Gameplay
Gameplay is initially focused on capturing and holding strategic
locations on the battlefield. These control points are captured by
infantry squads and provide resources to construct additional units and
buildings or unlock certain units in an army's tech tree. Battles are
won either by holding a certain number of control points for a period of
time or by destroying all of the opposing armies' HQ structures. A
number of special conditions are available to choose from to customize
matches.
Factions
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War features four playable armies:
- Space Marines are the elite, highly skilled and genetically modified superhuman
soldiers of the Imperium. Inducted at a young age, each Space Marine
receives biological modifications, a lifetime of rigorous training, and
lives to experience centuries of endless battle in the defense of
humanity. Space Marines have the highest morale in the game. Their
troops and vehicles are more expensive, however, reflecting their
limited numbers. The Space Marines are the only playable race in the
single player section of the game, and the 11-mission campaign features
the 3rd Company of the Blood Ravens chapter as the protagonists, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos and Librarian Isador Akios.
- The Chaos Marines are traitors that, ten thousand years ago, chose
to abandon their duties to humanity, betray the Immortal Emperor of
Mankind and the Imperium, and instead worship the Gods of Chaos, accepting promises of power and immortality. In Dawn of War, they use troops that are corrupted mirrors of their loyal Imperial counterparts. In addition, they employ morale-draining daemons and psykers. The campaign features the Alpha Legion, with their leaders, Sindri Myr and Lord Bale.
- The Eldar are a sophisticated psychic race, ancient and
technologically advanced, that have fought the fell powers of Chaos for
millions of years before mankind's birth. Eldar in Dawn of War
are fast and agile. Swift both on foot and in their hovering
grav-vehicles, they are also able to move quickly around the map via
webway gates. The campaign features a warhost hailing from the
craftworld Biel-Tan, led by Farseer Macha.
- The Orks are a savage, brutal and warlike species who exist to seek
the thrilling challenge of battle. While generally lacking in
sophisticated technology, they are physically powerful, using brute
force and crude weapons that well complement their tendency to attack in
massive hordes. In large enough numbers, they gain morale immunity. The
tech tree
for Orks differs from the other races in that it depends on the amount
of Orks currently in your army and the number of erected WAAAGH!! banners. Several clans are featured in the campaign, as is the hulking Ork Warboss, Orkamungus.
In addition to the four fully playable races, the
Imperial Guard also make appearances in the single player campaign as allies of the Space Marines, led by
Colonel Brom.
Lacking the superhuman resilience and fighting prowess of the Space
Marines, Imperial Guardsmen are forced to rely on numbers, ranged
weaponry, and tanks. They would later be made into the featured playable
race in the first expansion pack,
Winter Assault.
In the second expansion pack,
Dark Crusade, there are two additional races to be played online and solo,
Tau and
Necrons. Note that in order to play as Space Marines, Chaos, Eldar, Orks or Imperial Guard online, one must have the original
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War game installed. The third and last expansion pack,
Soulstorm, adds another two playable armies:
Sisters of Battle and
Dark Eldar. As with Dark Crusade, one must own the previous installments to play the other factions in multiplayer.
Resource management
A squad of Space Marines engage a group of Orks next to a Strategic Point.
Two primary resources exist: requisition and power. These resources
are not harvested or otherwise gathered by the player's units. Instead,
requisition is generated constantly by the army headquarters. The player
can increase the rate at which requisition is acquired by using
infantry squads to capture and control "Strategic Points", "Critical
Locations" and "Relics" on the battlefield. These points, with the
exception of the "Critical Location", can be reinforced with defensive
structures called Listening Posts that also increase the rate of
requisition accumulation. Though resources are unlimited, all sources of
requisition will eventually decay, dramatically decreasing their supply
rate.
Power is gathered by building generators, which also decay over time
and consequently produce less power. Additionally, some maps have "slag
deposits", upon which more powerful generators can be constructed to
produce power faster. As the player progresses up the
tech tree, reliance on power increases.
In addition to these primary resources, the
Orks also have Ork resource. Ork resource is generated continuously by
Waaagh!
banners and is used up when creating Ork troops and vehicles. The
number of banners and the size of the Ork population determines the
Ork's
Waaagh! level which in turn determines the technology level the player has access to.
Combat
Infantry units are not given orders as individuals; they move and
attack as squads. Most fully reinforced squads consist of about eight
individuals, although when they are first requisitioned, they usually
have less. They can usually be equipped with special weapons and a
specific leader, depending on the squad type. Squads can produce and
replace their own units and weaponry anywhere in the field, but the
player must wait a short period of time before new individuals, weapons,
and leaders appear in the squad. Additionally, all races have commander
units, which are general leaders or other units that can be attached to
most squads, but are produced separately.
Infantry units can fight in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, and
many units will have weapons for both types of combat, and if attacked
in close combat will have to respond accordingly. Hand-to-hand combat is
played out as a series of synchronized attack animations between
combatants. When one combatant defeats the other, a
finishing move
known as "Sync Kill" plays out as the victorious fighter finishes his
opponent off in a dramatic and violent manner. More powerful units, such
as Heroes, Walkers, and monstrous Super Units, may have personalized
Sync Kills against each other.
Vehicles are highly resistant to most standard infantry weaponry, so
they must be targeted with specific heavy weapons (e.g. anti-tank
rockets) to be destroyed. Vehicles can also be upgraded with multiple
weapon systems, usually forcing a choice between either anti-infantry or
anti-vehicle armaments. Walkers are a type of vehicle often armed with
powerful heavy melee weapons, causing devastating damage in close
combat.
In addition to a typical
hitpoint system, infantry units also have
morale.
When in combat, squads take morale damage as well as health damage.
However, morale applies to a squad as a whole. In addition to health,
the morale of a squad heavily influences its combat ability. When morale
drops to zero, the squad "breaks", which significantly reduces the
squad's ranged accuracy, damage dealt in mêlée, and defensive
capability. The squad's movement speed, however, is slightly increased
to allow it to retreat. That said, the unit must still be ordered away
from the combat for it to escape. The squad's morale will regenerate on
its own while the squad is not in combat, and the squad will "regroup"
and regain combat effectiveness once it reaches a certain threshold.
Just as with hitpoints, different types of units have different
amounts of morale. Commanders have the most morale, and basic infantry
usually have the least. Attaching (when possible) a commander unit to
basic squads significantly increases their morale. Some weapon types,
such as flamethrowers, sniper rifles and artillery bombardment, are
especially effective at demoralizing the enemy. Favorable terrain such
as craters, ruins or thick jungle give units a defensive cover bonus
against both hitpoint and morale damage, while water and swamps will
decrease their defensive ability.
Units
The number of units a player may field at one time is determined by
population and vehicle 'squad caps'; these limit the number of infantry
troops and vehicles a player may have on the battlefield. Squad caps may
be increased using methods differing between races. Most units have a
melee attack and a ranged attack. Units are often specialized to be
better using one attack type. Certain units are "hard capped", meaning a
player may only have a certain amount of them, such as Skull probes and
Apothecaries (both of the Space marine faction) being limited to 4, and
commanders and ultimate units being limited to 1. All units also have
stances; these affect how the units respond to enemies. There are three
types of units: commanders, infantry, and vehicles.
Commanders are hero units, and each commander can only be fielded one
at a time. If they perish, they may be rebuilt. A sub-class is the
semi-commander unit, which has many abilities like the commander unit
but several may be fielded at once. Infantry are foot soldiers, and may
either be regular or heavy, with heavy infantry being much tougher than
normal infantry. Vehicles serve as heavy weapon platforms and/or
transports, and include tanks, artillery, troop carriers and walkers.
Infantry come in squads that are commanded as a single entity. They
may be reinforced with additional members, equipped with special
weapons, or be attached to hero units. Some squads have special
abilities, such as grenades, teleportation, and stealth, unlocked with
research or leader units. Unit longevity is determined by their health
and morale points, which govern a squad's fighting effectiveness. Both
are reduced by weaponry; morale recharges independently or due to unit
abilities, while health is increased by natural regeneration, healer
units, or repair.
Each of the four races has access to a unique special unit whilst in
control of a ‘relic’, they are superior to normal units. To obtain one
of the special units the player must complete all pre-requisites
(research, own specific buildings) and be in the final tier of research.
These special units also require substantially more resources and time
to create.
Buildings
Aside from their initial headquarters, races may build research and
resource centers, unit-producing facilities, and defensive
fortifications. Research buildings may research special upgrades that
increase the abilities of that race's units, while resource buildings
produce resources. Unit facilities produce infantry and vehicles. In
order to access their next tier, a race must build certain buildings to
unlock new technologies and buildings.
Plot
The planet Tartarus as shown from high orbit.
The game is set in the
Warhammer 40,000 universe, a
dystopian
vision of the far future. Humanity has forged a galaxy-spanning empire,
The Imperium. The Imperium is in a state of constant war with the Orks,
Eldar, and the human servants of Chaos, desperately fighting to
preserve the human race from extinction. The single player campaign is
set on the planet Tartarus. This also sets the stage for
Dawn of War II — Retribution.
Story
The Blood Ravens make planetfall.
The single-player campaign is set on the planet Tartanus, an Imperial
planet that is currently being besieged by a large Ork invasion force.
The campaign begins with Colonel Brom and his 37th Tartarus Planetary
Defense Force Regiment under attack by a large group of Orks. The Blood
Ravens 3rd company, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos, arrive on the planet
and saves Brom and his remaining men, who then proceed to exterminate
the remaining Orks in the vicinity. In the aftermath of the battle,
Gabriel is joined by the Librarian Isador Akios. Brom asks Isador about
the recent sterilization of the planet Cyrene; however, Isador makes it
clear this is not a permitted subject for discussion, particularly in
Angelos' presence. The Blood Ravens then prepare to attack the Orks
surrounding the port, in order to protect the evacuation craft.
Isador, sensing that the Captain's mind is troubled, realises why,
and tells him that there was nothing he could have done to save his home
planet of Cyrene. However, Gabriel tells him not to mention it again,
stating that his homeworld was his responsibility. After the
extermination of the Orks, scouts reveal to Gabriel that Chaos forces
are operating on the planet. Soon after this, they are joined by an
Inquisitor, Mordecai Toth, who orders them to leave the planet, warning that a
Warp Storm-
a great space-based storm that would make all travel impossible -is
approaching the planet and will consume the planet in 3 days time. Toth
orders a complete evacuation of the planet, but Gabriel refuses, stating
his desire to investigate the possible threat of Chaos. Toth then
implies that Gabriel's actions on Cyrene have clouded his judgement,
making him "see Chaos where it doesn't exist". On further investigation,
it is revealed that the Eldar are also operating on the planet. The
Blood Ravens find an altar dedicated to Chaos, confirming Gabriel's
suspicions, and resolve to destroy the traitors, unknowing that Isador
is already under the influence of Sindri Myr, the Chaos Sorcerer of the
Alpha Legion.
The Blood Ravens pursue the Eldar to the abandoned city of Loovre
Marr and engage them in a full-scale battle across the city. Upon the
destruction of most of the remaining Eldar by Gabriel's forces, their
leader, Farseer Macha, pleads with Gabriel to heed her words; however,
during their moment of distraction, Sindri steals an
artifact,
which Macha reveals to be a key to "the undoing of this world". When
Gabriel tries to inquire for more information, the Farseer shows
surprise at his ignorance, commenting that the Inquisitor "keeps them on
a short leash". Macha implies that Toth knows more than he is telling,
and advises Gabriel and Isador to ask him, before telling the Blood
Ravens where to find the entrenched Chaos forces, stating that, thanks
to the Space Marines, the Eldar are too weak to confront them.
After a pitched battle with the forces of the Alpha Legion (including
traitorous Imperial Guard regiments who have been corrupted by Chaos),
Gabriel and Isador confront Toth in the ruins of an Imperial Temple. He
reveals that the world is cursed, and bears an artifact of Chaos: the
Maledictum, a stone that contains the essence of a daemon. The forces of
Chaos now bear all that they need to unearth it. Toth also explains
that the Eldar were fighting to protect the stone, as it was they who
imprisoned the daemon in the stone originally. Toth comments that
"as
Chaos's oldest enemy, the Eldar see themselves as the only capable
defence against its influence. And we have paid for their arrogance".
Toth also says that the power of the Maledictum is enough "to turn the
faithful and drive men mad", having already corrupted much of the
population of Tartarus and the Imperial Guard, as well as affecting the
Blood Ravens somewhat: Toth explains his insistence the Blood Ravens
depart was to protect them from being trapped on the planet with the
demon by the coming Warp Storm. Gabriel and Toth form an alliance and
make plans to find and destroy the Maledictum.
Gabriel executes the Traitor Isador.
However, Isador is completely overcome by the temptations of Sindri
and Chaos, and resolves to steal the Maledictum for himself. While the
Blood Ravens and the remaining loyal guardsmen are busy exterminating
the army of Lord Bale, including the Chaos Lord himself, Isador seizes
his chance and steals the Maledictum. Inquisitor Toth then reveals that
he had known that Chaos was corrupting one of the Space Marine
commanders, but he had suspected Gabriel and they had paid the price for
his error. In the face of Isador's betrayal, Gabriel pursues him in an
effort to bring him to justice. The Blood Raven forces are successful in
destroying Isador’s troops and Gabriel challenges Isador to a duel.
Isador holds the upper hand at first, taunting Gabriel about his
weakness and guilt over what he did to Cyrene, but Gabriel finally lets
go of his guilt, replying that he did the right thing to stop the taint
on Cyrene spreading further; goaded to fight back, Gabriel eventually
defeats Isador. Beaten, Isador pleads Gabriel for forgiveness and a
chance to redeem himself. Gabriel tells him, "If redemption is what you
seek, then that is what I will give you" before shooting him in the head
with his bolt pistol, using him as an example to his men about the fate
of traitors.
Meanwhile, Sindri had attempted to use the power of the Maledictum
for his own ends, transforming himself into a Daemon Prince with the
stone's power. Inquisitor Toth bequeaths the Daemon Hammer,
God-Splitter, to Gabriel, since he feels that it is Gabriel that will
end this battle and not him. They then, with the Blood Ravens and the
aid of the remaining Eldar forces of Farseer Macha, attack the Chaos
forces, eventually killing Sindri. The final scene sees the Eldar and
Blood Ravens standing around the Maledictum. Despite the warnings of
Farseer Macha, who begs them not to destroy the stone, Gabriel obeys
Inquisitor Toth and his own judgement, and destroys the Maledictum with
God-Splitter. The Eldar forces then retreat after Macha prophetically
warns Gabriel that he has doomed them all. Inquisitor Toth and the Blood
Ravens leave to be evacuated. However, Gabriel stays behind, and
encounters the Daemon of Khorne which he unwittingly released from the
Maledictum. The daemon lets Gabriel and his men leave safely as thanks
for its release, but not before informing Gabriel that the planet was
actually an altar to the blood god, Khorne. In fact, the Ork invasion
had been prearranged by Sindri, who sought the release of the Daemon of
Khorne through the spilling of blood upon the planet. Every death had
been a sacrifice toward the daemon's release, in which Gabriel's
contributions were "many and magnificent". The daemon acknowledges that,
if he had been released much earlier, he would have been much easier to
destroy. The daemon then tells Gabriel to flee, and to know that soon
he would come to claim them all. Gabriel then vows to destroy the
daemon, before following after his departing men.
Release
The base game has three expansions, all available in
DVD format and on
Steam.
Each expansion adds substantial additional new content to the game,
such as new factions, maps and units. For the latter standalone
expansions, users are unable to play any factions in multiplayer other
than those added by the expansion itself.
In chronological order of release, these expansions are:
Cumulatively, the expansions add five new factions to the game's
pre-existing selection of four, making for a total of nine factions to
choose from, along with adding dozens of new maps, tweaks, etc.
The
Game of the Year edition was released on September 21, 2005 in the USA and on September 23 in Europe, containing 4 exclusive maps. Later, the
Game of the Year edition and
Winter Assault were bundled in the
Gold Edition in the USA, released in March 2006. In November 2006,
Dawn of War and its first two expansions were released together as
The Platinum Collection in the USA or as the
Dawn of War Anthology in the PAL regions. More recently, in March 2008, all three expansions along with
Dawn of War have been released as
The Complete Collection. The Game of the Year version was the final title to be added to the
Humble THQ Bundle, and could only be unlocked by paying more than the average price.
Reception
Upon release, the critical response to
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
was on the whole positive. It was congratulated most frequently for its
varied and balanced factions and units, its polished presentation, in
particular the high quality of unit animations, and the user interface.
One of the first reviews was by
IGN, who awarded the game 8.8/10, in particular praising the large level of graphical and animation detail.
[13] They also cited the skirmish and multiplayer as one of the game's strongest points.
[11] GameSpot came to similar conclusions, in particular praising the game's presentation and audio.
[9]
Conversely, an area of the game that drew criticism was the single
player campaign, which many reviewers found to be too short and
unchallenging.
[14][15]
Another area of weakness identified was a lack of originality in the
gameplay. However, these weaknesses were considered to be minor,
IGN
summarising "Nothing about the gameplay will really surprise anyone
(though the addition of reinforceable squads is pretty neat) but it
doesn't particularly matter...Relic kicked ass creating a great piece of
entertainment."
[11]
The French website Jeux PC awarded the game 16 out of 20, in particular
praising the simplicity of the user interface and the intensity of the
battles.
[16]
German reviewer Daniel Matschijewsky awarded the game 83 out of 100,
praising the user interface and the sound, but identifying the campaign
and the
AI as weaker areas.
[17]
Notes
- Sega took over publishing rights after THQ declared bankruptcy.
See also
References
- Harris, Will. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Q&A". bit-gamer.
- "PC release dates". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "Release dates". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "Notice of SEGA’s Acquisition of Relic Entertainment and Some IPs Owned by THQ Inc.". Sega. 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
- "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (pc: 2004): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- Biessener, Adam. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War review at Game Informer". Game Informer. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "Review: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- Kasavin, Greg. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "GameSpy: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". Gamespy. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "GamingNerd: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". GamingNerd. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- "IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "PC Zone: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War". PC Zone. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- Kasavin, Greg. "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "Test Warhammer 40 000 : Dawn of war". Jeux PC (in French). Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- "Titelstory: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War". Gamestar (in German). Retrieved 2007-10-17.
Further reading
External links
