The real time strategy scene became fairly crowded in 2003 and the early part of 2004, but as the year rolls down, releases of these games have become few. Maybe it’s because developers have finally grasped that after a ton of games in the last few years, there really isn’t anything new you can add with current technology to the genre. Age of Empires 2 was undoubtedly the high point of the genre, with other games simply adding on piece by piece to its legacy (even Age of Mythology wasn’t a major step up). The two strategy games that should be remembered in 2004 are Rome: Total War and now Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. Both games take a different path and leave generic RTS elements at the door. If you want to go read about Rome, take a trip to our official review of the game, for this review is all about Warhammer. Leaving several monotonous elements behind, Warhammer is fast, exciting and even quite deep. Like any game, it’s not perfect, but everything it does right is enough to warrant a purchase for fans of the series and those who want something a bit more refined in the genre this year. 

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is an excellent adaptation of the popular miniatures game. In its original form, you could buy hundreds of individual pieces, buy books with countless rules and strategies, but with this game, it’s all condensed in one area. The story is of course about intergalactic war, with four races trying their best to beat the crap out of one another. The game gives you four playable races which include the Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Orks and Eldar. Each one of these races has abilities unique to themselves, allowing the player to choose which of them will suit their needs. The story is quite deep during the campaign (mind you it isn’t as unnecessarily bloated as Warcraft III), but as with all adaptations the story is much bigger from its source.

 

Playing Warhammer is like playing any strategy game. You are given a field of view, some basic supplies and instructions for a mission. The campaign mode is the meat of the game, and it has you running around, building up troops and clobbering the opposition until your leaders are satisfied with the results. The AI if often quite good, with only a few pathfinding issues, which since you are almost always in close quarters, rarely becomes an issue. One idea the game used to condense the ever annoying resource gathering of other strategy games is by including control points. In order to gather resources you must capture and remain in control of these points in order to receive a steady flow of supplies. This allows for a faster buildup of troops and more emphasis on action. It often creates a very hectic battlefield at times when you are forced to combat the enemy while taking on troops trying to take control of your points scattered across the map. Hectic, but usually entertaining, and that’s what matters.  

The campaign mode is short overall with some being able to beat it in less than a week’s time. The story is engaging, but if it had lasted longer, it would have been more so. What will keep most players interested is the multiplayer mode which is by far one of the most entertaining online elements I’ve seen implemented in an RTS game. No, the multiplayer modes don’t really add anything new to the game, but it’s almost like playing the campaign but with real people, and that alone is enough to warrant playing it online. There are quite a few people occupying servers and clans seem to be a growing trend in the genre, which is something you might expect from a game like this.