Warhammer 40,000
Dawn of War
review by Head Cheeze

Resource gathering games usually bother the fuck out of me, simply because I wanna kill, baby!! Kill!! So when I learned that Dawn of War (the new RTS based on one of my all time favourite geek games, the miniatures based tabletop war game, Warhammer 40K) was going to adopt the same sort of "mine for ore/gather shit" resource system used in just about every RTS ever made, I was less than thrilled, and a bit scared that this would be just another run-of-the-mill strategy game. However, when an invitation to partake in the Beta testing of the game led to me being able to try Dawn of War for myself, all of my fears were put to rest.

Dawn of War simply rocks!

Anyone whose remotely familiar with the Games Workshop brand of table-top battle sims will be floored by THQ/Relic's pixelated version of the game, as it features some of the best graphics I've seen in this genre, as well as a cool "floating" camera, which lets you zoom in on any of your troops or parts of the battlefield. The camera lets you adjust angles with a quick move of the mouse, and gives you a battlefield view from your troop's persepective. It's a touch that virtually puts you in the game and is mind-blowingly cool, especially since each troop class has it's own unique movements, death animations, taunts, and poses.

You play as one of four races; the Space Marines, who are a super human breed of soldier, heavily armed and armoured, and capable of wiping out the largest of armies with their vicious firepower and resolve. The Orks (my favourites!) are green skinned brutes with a brutally low-tech approach that's balanced by their sheer numbers, and wonky-yet-deadly machines of war. The pesky Eldar are a mysterious race of highly intelligent Elf-like beings whose elegance is obvious in both their fighting style and colourful garb. Their strength lies in their superior technology and cunning. And, finally, there are The Chaos, former Space Marines whose minds have been twisted by the Warp technology of the future. The Chaos worship demons who they can summon to battle, and feature a similiar array of devastating weaponry as the Space Marines.

The game is divided into three sections; single player campaign, skirmish, or online multiplayer. While the single player campaign is a fun diversion, and the skirmish option is great for practice before facing live opponents, the multiplayer game is the real reason folks will be playing Dawn of War for a long time to come. The gameplay is fast, furious, and highly addictive. I've played this game for hours on end, logged off in frustration after a particularly long and brutal game, only to find myself getting the itch to return to battle merely minutes later. It's that good, and it's that addictive.

Multiplayer games feature anywhere from 2 to 8 players, each starting the game with a single building, and, depending on the chosen race, builders and/or scouts. The scouts capture points on the map which then provide the builders with the funds needed to construct new buildings. These buildings range from the simple barracks (for troop building), armouries (for weapons upgrades), and listening posts (defense) to Demon Pits (for summoning demons!) and Machine Pits (for making armoured vehicles). As you gather more resources, you build up your army, upgrade your base, and, ultimately, have access to the game's most powerful weapons, troops, and creatures. This may sound easy, and, sometimes, it can be, but if you're facing an opponent of any sort of skill, one can expect wave after wave of debilitating attack, the likes of which force you to exhaust crucial resources to rebuild things they've destroyed.

The multiplayer game has several options as well, where you can play as teams, co-op against the computer, or have a brutal free-for-all (an 8 player FFA is quite fun!). There are also various "goals" such as take-and-hold, annhilate, assassinate (the opposing team's leader), and all of the difficulties of said tasks can be modified by adjusting the output of resources, and AI of idle troops and defenses. In multiplayer games where you play as teams, your success or failure hinges on communication and strategy with your allies, but, in free for all games, there's also a diplomacy option in which you can secretly contact one of your opponents and make him an ally; well, at least until the other competition is wiped out. After that, your truce is over and it's back to battle.

THQ and Relic have done what no other developers have been able to do in at least a decades worth of attempts, and that's capture the true spirit, fun, and challenge of the Warhammer experience in a computer game. Dawn of War delivers all of the good stuff from the tabletop experience, without all the dice, charts, measuring tapes, and stacks of reference materials needed to see if your Dreadnought's taken a direct hit or a glancing blow.

Fans of the Warhammer universe will buy this the minute it hit's the shelves, but I encourage any armchair generals out there to give this one a look. It's a game filled with character, epic in scope, and as addictive as a rock of premium crack.

Great stuff!