Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

"And the world of Khronos shall burn..."

When Warhammer: Dawn of War first came out, I was a bit skeptical. I hadn't played the table top wargame, but I remember all the jokes being made about it complexity and cost. I figured that it would, at best, be a Warcraft 3 clone and, at worst, just be a horrible, horrible game. However, I was in the mood for a new RTS game, and I love sci-fi, so I picked the game up. Since then, I fell in love and I play the game religiously, both the digital version and the table top. Winter Assault added some much needed flavor the to game, but it was still missing three of the big races. How does Dark Crusade, the latest expansion, fair?

Graphics: 9/10

Without a doubt, Dark Crusade has sharpened up the graphics. While they didn't rehaul the dated graphics engine, they did tweak it. Everything seems a bit crisper, and the new glow effects on some of the weapons and units actually looks convincing. With wide screen support added, the game gets a new, cinematic feel. Sitting back and watching huge engagements is just as awe inspiring, especially with some of the new units.

The sci-fi goth feel is retained as much as possible without being over bearing. The world is a dark and drab place, filled with splattered mud, trampled grass, and ruffled snow. Though bleak, the game is still colorful where it needs to be. The use of colors, an oft over looked part of graphics, is amazing. One liners from the game world litter the menus, which look like old, rusted panels, giving the feel of the grim future that Games Workshop has worked so hard to preserve.

Each race has their own very unique look. The two new races, Tau and Necron, are beautifully rendered and are very faithful to their table top counter parts. The building designs match each race, and honestly feel as if Games Workshop designed them. There is nothing to complain about.

Sound: 10/10

One of my favorite things about Dawn of War was the voice acting. THQ did an excellent job of capturing the audible feel of the game. Each race as their own individual voice, and the one liners they spout out are pure 40k fluff at its best. Most of the lines are taken from the various codexes (books that explain racial rules), and when put with the quality actors, help drag the player further into the game.

Sound effects are equally well done. We may never live to hear what the real world equivalent to a gauss rifle might sound like, or a rail gun, or a shiruken pistol, but THQ seems to have an idea. The frantic screams of “INCOMING!” as artillery rain upon a covered position, following by a volley of heavy laser fire, sounds more realistic than what most games manage.

The music is background music. It fits the game well, but it is nothing memorable. It does add to the game experience, but it is nothing I would pop on an MP3 player or WinAmp and listen to on my off time.

Campaign: 8/10

The story is weak, but this isn't an RPG, so I can't fault it for that. The metamap system that so many RTS are favoring works well here. Each province has a bonus, some have twists, and they put you so close to your opponents that conflict will happen sooner rather than later. While this game is all about fast and furious combat, forcing the player to advance in order to gain more resources and frowning on turtling, the metamap is too small. Also, static placements mean replayability is limited. The attempt at something special is there, but it falls short of the mark.

What it doesn't fall short on is fun, however. Though initially frustrating due to my opening complaints, it is a fun campaign. It is fast and bloody, and the terrain twists can provide for some interesting objective based missions, as opposed to cleanse-purge-kill.

The hero customization feature is nice. The player is rewarded access to gear, based on accomplishments through the missions. While you strive for every upgrade, early on the upgrades allow you to specialize your hero based on your play style, while late game your hero is nothing more than an uber-bloody power house.

Gameplay: 7/10

RTS gameplay hasn't changed much over the years. Most games fall into the fairly static build-research-build-research-build. One thing that Dawn of War does away with is the need to mine and harvest, instead, you capture points along the map that give you requisition, and build a few small power plants for energy. Aside from that one minor innovation, Dawn of War loses points for not doing anything aside from the usual.

Over All: 10/10 (Not an average!)

While it doesn't do anything new for the genre in terms of gameplay, Dawn of War: Dark Crusade is an amazingly fun and engaging game. The world has a very distinct feel that hasn't been fully exploited yet, and is very unique in a genre of “realistic” sci-fi and modern games and Warcraft III fantasy clones. The game has content that appeals to gamers, hardcore Warhammer 40k fans, and casual gamers.

Pros:
-Extremely fun multiplayer and skirmish mode
-Excellent graphics, sound, and presentation
-Difference between races is very noticeable and requires different playstyles
-Just really fracking fun

Cons:
-Campaign mode is a bit disappointing at times
-Not enough to whine about. =)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/06