By Brian Perry

[blippr]Dawn of War 2[/blippr] is a game solely focused on refining the key successes in Relic’s past. The tight, gripping story of Homeworld, the grasp of setting and de-emphasis on resource management of the original Dawn of War, and the strong emphasis on squad-based tactics of Company of Heroes.

The game’s story follows the tale of a young Blood Raven commander on assignment to assist Captain Gabriel Angelos, hero of the previous Dawn of War expansion, Dark Crusade. Captain Angelos is engaged in the pacification of an uprising of Orks, comical Goblinesque aliens prone to extreme violence, within sub-sector Arelia, a trio of recruiting worlds for the Blood Ravens. Throughout the campaign, the commander confronts the Ork horde and the enigmatic machinations of the returning Eldar, and repulses a hive fleet of locust-like Tyranids, the race of creatures that would inspire Blizzard’s Zerg. The Tyranids are hell-bent on devouring any resources they can find to fuel their unmitigated growth.

From the onset, the story grabs you and drags you along. The young commander is accompanied by a cast of well-imagined squad leaders, each commanding one of the six types of squads the player can control. You join the commander on his attempts to stop the Ork horde, unravel the Eldar’s plans for the sector, and finally, begin the long trek required to fight back the Tyranids. The plot fails, however, in its attempts to be referential to the series heritage, referencing events from the previously mentioned Dark Crusade. The story does not provide details, only vague hints at previous answers that were never provided. Thankfully, these references were few and far between, and while some character motivations are affected by the events of previous games, they do not take center stage to the plot as a whole, making them gems for previous players more than hooks for newer ones. Despite these drawbacks, the campaign is satisfying to even someone who has never completed a previous Dawn of War game.

The gameplay of Dawn of War 2 pushes the de-emphasis of resources its predecessor espoused, dropping both the occupation-based resource management and the base building of Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. It instead relies on the units themselves and charge-based “supplies” as the only resources required. While the Space Marines are genetically engineered to be the greatest warriors mankind has known, they are not immortal, and when a soldier falls in one of the player’s squads, the effectiveness of the squad is diminished, adding layers of difficulty to the mission at hand. To alleviate this failing, items called “drop beacons” are spread throughout the maps, and, if captured, will summon reinforcements to replenish the lost squad members. However, these locations are usually heavily guarded by the opposing factions, and contain little to no cover, making their acquisition a challenge early in gameplay. Some abilities offered to the squads, such as building-clearing grenades and stunning flash bangs, are run by charges, only replenished by ending the mission or finding supply boxes throughout the missions, with some locked away in destructible boxes or dropped by fallen opponents. The last resource (and the real wild card to the game’s resource system) is the in-game loot. Much like Diablo or World of Warcraft, enemies will drop pieces of equipment from time to time, working on the tried and true color coded system, indicating the item’s power. However, all weapons do not fit all units, and some items are only usable by certain squads, preventing the lightweight Scouts from using Heavy Bolters (the Warhammer equivalent of the portable machine gun), or your assault troopers using sniper rifles. These tools are provided both as rewards for completing missions, and as random drops. This changes the overall dynamic of the fight, allowing you to focus some units into sub roles, like anti-vehicle instead of anti-infantry, or even long-range skirmishers and short-range ambushers. However, the loot appears to be randomized, excepting some mission-specific rewards, preventing some classes of weapons from showing up at all in certain campaigns.

The gameplay of Dawn of War 2 borrows heavily from Relic’s latest franchise, Company of Heroes, focusing heavily on warfare tactics like cover and suppression to control the enemy, giving you time to make decisions on how best to eliminate them. The variety of units includes a scout squad that can equip shotguns or sniper rifles, regular Space Marines that carry the balanced Bolters but have the largest squad size, assault troopers that carry suppressing machine guns, troopers that use jet packs to leap into the air and pounce on opponents in melee combat, and lastly, a walking tank that can carry a gigantic autocannon or gripping claws to grab and crush its foes in close combat. Each unit offers different ways of tackling a strategic problem. For example, you could choose to suppress a foe with Bolter fire while raining down death with Rocket, or you could dive straight in, chainsaw swords churning with the blood of your foes, while snipers pick off those attempting to flee. Dawn of War 2′s battlefield is ripe with possibility. However, not all units are created equal, and their AI can be limiting. Often the commander equipped with suppression gear became spastic and never decided to deploy the weapon because he couldn’t seem to decide who he wanted to shoot at. Moreover, the campaign can be played while skipping entire squads for all but the “required” missions.

On the whole, Dawn of War 2 is a major improvement to its predecessor. The game stays true to the source material, providing an authentic feel for Warhammer 40k enthusiasts, while giving real-time strategy gamers a chance to enjoy a well thought-out strategic combat experience. For those looking for Diablo meets Starship Troopers, Dawn of War 2 should fight its way to the top of their lists, but those looking for a more classical take on the Sci-Fi RTS genre are probably better off waiting for StarCraft 2.

Score: 8/10
Check out Dawn of War 2 at the official site