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By Lachlan (9th Jun 2008)

The Warhammer 40,000 universe stands as one of the most popular imaginary destinations for geeks around the world. Games Workshop’s tabletop gaming franchise has proven to be extremely popular for the last two decades, even though every miniature you paint probably delays the loss of your virginity by six months. More than a dozen video games of wildly varying quality have used this universe as a backdrop, with only the Dawn of War series truly head and shoulders above the rest.

Relic Entertainment’s 2004 release of the original Dawn of War was a kick in the pants for the RTS genre. Featuring some at-the-time unique mechanics, the game centered around control of the battlefield, relegating the harvesting and base-building common in other RTS titles to a distant secondary concern. Dawn of War rewarded players who took the initiative – turtling behind a wall of defenses, or trying to amass a fortune in resources were both good ways to lose.

The Winter Assault expansion added a new race to the original lineup of four, the all-too human Imperial Guard. Styled in part after the Red Army circa World War II, the Imperial Guard was for people who just couldn’t connect with the endless lineup of aliens and supersoldiers from the first game. Dark Crusade added not one, but two new races – the anime-influenced Tau, and the ancient and none-too-pleasant Necrons – along with a new Risk-style mode of campaign gameplay.

With seven wildly different races in the mix, balance problems were in abundance. Patches fixed a few issues, but there are some glaring issues that remain even today. In recent times, Relic have turned their attention to Company of Heroes and the recently announced Dawn of War 2, leaving the development of Soulstorm to outside (and now sadly defunct) PC developer, Ironlore Entertainment.

It’s always a pretty sorry state of affairs when the story behind a release makes for a more compelling spectacle than the finished product. Examples abound, from the sheer trainwreck that was Daikatana, to the sorry tale of the alcoholic frat boy who made “Boondock Saints”, to just how Uwe Boll manages to find people willing to star in and fund his awful, awful movies (my theory? He stakes out his local Betty Ford Clinic around the clock).

For those who aren’t up to date, Ironlore Entertainment went under shortly after this title went gold, with the CEO quick to pin the blame on piracy and ridiculous hardware requirements. Bad news if you were hanging out for a sequel to Titan Quest, but Relic have stated their intentions to provide patches and support for Soulstorm into the future. This is a good thing, as what should have been a premier release for the PC was shipped with some almost game-breaking bugs. One of the new races introduced has an exploit for infinite resources, and spectators in online multiplayer matches can activate special abilities which have an effect on the match, kinda flying in the face of the whole “spectator” thing.

Hilariously broken multiplayer aside, the four year old Dawn of War engine is starting to show its age, especially when compared to Company of Heroes or World in Conflict. 2004 was a long time ago, and PC gamers expect a lot more from their rigs four years on. Let’s face it, any title without Havok physics, particle effects and dynamic lighting is going to look a little dated in this day and age.

Besides the graphics, the major sign that the engine is getting a little creaky is the way that the new air units (one for each race) have been shoehorned into the game. Although the engine was never initially designed to support these additions, they were apparently introduced at the behest of Games Workshop. While I never found myself fielding more than one at any time, there was something about the way in which they skirted obstacles like a ground unit as they meandered around the map that was so awkward. Their implementation didn’t even compare favourable to the fighter jets from Command and Conquer: Generals, a title older than the first Dawn of War.

Eschewing the linear sequence of missions found in both the original Dawn of War and Winter Assault, Soulstorm builds on the turn-based style of gameplay found in Dark Crusade. During your turn, you have the option to reinforce areas under your control, add units to your commander’s honour guard, and of course, launch assaults on enemy-held territories. Almost all these territories add bonuses, such as new strategic abilities, an increase in the unit cap, or new units for the commander’s retinue. Once you’ve conquered enough territories to give you an edge, it’s time to take on one of the strongholds and eliminate another race from the game.

The stronghold battles in Dark Crusade were difficult and exciting, chock-full of enemy units and scripted events. Soulstorm’s climactic battles just don’t live up to the same lofty heights. They’re not as difficult, and a lot of the voice acting is just too awful to have any real emotional impact. The narration in the first game was incredible, while the ridiculous inflection used in Soulstorm is nothing short of embarassing.

The two new races are also a bit of a disappointment. The Sisters of Battle are heavily derivative of the Space Marines and Imperial Guard, while the Dark Eldar play like a reskin of their earlier counterparts. The new animations and models aren’t quite as good as those that were present in the earlier titles, while the new special abilities just add even more balance problems to a game that was already full of them.

Soulstorm adds nothing that really needed to be added to an already stellar lineup of game titles. If you’ve played every title in the series and are desperately awaiting the release of Dawn of War 2, then this will probably hold you over for a few months. If you’re yet to be introduced to this dark, violent and dramatic series, then you can pick up an excellent compilation of the first three titles for less than this one alone.