, we find any game that automatically runs through STEAM just plain annoying. Every time one wants to play they must log in, which as far as your average gamer is concerned, is a pointless and unnecessary exercise, especially considering that DoW II does not make any use of STEAM’s community networking features.<\/p>\n

It is also a known fact that the US retail release is little more than an empty disk and a product key, requiring players to download the full game through STEAM. Therefore, South African’s should make sure to purchase one of the locally available copies as the imported copies may leave you feeling a bit cheated.<\/p>\n

Apart from STEAM, Dawn of War II makes use of Games for Windows Live, which we must admit is much improved since the last run in we had with the application a few weeks ago. It sits relatively quietly in the background, and provides a fairly solid community networking experience. It is not perfect, but it could be worse.<\/p>\n

Despite this added bloatware, the interface is exceedingly quick and responsive. There were times when we experienced issues with logging into STEAM, and thus struggled to get the game up and running. While this is not linked to any intrinsic shortcoming of DoW II itself, the game does suffer for it as the frustrations generated by not being able to immediately boot up a piece of software you have acquired legally can be quite significant.<\/p>\n

First Impressions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things will feel immediately familiar to DoW veterans upon entering the single player campaign. Once again, players will only be able to play as the Blood Raven Space Marines in the campaign. Players will start by naming their Force Commander before being hurled Power Fist first into a solar system that is in the process of being divided up between  Ork’s, Eldar, and the new insect like Tyranids.
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The Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

We won’t give away too much of the story, but will say that there is nothing particular new or inspiring about the plot that governs proceedings in DoW II. In fact, it manages to be incredibly obvious and simple, while at the same time managing to be slightly confusing at times – not a good thing.<\/p>\n

It is however good enough to make the player buy into the idea that they are humanities last stand against impossible odds, which is all it really needs to do. The characters do emanate a reasonable degree of personality, and the in game comments as well as post mission conversations between your commanders are a nice touch.<\/p>\n

The Gameplay<\/strong><\/p>\n

DoW II truly shines in the gameplay department. Players familiar with the Real Time Strategy genre will immediately notice the absence of any build icons. That is because there is no base building in DoW II. At first it feels a bit odd, but it actually works incredibly well, and frees players up to focus on the actual combat.<\/p>\n

DoW II can be more accurately described as a tactical warfare game than a real time strategy. Each Campaign mission will allow players to choose four out of a total of six unit squads to deploy. The beauty in this is that it allows players to micromanage their squads, allowing for far more tactical depth and customizability.<\/p>\n

Each of the squads has a specific purpose, with different traits, stats and abilities.
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DoW II’s Different squads<\/strong>
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Force Commander<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the player’s avatar, and can be customized to fulfill one of two basic combat roles. Players can either equip him with melee weaponry, or train him up to use a variety of ranged weapons.  The Force Commander also has access to special items, such as the Rosarius Shrine, which grants all player controlled squads temporary invulnerability.<\/p>\n

Tarkus (Assault Squad)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tarkus leads the basic assault squad, consisting of the commander and three additional mobile infantry soldiers. This squad typically performs an all purpose combat role, specializing in the use of grenades and bolter cannons.
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Avitus (Heavy Machine Gun Squad)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Avitus leads his three man squad in a very specific heavy infantry role, providing constant suppression fire and heavy damage output. If Avitus’ squad gets attacked at close range they generally do not fair very well, so it is important to keep him at a safe distance from the action.
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Thaddeus (Jump Pack melee Squad)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thaddeus’s small team of jump pack marines is a definite stand out squad amongst the available units in DoW 2. They are able to leap through the air over long distances and come crashing down on enemy gatherings, causing damage and instant knock down affects to those in their drop zone. Thaddeus’s squad should ideally be equipped with heavy armor and powerful melee weaponry.
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Cyrus (Scout)<\/strong>
Cyrus’ highly mobile light infantry squad is a fast moving infiltration unit. Able to become invisible, Cyrus and his squad can infiltrate enemy lines and perform covert operations, such as planting heavy explosives in enemy buildings or amidst highly concentrated enemy infantry squads.
Cyrus can also develop the Sniper ability (if equipped with the sniper rifle) which enables the player to target specific units on the field of battle. Targeting squad leaders has various impacts on different squad types, and the tactical implications are varied and rewarding.<\/p>\n

Waiter, there’s an RPG in my RTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dawn of War II not only innovates in terms of bringing advanced tactics and squad management to the RTS genre, but it also injects a healthy dose of RPG character development into the mix. Each of the player’s Commanders will be able to level up through receiving combat experience.<\/p>\n

Just like any RPG, when leveling up players will be able to distribute points into different character attributes;<\/p>\n

Stamina – increases total health and health regeneration<\/p>\n

Ranged Combat – increases damage done with ranged weapons<\/p>\n

Strength – increases melee damage and likelihood of character performing special melee attacks<\/p>\n

Energy – increases total energy capacity and regeneration.<\/p>\n

Additionally, characters will unlock unique abilities and traits which they can use in the field of combat. These abilities will usually cost Energy to use.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, players can outfit their squads with different armor, weapons and items such as grenades, artillery bombardments, spider turrets, mines, jump packs and many more.<\/p>\n

Campaign management<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apart from being able to micromanage the combat throughout the various missions, players can take charge of the broader campaign map, deciding which territories on which planets to perform the various missions. Although this does not add a massive degree of depth, it is a welcome feature which grants players an added degree of freedom.<\/p>\n

Multiplayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The multiplayer side of DoW II functions quite differently to the campaign. Players can recruit squads on the field of battle, and there is obviously not the same character depth that is present in the campaign.<\/p>\n

Players still cannot create buildings, but the general gameplay is more in line with that of traditional RTS’ than we became accustomed to during the campaign.<\/p>\n

The Multiplayer is fast and action packed usually lasting around 20 minutes a match. Having less to worry about in terms of base management really allows players to get more creative with their tactical combat choices, ultimately providing players with a highly enjoyable multiplayer experience.

Graphics and Sound<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dawn of War II is by no means a show stopper in terms of its visuals, but it looks more than good enough to serve its purpose. Players can zoom in for a close up view of the action, and units are rendered and animated with a significant degree of detail. The different unit types across the various races are uniquely rendered, and the artistic direction is taken directly from the Warhammer 40,000 franchise.<\/p>\n

Players can customize and “paint” their armies in great detail, deepening the sense of involvement.<\/p>\n

The sounds do well to keep you immersed, with solid rumbling explosions and convincing unit dialogue. The entire package comes together to form what is essentially a technically sound gaming experience.<\/p>\n

So what is wrong with it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The only issue we have with Dawn of War II is that it does tend to become repetitive towards the end of the campaign. There is only so much one can do in terms of applying different tactics, and the gameplay tends to repeat itself across the campaign. Much of the combat takes place on the same maps as well, with players having to defend and revisit the same planets more than a few times.<\/p>\n

Many of the optional missions are repeats of each other, falling into the “Defend your base” or “Kill unit X” variety, a formula which quickly gets old when played across the same maps with little variation.<\/p>\n

Conclusion <\/strong><\/p>\n

Dawn of War II is a highly enjoyable Real time tactical combat simulator with a decent campaign management element and a strong character micro-management and RPG component.  Anybody looking for a fresh take on the strategy genre will not be disappointed with DoW II, which stands head and shoulders above its contemporaries, offering impressive depth rewarding gameplay.<\/p>\n

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System Requirements <\/strong><\/p>\n

Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)\/ Vista<\/p>\n

CPU: Pentium IV 3.2 GHz – We say Dual Core<\/p>\n

Ram: 1 GB (XP) 1.5 GB (Vista) – We say 2GB\/3GB<\/p>\n

Hard Drive Space: 5.5 GB<\/p>\n

Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 6600GT or ATi X 1600 Direct X 9. We say Geforce 7600GT\/7800GT<\/p>\n

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Discuss Dawn of War 2<\/a> on the forums<\/p>\n\n\t\t