Genre: Real-Time Strategy Publisher: THQ Developer: Relic Players: 1-8
Now over two decades old, The Warhammer 40,000 franchise seems custom-designed to appeal to the inner 13-year-old in every male regardless of age, colour or creed. Over a lifespan of 20 years, the crew at Games Workshop have managed to cram in just about every science-fiction cliché imaginable. From impossibly macho power-suited warrior-monks and giant anime-inspired mecha, to space elves and daemon-slaying chainsaw-swords, the Games Workshop crew have tried damn hard to include something that appeals to every sci-fi enthusiast and gamer. All of this makes for a rich background universe for Relic to draw upon, although some of the fluff is probably a bit daunting to the uninitiated.
Similar to the first Dawn of War and Company of Heroes titles, while the game ships with four different factions, the single-player campaign only follows one of them. The campaign pits a few squads of Space Marines against unending hordes of Orks, Tyranids and Eldar, with missions selected on a Risk-style world map. Starting with a mission to rid a planet of Orks, the other factions are introduced as the game progresses, and events unfold which pit your forces first against the Orks and Eldar, then against the Tyranids. The story is told through a combination of briefing screen voice-overs, and the beautiful painted cutscenes which are one of Relic’s trademarks.
The Essence engine remains impressive. Explosions are beautifully rendered, throwing rubble and ragdoll corpses around the map quite nicely. There are some diverse environments on display for each of the different worlds, including deserts, jungles and the occasional futuristic urban map. Models are detailed and realistic, and there are some fantastic little touches here and there. A squad’s appearance will actually change based on the gear they’ve been equipped with. Killing a Tyranid synapse creature in one of the single-player levels will cause the brainless creatures around it to start attacking each other.
The only factor that really blunts the impact of the game’s technical prowess is the fact that we’ve seen it all before. A lot of the levels are hard to distinguish from similar environments in Company of Heroes, and the core mechanics really haven’t advanced all that much.
Eschewing base-building entirely this time around, each of the single-player missions instead puts you in control of up to four squads of soldiers. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, and is capable of equipping a different assortment of equipment depending on what you’ve managed to retrieve or receive as awards for accomplishing certain objectives. Contrasted with the ultra-durable units from the first iteration of the series, the in-game assets you’re given are glass cannons. They’re capable of doing a tremendous amount of damage if used correctly, but prone to dying rather quickly if they’re left out of cover too long. Online co-op has also been implemented for the campaign, but all this really comes down to is giving the second player control over half the squads. This was a nice idea that I hope Relic explore some more in the future, but at the moment it feels like an afterthought.
The upgrade system works more like an RPG than a straight RTS, with units accruing experience points, and unlocking access to new weapons and different abilities. The focus on the RPG aspects of the game and only allowing the player to field a limited number of infantry squads comes at the detriment of vehicles and base-building, and actually feels like a step backwards in many ways. A properly micro-managed vehicle was capable of dominating the battlefield in Company of Heroes, and mowing down endless hordes of aliens gets to be a bit of a grind when it’s the only aspect of the game to be focused on. Compounding this is the fact that none of the missions are as varied or well-designed as those from Relic’s other titles.
Competitive multiplayer is in dire need of some rebalancing, which is unfortunately a common problem with Relic titles. There are quite a few bugs and exploits to be worked out, although Relic says a patch is due soon. Matches are easy to find online, which is good because they’re normally over quite quickly. Once again, base-building takes a back seat to squad micro-management, and it can be very difficult to recover from initial setbacks, particularly if you’re up against somebody who knows what they’re doing.
The online component has been implemented throughout the game. This is the first ever PC exclusive to use Microsoft achievements, and a Games for Windows Live account is required for both the single-player and multiplayer components of the game. Given that a Steam account is also required to access patches and updates, a good broadband connection is an absolute must for this title regardless of whether or not you intend to play multiplayer.
Relic’s last few titles have been a triumph, and there were high hopes for Dawn of War II. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t quite measure up to the previous iterations of the series or Company of Heroes. Relic are capable as ever at implementing some thoughtful and well-designed game mechanics, but the campaign design and multiplayer balance are both severely lacking. No doubt there’s patches and an expansion or two on the way which will redress some of this criticism, but this just isn’t the world-altering super-RTS we were told to expect. Nevertheless, the gameplay is solid and I can’t wait to see where Relic take the franchise in the future.
By Lachlan (24th Feb 2009)
Relic Entertainment's latest offering is an at-times uneasy blend of dungeon crawl-style RPG and far-future RTS action.
Videogame enthusiasts now live in an era of downloadable content, release-day patches, hotfixes and expansions that occasionally include more content than the original title. All of this conspires to make the critic’s job difficult – are you to review the game as released, or as it might be in six months?
Relic Entertainment has an enviable roster of games. Not many titles from 10 years ago have withstood the test of time, but Homeworld still feels fresh. Combining lush visuals with an intuitive interface and revolutionary gameplay, the title set the standard by which all space RTS games still get measured. 2004’s Dawn of War built on this precedent, changing the focus in RTS matches from base-building to squad-based tactical maneuvers. Company of Heroes was the World War II themed evolution of these game principles, implementing an infantry cover system, incredible graphics and a host of smaller innovations that made it one of the best PC games of recent years. This last title also debuted the Essence engine, which Relic have used for their latest foray into the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Now over two decades old, The Warhammer 40,000 franchise seems custom-designed to appeal to the inner 13-year-old in every male regardless of age, colour or creed. Over a lifespan of 20 years, the crew at Games Workshop have managed to cram in just about every science-fiction cliché imaginable. From impossibly macho power-suited warrior-monks and giant anime-inspired mecha, to space elves and daemon-slaying chainsaw-swords, the Games Workshop crew have tried damn hard to include something that appeals to every sci-fi enthusiast and gamer. All of this makes for a rich background universe for Relic to draw upon, although some of the fluff is probably a bit daunting to the uninitiated.
Similar to the first Dawn of War and Company of Heroes titles, while the game ships with four different factions, the single-player campaign only follows one of them. The campaign pits a few squads of Space Marines against unending hordes of Orks, Tyranids and Eldar, with missions selected on a Risk-style world map. Starting with a mission to rid a planet of Orks, the other factions are introduced as the game progresses, and events unfold which pit your forces first against the Orks and Eldar, then against the Tyranids. The story is told through a combination of briefing screen voice-overs, and the beautiful painted cutscenes which are one of Relic’s trademarks.
The Essence engine remains impressive. Explosions are beautifully rendered, throwing rubble and ragdoll corpses around the map quite nicely. There are some diverse environments on display for each of the different worlds, including deserts, jungles and the occasional futuristic urban map. Models are detailed and realistic, and there are some fantastic little touches here and there. A squad’s appearance will actually change based on the gear they’ve been equipped with. Killing a Tyranid synapse creature in one of the single-player levels will cause the brainless creatures around it to start attacking each other.
The only factor that really blunts the impact of the game’s technical prowess is the fact that we’ve seen it all before. A lot of the levels are hard to distinguish from similar environments in Company of Heroes, and the core mechanics really haven’t advanced all that much.
Eschewing base-building entirely this time around, each of the single-player missions instead puts you in control of up to four squads of soldiers. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, and is capable of equipping a different assortment of equipment depending on what you’ve managed to retrieve or receive as awards for accomplishing certain objectives. Contrasted with the ultra-durable units from the first iteration of the series, the in-game assets you’re given are glass cannons. They’re capable of doing a tremendous amount of damage if used correctly, but prone to dying rather quickly if they’re left out of cover too long. Online co-op has also been implemented for the campaign, but all this really comes down to is giving the second player control over half the squads. This was a nice idea that I hope Relic explore some more in the future, but at the moment it feels like an afterthought.
The upgrade system works more like an RPG than a straight RTS, with units accruing experience points, and unlocking access to new weapons and different abilities. The focus on the RPG aspects of the game and only allowing the player to field a limited number of infantry squads comes at the detriment of vehicles and base-building, and actually feels like a step backwards in many ways. A properly micro-managed vehicle was capable of dominating the battlefield in Company of Heroes, and mowing down endless hordes of aliens gets to be a bit of a grind when it’s the only aspect of the game to be focused on. Compounding this is the fact that none of the missions are as varied or well-designed as those from Relic’s other titles.
Competitive multiplayer is in dire need of some rebalancing, which is unfortunately a common problem with Relic titles. There are quite a few bugs and exploits to be worked out, although Relic says a patch is due soon. Matches are easy to find online, which is good because they’re normally over quite quickly. Once again, base-building takes a back seat to squad micro-management, and it can be very difficult to recover from initial setbacks, particularly if you’re up against somebody who knows what they’re doing.
The online component has been implemented throughout the game. This is the first ever PC exclusive to use Microsoft achievements, and a Games for Windows Live account is required for both the single-player and multiplayer components of the game. Given that a Steam account is also required to access patches and updates, a good broadband connection is an absolute must for this title regardless of whether or not you intend to play multiplayer.
Relic’s last few titles have been a triumph, and there were high hopes for Dawn of War II. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t quite measure up to the previous iterations of the series or Company of Heroes. Relic are capable as ever at implementing some thoughtful and well-designed game mechanics, but the campaign design and multiplayer balance are both severely lacking. No doubt there’s patches and an expansion or two on the way which will redress some of this criticism, but this just isn’t the world-altering super-RTS we were told to expect. Nevertheless, the gameplay is solid and I can’t wait to see where Relic take the franchise in the future.
7.4
Single Play
7.0
Friend Play
7.5
Multi Play
7.3
Graphics
8.6
Sound
8.4
Challenge
7.5
Entertainment
7.7
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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Vital stats
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC)
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we say:
7.4 - you say: 7
- scores: 1 your score: 0/10
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I suppose it is worth noting that this game *did* achieve its primary goal. The idea, as i understood it, was to create a game which mirrored the tabletop Warhammer 40k as closesly as possible. While it would have been possible to transfer the mechanic exactly, and I wish they had, I think they did an admirable job providing a PC-based alternative to the tabletop Warhammer 40k. The fact is that Warhammer *is* a grind. It's not exactly varied, each game follows much the same tone (destroy the entire enemy force) despite the actual goal, and the tabletop advancement system is almost identical to DoW2.
I don't disagree with your rating, however. As a PC game (taken alone) it could definitely have been much better. I simply wished to point out that the goal was to bring the tone closer to the tabletop game and it accomplished that very well.
Thanks for your comment, neutral. No game exists in a vacuum, and I felt the comparisons with Relic's other titles were fair as they inform expectations for this release. 7.4 is a decent enough score for a game that shipped with as many bugs and balance problems as this one.
What, you mad cause they gave your favorite game an average score? LOL! And it's obvious the game plays very similar to CoH, so a comparison is nigh inevitable.
Perhaps you should focus more on the merits of the game itself, rather than constantly comparing it with Relic's other titles. Who the hell cares how it shapes up to Company of Heroes!