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Monday 09-Mar-09
Dawn Of War 2 Reviewed
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Yay for heavy tanks!
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First of all, I want to start by thanking Nikolai from Exotique for generously providing us with the game for review.
And, as a little help for those who don't feel like reading, there's a link at the bottom of the page for an audio clip of my comments of the review. It's about 5 mins long, since there's a lot to say. You can download the audio clip and have a listen, since I know it's hard reading a lot sometimes.
For those of you who didn't know, the Dawn of War series is actually based on a board game. Now, if you happened to have played the original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, you'd say to yourself "Nah, there's no way in hell that this could have ever been a board game. It's way too awesome." Technically, you'd be right. But you have to keep in mind that Uwe Boll was in no way involved, and as such, the game stands a much better chance of succeeding. (That's right Boll, you're horrible and a pimple on the backside of gaming, and if it were up to me I'd exile you to any country that still lacks an internet connection.)
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Taking cover behind overgrown onions may make your Space Marines cry like little girls.
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So, in DoW2, the story continues from the previous game. Well, sort of. There's very little that actually continues from the previous game, with the exception of one character and some very vague references to the original. This was a bit of a disappointment, seeing as the previous game ended on a note which would lead a person to think that the second game would somehow pick up the story. Sorry guys, but it doesn't really do that. Instead, in DoW2, you face the monkey-like, rasta speaking Orks, the mystical and technologically advanced Eldar, and the monsterous Tyranids (who apparently, procreate faster than roaches), the latter a brand new faction to the series. Without going into too much detail (and being accused of giving away spoilerz), your Blood Ravens chapter, an elite force of Space Marines who serve the all powerful Emperor (the leader of the human race), face an existential threat from the three enemy factions who threaten to wipe them out.
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When levelling up, the Dreadnought does a little Ricky Martin cha-cha dance.
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Dawn of War 2 is a different type of real-time strategy than most gamers are used to. Instead of building a base, holding off initial attacks, massing your forces and unleashing a storm of death and destruction on your enemies straight after, Relic went for a different, more ambitious approach altogether. They may have just revived a little known sub-genre within real-time strategy games, as a matter of fact: called real time role playing strategy, or alternatively; a tactical role-playing game. What does this mean exactly, you're probably asking yourself. Well, instead of actually buidling a base, you have 3 squads, and your commander (your hero unit) which you start off with. With these units, you're expected to bring down the righteous right-hand of the Emperor upon your enemies with a fury very much like Christian Bale nasty potty-mouth on the set of the new Terminator movie. It's not always easy, since you're usually facing a large number of enemies that outnumber your warriors by at least 10 to 1. However, you do get the option to reinforce troops in the field by capturing key points throughout the tactical map, and should one of your squads be wiped out, all you need to do is revive the squad sergeant by send over another squad to help them to their feet. But it really comes down to using the terrain for cover as much as possible. This was one of the aspects of DoW2 that Relic were most proud of, although to be honest, there were a number of times in which your troops are hard pressed to find any sort of cover, anywhere. Sure, there's a few buildings to use for cover, such as that available in Company of Heroes, but the actual terrain doesn't really give you much opportunity to use cover as much as I would have liked.
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The base from which you build your forces in both skirmish and multiplayer.
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Throughout missions, you find items after battles with the enemy that you can use to upgrade the armor, weaponry, or special abilities of your squads. And as after each battle, you gain a certain amount of experience points which you use to level up your squads, allowing you to improve their skills in hand to hand combat, or perhaps improve their armor. This isn't just something you can do if you'd like, something that you can shrug off and say "Ah, screw it. Don't feel like spending my time upgrading these guys". As you progress through the missions, your enemies become much more powerful, and pose a great threat to you even when you do spend time cautiously upgrading and building your warriors to be an awesome fighting force. Enemies almost always are a level or two better than your own troops at any given time, not to mention they always outnumber you in any given mission so just imagine if you don't bother to upgrade your units. Otherwise, you might as well be trying to stab Bigfoot with a toothpick.
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Overrunning enemy defenses is fun for the whole family.
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The game is played on three different planets, and there's a number of missions going on at any given time. These missions include standard attack missions, where your objective is to go to an area, and wipe out the enemy forces, and their commander, which is almost always a boss. These bosses usually have insanely high amounts of health, and it takes several attacks before you can really take them out of the fight. You also have missions where you're tasked to defend a certain critical structure which you've captured during a previous mission, and these buildings are vital in your progression since they give you bonus intelligence before missions, or even grant you additional experience points or abilities during a battle - so make sure you hang on to as many as possible at all costs. As you move along, you'll have to constantly travel between the three different planets, defending and attacking multiple areas, to the point where like any business person, you suffer from a jetlag of sorts - you'll lose track of what planet you're on, and your frequent flyer miles don't count for crap with the Imperium travel agency. But all in all, this does give the story more of a kick, as well as a sense of urgency, which at times is necessary to keep the player interested in what's going on.
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Nice artwork, but sorry, no teaser.
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All in all, the story is quite good. I've played over 40 single player missions, and had the option to play at least a dozen more side missions before completing the campaign (the last mission's briefing actually tells you that you're about to embark on the final mission of the SP game, and although it's a small detail, it was much appreciate since I played several more missions before going on the finish the game). For anyone who's watched the movie 300, the game's final mission is probably as close as any game has ever come to capturing the same feeling of being outnumbered, but still stubbornly defiant in the face of impossible odds. It truly brought to light the game's plot, just in case you had lost sight of your goals, and tied all the loose ends for the most part. The writers from Prison Break could really learn a lesson or two from Relic.
The game's graphics were brilliant, and zooming in on the melee action to see it at ground level is really a joy. The graphics cannot be praised enough. As for the game's mechanics and gameplay, I would have to say that Relic have tried to go into somewhat unchartered waters with their focus on small unit combat and the rpg element. They succeeded. Your enemies are quite intelligent, and they do attempt to catch you off-balance by throwing heavy armor, ranged units and melee infantry at you from your flanks in order to break your advances.In other words, do not take your foes lightly - because they certainly won't be giving you an easy time. The retreat button is something you will become intimately familiar with, since sometimes its your only option to avoid total annihilation at the hands of enemies whose numbers sometimes push the balance to sheer insanity. This is particularly the case when facing the Tyranids, as they use sheer numbers in order to overwhelm your squads. If you ever wondered what it would be like to face an invasion of insects, well, the Tyranids are the closest you'll probably ever (want to) get.
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Upgrading your units with different armor, weapons and abilities becomes a lot of fun as you progress.
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DoW2 sounds are fantastic, as you hear your squads taunt your enemies with various kick-ass one liners, which serve to motivate you to continue wiping them off the face of the map. The lighting and interaction with the terrain (such as explosions) are very much believable, as Relic worked hard to ensure that you feel very much involved on these expansive worlds on which you take your warring party to eliminate all who stand before you. The lighting, for example, is never off key. It's always spot on, and this is a considerable achievement seeing as it takes quite a bit of tweaking to ensure that every possible explosion, be it by fragging a building or setting mines for enemy advances, is taken into account.
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Choosing your squad load out before a mission is almost like choosing from a line up of notorious felons. Cyrus kinda looks the kind of guy you don’t want your kids to hang around with.
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The game also ships with skirmish mode, which is a bit lax and bare. There are few maps available for solo skirmish play, although you do have the option to use all the units in the game, including heavy tanks, medic units and engineers. It's quite odd that these units were not available during the actual campaign, and Relic might have dropped the ball on this one. Heavy units are sometimes needed during the campaign as you face enemy heavy units, but you're stuck with infantry units to face such a daunting threat. On the other hand, the game's multiplayer is very, very awesome. Skirmish only serves to get you familiar with the different way of levelling up your troops and weaponry, in order for you to be prepared to face human foes online. Base building is not an option here either - you have one structure from which you build your units, and you can upgrade this structure to build heavier units, much in the style of Company of Heroes. The multiplayer is fast and frantic, as you race to secure the vital points across the map before your enemy does. This turns small battles between a few units into a large scale, back and forth, all out battle between you and your human opponent. The guy with the heaviest weaponry, or the commander who uses the boldest tactics, is the one that usually wins. Overall, the multiplayer is definitely a plus for the game, as it makes up for the lack of choice currently available in the skirmish mode.
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The three planets on which you’ll unleash the fury of a thousand suns. Or.. something.
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So, it all comes down to this: is the game worth playing and buying? I'd say that if you're someone who enjoys standard RTS games, and lives for small unit tactics (in other words, you like dealing with a few units and getting intimately familiar with them), I think you'll definitely want to give Dawn of War 2 a go for the money. If you're the kind of RTS player who uses commandos to ravage your enemy's base without them noticing, then DoW2 is most certainly your calling. For those who prefer mass unit battles that drop your frame rate to about 15 fps (Supreme Commander style) - the single player campaign doesn't have much of that, but the multiplayer will probably grab your interest. The game offers a lot of RTS action while also bringing in RPG-like elements which do serve to bring out the game's emphasis on your individual squads. This cannot be emphasized enough. You are expected to know what squads to deploy before missions or battles according to what the enemy is throwing at you, as the squads have differing abilities when it comes to ranged, melee, or stealthy combat. DoW2 is all about man-management.
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The planetary battle map - where you get to choose which mission to undertake next, and where to open a can of whoop-ass.
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In conclusion, after saying so much, what does it all mean? DoW2 is a great game, no two ways about it. It continues in the tradition of the previous installment, even though it may not shine just as brightly as its gargantuan predecessor. This does not mean, however, that you should pass it up. There's plenty to enjoy, and I do guarantee that DoW2 will keep you busy for quite a few weeks. It will grab you by the throat, look you in the eye (maybe even call you a heretic for putting down the game for a day or two), and encourage you to play the next mission, or to eliminate the next human opponent online. You'll happily comply. Before you know it, a month has passed, and you're wondering where all the time went. That's DoW2 for you - relentless, action-packed, and has a keen eye for detail. Any RTS fan would be a bit crazy to pass it up.
Pros: The single player campaign is awesome, well planned out, and definitely immerses you into its universe. The gameplay is fast and furious. The sounds of battle are impeccable. And the multiplayer has enough to keep you busy for quite some time to come. Game's performance hardly ever lags at all.
Cons: Skirmish mode is bland. Single player campaign could have included more units and expanded the story somewhat.
Audio review (3.49 MB download, 5 mins length) - Click here.
System Requirements:*
- Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista SP1
- P4 3.2 GHz (single core) or any Dual Core processor
- 1 GB RAM (XP), 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
- A 128MB Video Card (Shader Model 3) - Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT / ATI X1600, or equivalent
- 5.5 GB of Hard Drive space
* Game was tested on a system with following specs: Vista 64 bit, Dual core (2.20ghz) processor, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA 8800 GTX 768 MB.
Verdict: 87%
Relic boldly tried to re-invent the RTS genre by introducing RPG elements, and have succeeded to a degree. It's fast paced, encourages the use of tactics rather than strength in numbers, and pushes your intellect to bounds rarely seen by RTS. Definitely worth a try.
Once again, big thanks to Exotique for providing us with the game for review. You can check out their game from the website, and purchase it, by just clicking here.
S.E.A.L. out.
General of the Army S.E.A.L.
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