Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

What can I say about Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War? Well, only that it is one of the best games I have ever played. The lore, tabletop games and comics for the Warhammer 40 000 universe exist for a while now, but so far, we only got some Excellent “Warhammer” games like Dark Omen and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos.

When the first Warhammer 40 000 game came out, I shat my pants. Finally, a worthy game in the Warhammer 40 000 universe. I could not wait to play it and it did not disappoint. The intro movie starts playing and I was like: “Oh yeah, this is gonna be goood”. And it was.

The story is as classic as always. You are on Tartarus, which is under attack by vile Orks. You need to wipe them out and secure the planet. The Ork Warboss escapes and you hunt his ass for a few missions. On your pursuit, you discover the presence of Eldar and Chaos aliens in the vicinity and your purge-o-meter is going off the charts.

The campaign exists of many missions in which you finally kill the Ork warboss from the beginning of the game, attack Eldar settlements and stop Chaos from corrupting the galaxy, like they always try to do. Your glorious conquests in name of the emperor strengthen your Arsenal over time and new units are unlocked in some missions like the Dreadnought and the Predator tank. The game gets harder with every mission and the tension rises.

The way to win a mission is either by capturing strategic points on the map or by destroying the base of the enemy. The strategic points offer you requisition to purchase more troops and buildings. The more points you have secured, the more dough you get. Of course, the enemy can steal and reclaim those strategic points too. The action is intense and every mission feels like a glorious conquest, it is just epic.

The game mechanics are easy to understand and work perfectly. You build your base, conquer strategic point, gather some troops and go to war, its that simple.

The graphics in Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War are still beautiful. They may be a little outdated for todays standards, but when looking back, the effects of the gunfire, the explosions, the craters, the lasers, it is all still very nice to look at. The animations are smooth and the little kill moves some units perform on slain foes gives that Warhammer 40 000 vibe.

The sound design is also excellent. Explosions from blowing up buildings and vehicles feel rewarding and the grunts of dying foes let you feel invincible sometimes. The voice acting for the story and the units is also really good.

Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War offers excellent multiplayer in which you battle for domination of the map and trying to win an annihilation or strategic victory. Its also fun to play with friends.

Although the game is a simple concept, in which you do much of the same, it works and it never bores. The satisfaction you get when you build your base from scratch, train your units and go to war in which sometimes, the struggle is real, is even better than games like Command & Conquer.

Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War feels and plays in true Warhammer 40 000 style and the expansions that this game produced is a true compliment to its legacy.

It is an all-time classic and an important part of my gaming history. Definitely recommend this masterpiece to everyone.