Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review

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Imagine what the human race was like 40,000 years ago. No civilizations, not even any recorded history, existed then. According to fossils, human beings were “Homo sapiens sapiens”, and were just starting to migrate into Europe. The technology of that time period was extremely primitive, composing of simple arrowheads and flake and flint tools. It is not unreasonable to assume that a single soldier of today, provided with enough materials to complete the job, could wipe out the entire human race that existed 40,000 years ago.

Now fast-forward 40,000 years from today into the future. This is the setting for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, the new Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game from THQ and Relic Entertainment. Human beings, in their never-ending quest for knowledge, have expanded to the outer reaches of the universe. With their advanced technology, they have fertilized and inhabited many Earth-like planets in thousands of galaxies. These planets, however, are not individual states, but a united grouping of civilizations under “The Emperor”. The Emperor is genetically human, but he is worshipped as a god for his ability to unite billions of people using his advanced physic abilities (that he gained, presumably, from genetic mutation). His vision is keen, and he has his sights on controlling the rest of the universe, of which there is not much left.

The human presence did not go unnoticed. In the three other far reaches of the universe, there exist three other dominant races: the forces of Chaos, the Orks, and the Eldar. These civilizations have felt the pressure of the human expansion, and have declared war on the human race. Now, the elite troops of The Emperor, known as the “Space Marines”, are humanity’s only hope to avoid complete destruction. In the multiplayer setting, the player can play as one of the four warring races of the universe.

The most striking thing about Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is it’s extreme attention to detail with its artwork and animations. The game engine allows the camera to be completely zoomed in, so that only one unit is displayed across the screen (the camera can also be rotated 360 degrees, and can be tilted from ground level to an overhead view). When fighting, units will perform a variety of animations that reflect exactly what they are doing. If they are throwing a grenade, they will actually look like they are throwing a grenade. If they are loading up and aiming a plasma cannon, you can see them actually do that. If they are getting shot, you can see them start to bleed and take damage. If they get speared by a squiggoth (imagine a cross between a giant elephant and a snapping turtle, fully equipped with armor and gun turrets), they will spew blood from their torso, and wiggle for a while at the end of its tusk, until finally being flung in the air by the large and ferocious beast.
One would be hard-pressed to find a game that matches DoW’s brutality and gruesomeness in any game genre, let alone a RTS. Units being trampled, cut in half, or blown into pieces are frequent occurrences within the realm of battle. In melee battles, one can witness real dodging (meaning when units duck, it is because a weapon just flew by right above them, or when they sidestep, it is to avoid a sagittal swipe). In addition, when units are killed in melee, it is because of a critical blow, usually by a thrust to the chest or sometimes by decapitation. Also, some races fly farther than others when hit with a large explosion.

The other interesting and striking thing about Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, are the actual rules of the game. Unlike traditional RTS games that involve “Villagers” or “Gatherer” type units, DoW utilizes no resources in the traditional sense. In order to acquire units, there are only two types of resources: Requisition and Power (and an additional third resource for Orks, called “Ork Resource”). Requisition points are obtained by acquiring and holding strategic “Capture Points”, which are scattered throughout the map. There are also “Critical Capture Points” and Relics, which can be acquired and generate requisition at faster rates. In order to actually capture a point on the map, military units must be placed there, and they must stay there and hoist up a banner with their tribes’ symbol, which takes time. Once the banner is erected they can leave the area. Power, on the other hand, is responsible more for the acquisition of vehicles, and is obtained from generators and super generators, which are called Thermo-Plasma Generators (TP generators can only be built on special mine deposits).
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Buildings cannot be built in any location around the map. They can be built around settlements (the building that produces builder-type units and is the starting, central location on the map for each race), around Listening Posts (listening posts are special structures than are built on top of capture points), and around Thermo-Plasma Generators (which again, can only be built on top of special mine deposits). This aspect of the game makes the player constantly aware of his surroundings and currently owned territory, and also adds another component of strategy, especially because only a limited amount of builder units can be on the map at one time (less than five for each race).

Another thing that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War incorporates is the squad system. With the exception of builder units, vehicles, and unique units, most standard units are produced from buildings in squads. Squads usually compose of four units of the same type, and can be upgraded to sixteen in one squad (there is a limit to how many squads a player can have at one time). Squads can also be outfitted with a captain, who serves as both a strong fighter and a morale booster (captains also have special abilities, which differ from race to race). Although they are produced as a group, squads can also be highly specialized, down to individual units. For example, a unit can be upgraded to include an anti-vehicle weapon, or an assortment of other weaponry that varies from race to race. The player can choose whether or not one unit receives all types of weapons and upgrades, or if different units in the squad all receive different weapons, but not as many upgrades. So individual squads can be completely different from one another, and smart players try to identify both the enemy captains and heavily equipped enemy squad units and try to eliminate those first.

Morale is another critical aspect of the game, although it applies mostly to the Chaos and Eldar races. High morale makes soldiers more effective in battle, and low morale makes them less effective (lower accuracy, dodges in melee less). Units will never run away on their own, and the player never loses control of the units. Certain units can inspire the soldiers around them, which can turn the tide of battle.

Here is a summary of the four races in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War:
“Space Marines” – Genetically engineered and manufactured human beings, who are built for war. They live for one purpose, serving the Emperor. Their unswerving loyalty to him provides the Space Marines with very high morale, and will still continue to fight to their best possible degree, even in the face of certain defeat. The Space Marines have the most expensive troops, but they are extremely versatile and very strong. As such, they are often the race with the fewest in number on the battlefield. They also have the best long ranged support of all the races, and have very durable war machines and vehicles.

“Chaos Space Marines” – The Chaos Marines used to part of mankind, but were exiled because of their instigation of a civil war thousands of years ago. They now fight against the Space Marines from their part of the galaxy that they control. The Chaos Marines compose of demons, sorcerers, and abominations from all around the galaxy. They excel at close quarter combat, and have average morale. They rely on tactics to demoralize the enemy and infiltrate him, essentially using guerilla type warfare. Their units are not very expensive but not cheap, and they are good at adapting to different situations. They have average vehicles that attack well but cannot take much damage. They also have the best single unit in the game, the Bloodthirster, who is an enormous demon that wields a giant axe.
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“The Orks” – The Orks are the typical orc-type race. They are the cheapest units to produce, are made the fastest, and also die the fastest. In hoards, they are immune to negative morale effects; on their own, they have very low morale. The orcs attempt to overwhelm their opponents by using sheer numbers to not only crush them, but to demoralize them. The orcs are not very adaptable and are not specialized. They have below average vehicles. In order for certain units to be produced, the ork player must have enough “Waaaagh!”, which corresponds to the amount of “Waaaagh! Banners” the player has. This is essentially a measure of the willingness for an ork to fight for their cause.

“The Eldar” – The Eldar are a mysterious alien race. They rely on psychic abilites and stealth to destroy their enemies. They are also the most specialized units in the game; they are not adaptable at all. Each type of unit exists for one purpose and they are extremely good at it, but when faced with a situation outside of their expertise, they crumble. They have very good technology and the fastest vehicles (that look similar to some Star Wars rebel spaceships). They have excellent and strong leaders, but have average morale.

Each race has units that can do certain things on command, like throw a grenade, inject a fellow wounded soldier with drugs, or attempt to dominate an enemy mentally. This gives a micromanagement element to the game that is not seen it too many other RTS games on its scale.
All in all, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War does exactly what Relic Entertainment intended it to do: provide the player with a very exciting and detailed strategy game, without worrying too much about micromanagement. Its strength certainly lies within its detail and edge-of-the-seat action and suspense. At this time, with patch 1.01, it seems that the biggest issues with the game are lack of balance and lack of a Mod tool. Some players have already banned the Eldars from their servers, and many other games are dominated by “Space Marines” vs “Space Marines” conflicts. Hopefully that will change soon, and hopefully a Mod tool will be introduced that will allow the players to create their own maps, which should insure the longevity of the game and keep it fresh.