THQ's next installment for their Dawn of War series in early 2009 came with high anticipation but a mixed bag of critical aclaim. Some viewed the game as an action RPG, others believe it was a great RTS. However I believed it was a great RTS that combined RPG elements which made me feel like every fight was important and not just point and click then sit back and relax. Throughout the campaign you are immersed in a rich and meaningful story which involves historically significant fights which help portray the sheer destruction and tension of conflict, and the actual story arc which is simple and to the point. All of the overall/lasting appeal of dawn of war 2 is very rich in quality and quantity. These are all achieved through the gameplay, graphics and sound.

GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay in Dawn of War 2 is different than what you'd expect in a typical RTS, and as you'd most likely have heard, there is no more building a base and collect resources during the single player campaign however, the multiplayer does involve you needing to collect resource points in order to construct units, upgrade and buy. Now with this being said, THQ did mention that they wanted to combine elements of company of heroes into the bag. To be honest the gameplay in Dawn of War 2 is great in the way it combines cover and destructible environments (apart from bridges and certain objects). For me it is like an RTS/RPG Gears of War style. The great thing about the gameplay that I experienced is that I felt like I was using more strategy in both single player and multiplayer than in any other strategy game I've played in the past.

You are given abilities and limited amounts of items such as healing packs and grenades which you can assign to different squads. These items can be the key to winning a fight and often need to be used with care. The enemies also use items and often use grenades to draw you away from cover, and any units that get hit will be knocked over and sometimes suppressed. This is when you need to make important decisions of what to do. Will you attack with suppressing fire to counter it, or will you use an ability to focus fire on a different unit. It all adds up and I know other RTS games have these sorts of things but I feel as if it's implemented quite well in Dawn Of War 2. There is more significance than just massing up an army then right clicking one part of the map while you drink a coke and watch your army own. You will learn about not doing this when you get into one of the frequent boss fights where you will come back to see your army is dead.


A battle taking place. Notice the Assault Marines in the air getting ready to suppress the enemy when they land

With all of this already in the bag, you also get wargear, which is essentially accessories, armour and weapons for your squad leaders. Each piece of wargear has it's advantages and disadvantages and it helps to add an RPG element to the game along with the leveling system. It's simple. Your squads gain experience, when they reach a new level, you put 2 points towards a certain attribute. Each attribute is accustomed to different squads such as Bolter squads benefit more from ranged damage then melee damage. This also adds to the replay value of the game if you want to redo the campaign to see the what-if's or how you could do things differently.


The customisation/loadout screen in Dawn of War 2

In terms of the campaign, you play a newly assigned squad leader who you can name whatever you want. From here, you get your squad soon to be squads and follow the campaign, however the storyline isn't 100% linear. There are times at the start where it is fairly linear, however after this you can chose whether to defend a key planet or take down an enemy leader. Each of these have roles in how the rest of the story will play out. Also, during the loading screens for missions you are given a background on a different squad leader or the enemies you are versing. For example, the blood raven chapter you play tells you about how the power armour allows them to withstand "punishment" that would destroy a normal tank which helps you understand why they are so strong, etc.


Just part of the campaign map on one of the 3 planets

Overall I would have to give the gameplay a 8.5/10:
+ Fast Paced
+ Great cover system and destructible environments
+ Good use of RPG elements
+/- Not the typical RTS
+/- Mediocre skirmish/multiplayer however I'm sure with all the DLC's and updates taking place, this will change
- Repetitive missions
- Silly bossfights


GRAPHICS:
The graphics in Dawn of War 2 are top notch. It's using a revamped company of Heroes engine and the way THQ and Relic have improved on the graphics formula, it's really something to see. Textures are well made and pop out in a way which really help to make the environments you fight in special. The most obvious of these would have to be cliff faces. When looked at using the 3D camera, they look menacing due to the clever textures. The one thing you'll find is all of the planets look amazing in all of their different environments due to the way lighting effects, etc are used. Plasma, bullets, armor and explosions all look and feel excellent which help add to the overall polish of the game, and it's quite evident to me that there was some time put in to making these. If you want to enjoy the game at near (note the word near) its fullest potential you won't be needing a $3000 gaming computer. The one thing that I did notice was that there is no Anti-Aliasing however I didn't really see any need for it, everything is pretty well done even when zoomed in max with the 3D camera.


It looks great but looks better when you play

I'm not really going to go too much about the graphics as the graphics don't really make a game special. Yea sure you pay $100 for a game and they're bad, then you can rant and rave about them, but this game was really just nothing overly special but enough to make me say WOW!.

Overall I would have to give the graphics a 9/10
+ Great textures
+ Nice polish on the gunfire, particles, etc
+ Different environments feel unique
+/- No anti-aliasing? Don't know if this is good or bad
- A bit too much shine reflecting off units


SOUND:
Any game needs good sound effects and a music score to make the experience more immersive. This is one of Dawn of War 2's strong points and it was also strong in the first Dawn of War, so it's really no surprise. Everything from the voice acting to the heat of the battle all sounds strong. When you're engaged in combat you can recognise each squads weapon as they all have distinct sounds and uniqueness to them. In battle You'll hear one of your squad leaders under the heat of battle call out for help if they're suppressed and you will be able to recognise them all from each other. You're commander will perform battle cry's when charging into battle and depending on the situation you will hear a very clear melee battle taking place. Even when something crashes or discharges, the sound it plays on the environment is effective and you just know that s$#@ has just hit the fan. The game sounded great through a 2 year old headset so I can only imagine that it'd sound even better with proper speakers, etc which I will be getting in 3 days from now.


The dreadnaught sounds amazing

Again like the graphics, I'm not going to go too much into the sound because there's not a great deal to talk about or fault.

Overall I would give the sound an 8/10
+ Heat of battle sounds great
+ Unique weapon sounds
+/- Voice acting needs refinement
- Sounds aren't too dynamic (you don't really hear metal or that being hit if fired upon)
- Not much variety in the sound or musical score


THE VERDICT:
Overall, Dawn of War 2 is a game that despite the number of letdowns it may have caused, still provides a strong story blended with good strategy, great graphics and good sound quality, and this is why I am giving Dawn of War 2 an

8.5/10.