An Outrageous Masterpiece of Strategy

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent graphics, elegant gameplay, intriguing universe.

Cons: Taxes your computer a bit, but well worth it.

The Bottom Line: 
This is the best RTS title I've ever played. It is an absolute blast.

Author's Review
*This review is for the Warhammer 40K Dark Crusade expansion to the Dawn of War title.*

If there has ever been a franchise crying out for a computer-game to be made, it is the Warhammer 40K universe. This table-top miniature game has always bored me to tears with its endless hours of tape-measuring, painting, and arguing over rules. Yet, the idea of the game has always intrigued me. It is a sci-fi dystopian nightmare where huge armies of genetically modified super soldiers do battle with monstrous ork legions, eldar armies which resemble heavily armed elves, and a whole host of demonic hordes. In this world, there aren't really any good guys, just winners and losers. Its a grim vision, but it also realizes just how ridiculous the whole affair is and takes joy in going completely over the top in its violence.

By making a real-time strategy game on the computer, many of the annoying and time-consuming aspects of the tabletop game disappear. Sure, you don't get the joy of painting (and purchasing) all those miniatures, but the actual thrill of the battle is far more visceral and exciting to the likes of me. Here, you can forget all the minutia and concentrate on the mayhem. Yes, there is a lot of mayhem.

In some ways, the gameplay is similar to the Command and Conquer franchise. You occupy an overhead view of your troops which are commanded almost exclusively through clicks of the mouse. There are a few necessary keyboard commands, and a whole array of hotkeys that make your life easier, but you can pretty much do everythign with the mouse. The control layout, which is always critical in a RTS title, is elegant and easy to use. In fact, although there are a lot of different unit upgrades and technology trees, this is an easy game to get started with. It is also a game based upon front-line action rather than base-building and resource gathering.

There are resources, of course. These are represented by "stretegic points" which must be captured by platoons of your soliders and held against enemy attacks. The more of these points you control, the faster you gain resources to build troops and structures. Some points, called relics, are much more scarce and necessary to build the coolest (and most powerful) units. All of these points can be reinforce by armed listening posts so you don't necessarily have to babysit all of them with troops. Of course, the relics are important enough they they typically become major battlezones throughout the game.

Generally speaking, Warhammer 40K does not reward base-campers. Instead, you have to quickly move out and capture stretegic points so you can start building up your army. You also need to do a lot of forward planning about how you are going to compose this attacking force, because your enemy is doing the exact same thing. Although defensive thinking cannot be completely ignored, you certainly can't afford to sit back at your base and build turrets. Even at an easy difficulty level, this sort of strategy will get you overwhelemed by hordes of enemy troops. Defense is only a way to buy time so that you can develop those major offensive units and go marching into the enemy base to destroy their HQ.

Outside of the excellent tactical battles, there is also a strategic map where you must decide which of the many parts of the planet Kronus that you want to attack. Different regions provide different bonuses, and there is some planning that needs to be done in order to make your campaigns successful. After you have won a territory, you must often defend it against enemy attacks. These battles can all be resolved automatically if you don't want to sit through a full battle, but I've found it difficult to predict the outcome of these automated battles.

In addition to the typical battles for map regions, each enemy combatant has a stronghold that must be conquered in order to knock them out of the game. These strongholds are heavily defended and very, very difficult and time consuming to overcome. Even on easy difficulty, it takes quite a bit of time and effort to win these massive battles.

All of these gameplay elements are handled very, very well. In fact, there are really no major weaknesses in the game. It does all of the necessary RTS elements with distinction, and adds a few new ones into the mix to make the experience unique. The graphics are top-notch, with highly detailed troops who are exquisitely animated. It is quite entertaining to watch large groups of soldiers pummeling each other with heavy weapons while tanks, mechs, and thirty-foot demons smash up the scenery. The sounds are well suited to the action, with great guns and explosion effects. Even the voice acting, which can be annoying in similar titles, is handled well.

In the end, however, the best thing about this game is the atmosphere provided by the Warhammer universe. The various factions are unique and have well thought-out strengths and weaknesses. If you are into high-tech, ranged combat you will probably enjoy playing with the Tau. If you prefer smashmouth melee the Orks are a good option. I enjoy using the Chaos Space Marines because they have such cool looking units. No matter what your preference, if you enjoy RTS games this is a must-have title. If you don't enjoy RTS games, than this one might just make you change your mind.