Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

Rating:
Summary: Junk Total War for this
Review: Warhammer 40000 is by far the best RTS I have played in a long time. I gave Rome Total War 1 star because I simply hated it, boring to be honest, stunning graphics, but a snooze, Age of Mythology scoring 3 because it had a better story, but this one is a lot more interesting than the others because it puts YOU in control making YOU feel like you are God or something with 4 meter tall robots coming out of the factories screeching lines like ... I am here to serve you master, so you link it with about twenty flying infantry, a leader and off you go with a row of tanks to smash up the enemy orc base. Sounds like any other game, but not Warhammer, just because it is so immersive and the new developments in what you can do and build are many making this the best thing since Red Alert.

The story however is a bit of a let down, a massively impressive opening sequence however with a little bit of back story but the cut scenes just get in the way of the action and you have a good idea of what you must do, get building, get creating, set up defense, make up a strategy and listen to the robots as they hail you to take them off to war as if they really want it. There is a nice change of character types, new items and places to explore. Although somewhat short it packs a whopping punch to boot.

Linear in terms of start here, finish there, all RTS games are nearly the same, save for Dungeon Siege, but that is another game altogether. Here the science fiction world of robots and armored killing machines meets orcs and space entities that all want a bit of your land. There is simply something new at every turn to ponder.

I am impressed by the quality of the battles, very smash 'em up with buildings going up in smoke, space jets flying around the place and giant robots mashing up an enemy mech squad, all pleasing to the eye but require a high end system to match the graphics.

If it is RTS you are looking for then WH40000 is really where it is at. The only disappointing aspect is that the backgrounds are either white or blue with no atmosphere which makes the low angle battle scenes look set against a giant blue bitmap that could have better. Still though, that aside, it is just a big mecha juggernaut of a RTS game that deserves the week or two you will get out of playing it now and again.

You will be into this more than men on horses chucking spears. Highly recommended.


Rating:
Summary: Very Good RTS
Review: When I saw this summer that this game would be released close to the release date of Rome:Total War (late september) I thought that I would buy this one first and quickly move on to Rome. Kind of like the appetizer before the main course. But it is December and I am still on the appetizer. This game is beautifully rendered and very fun to play. Some other reviewers were right to say this is what Starcraft 2 would look like if Blizzard ever had the guts to make it.

When you zoom in to the action you marvel at the graphics. Just like everyone else has said already the highlights are the multiplayer and the skirmishes. I think they kind phoned it in for the single player campaign. But if you liked Starcraft you will get a lot of mileage out of this one.