Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (2) Review
Role playing games and strategy games are normally not my type of game and I never really enjoy them that much but with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II I really did enjoy it and it made me look at these types of games differently. Now I haven’t played the previous Warhammer games so I can’t say about the difference from the previous games.
Lets first talk about graphics. I think the graphics are pretty standard for these types of games and really similar to the recent C&C games. However the animations of fighting are really good you actually see the blood pouring out of the enemy when you hit them with your chain-saw style sword!
You start the campaign as a newly promoted general in charge of up to 3 other units on each mission. This is what makes the game different to most other strategy games like C&C. You don’t just build a base then build up a million tanks and then go attack another base. You have to use different units at different specific times for example you may need to kill a enemy in a building so by using the unit who has grenades will be the quickest way to do this. The objective on most missions are either to kill a boss or to defend a certain point for a certain amount of time. As you play the game each unit earns XP and levels up after a certain amount of XP. On a level up you get to choose which attributes you want to increase on the unit either ranged attacks, melee attacks or health. You may also get a new item on a level up such as a new sword or new power armor. Each unit also can gain special abilities. For example the sniper squad has the ability to heal himself and teammates around him.
You can only ever control 4 units in a mission so you have up to 2 other neglected squads who will gain minimal XP on each mission. This is where the game gets tactical you have to choose which squads to use on each mission. You may play the mission and fail then decide that it’s better suited for long range attacks rather than close combat so you’ll use your sniper squad instead of jumpjet marines!
The multiplayer differs from the single player because instead of leveling up all your squads, you select a commander unit that has a special set of war gear and upgrades for specific play styles. The multiplayer focuses on claiming territory as its main objective. Base building is limited to a single structure that produces all of your units; each unit in turn has its own set of purchasable upgrades and abilities.
Conclusion:
As I am not normally into RTS games and more of a FPS gamer, before reviewing the game I really thought I wasn’t going to enjoy Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II but I really did and was really impressed by the tactics involved and the incredible animations. I would recommend this game to any gamer newbie or experienced.
