Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

by THQ

Product Features

• Real-time strategy game based on the popular table-top war game
• Vie for the survival of mankind or its ultimate destruction
• Control 1 of 4 unique races
• Improved resource model makes it easier to focus on frontline action
• Single player campaigns; Multiplayer for up to 8 via LAN or Internet

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001X64WO
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches ; 11.5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 20, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,047 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

On the frontlines there is but onecommandment...thou shalt killProduct InformationWarhammer 40000: Dawn of War follows the exploits of the Blood Ravens a SpaceMarine chapter whose past is shrouded in mystery. Brother Captain GabrielAngelos and his faithful sub-commander the powerful psyker Librarian IsadorAkios bring the Blood Ravens to bear on a growing Ork threat to the planetTartarus. However things on the battle-scarred planet are not as they seem andsoon our heroes find themselves in the midst of a complex plot involving OrksEldar and the evil forces of Chaos.Welcome to the new generation of real-time strategic warfare. Warhammer 40000:Dawn of War delivers a level of visual detail never before seen in an RTS.Hundreds of units clash on the battlefields of the dark future unleashingmassive destruction through a stunning battery of long-range weaponry beforeclosing in for the finish. Incredible kill animations bring science fictioncombat to life like never before and the gritty future-gothic Warhammer 40000setting provides a striking tableau for the chaos and carnage of this grim darkfuture where there is only war!Product HighlightsSquad-based TacticsCommand squads of units in the white-hot forge of battle. Reinforce squads onthe fly and adapt them on the battlefield to engage specific enemies by addingheavy anti-vehicle weapons rapid-firing anti-personnel armament or wargeardesigned to crush the morale of your opponents. Attach commander units to yoursquads to gain additional offensive and defensive capabilities. Deploy mixedforces of infantry armored vehicles lumbering war machines and daemons inyour struggle for dominance of the battlefield.Four Unique RacesCommand the army of your choice. Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War showcases fourraces from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40000 setting: the tough and austereSpace Marines the raucous and destructive Orks the enigmatic Eldar and themalevolent forces of Chaos. With a unique battery of units and structures at its

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, despite being short, November 13, 2004

By 

Markus Egger "www.MarkusEgger.com/blog" (Spring, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (CD-ROM)

This is a great RTS game. It is very entertaining and there is always a lot of stuff going on. The graphics raise the bar for this game genre. Units are rendered great. Structure building is rendered great. And even the maps a re rendered very well. Animations are awesome. Battles in general seem epic. Kudos.

There are 4 different races in this game. They all play differently. It's not like playing a new game, but you will def. have to change your strategy and use different abilities and structures when you play different races.

Gameplay overall is great and entertaining. This is an RTS game similar to Command and Conquer. If you liked CC, then you will def. like this game. It should be mentioned however, that this game is not super-strategic in the sense of Total War or Combat Missions. It is a more accessible game that is made for the gamer who wants to be entertained rather than challenged.

The missions are generally interesting, although they do get repetitive. There are only one or two campaign maps that made me alter my strategy. I often approach missions relatively slowly and focus on building up a good strike force before I go after the oponent(s). There is nothing this game does to force me to play differently (such as a time limit or a defensive mission). However, for some reason that doesn't bother me so much in this game. Probably because the game managed to keep me very entertained.

Probably the biggest problem with this game is that the campaign is very short. 11 missions with only one race (Space Marines) is not enough! The campaign also isn't too difficult. I played on medium difficulty and didn't have to reload even once (although thinking back, I always seem to have felt reasonable challenged, so perhaps that is not a bad thing). Perhaps I should have played on "insane" difficulty.

What saves the game is that it has good skirmish maps that are almost as entertaining to play as the campaign, and with all the different skirmish options, this game can basically be played indefinetly. I normally play RTS games for the campaign only, but in this case, skirmishes are good. And then of course there is online play...

This def. tops CC as my favorite RTS game. Can't wait for the first expansion...


PS: Some of the fellow reviewers seem to complain about the lack of features that are really there. Hotkeys for instance. In fact, I find that this game has better hotkey support and a better interface in general than other RTS games. What is lacking however is the manual. Some of the things I just found out through trial and error. Others through the strategy guide. It is a shame that game developers and publishers still sabotage their own efforts that way.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the near future there is only gaming goodness!, June 30, 2004

By 

Valnastar "Man With No Name" (Deep 13, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (CD-ROM)

Even if you're unfamiliar with Games Workshop, miniatures games in general or the Warhammer 40,000 universe (sometimes simply and affectionately called "40K") this game should knock your socks off. The graphics are stupendous and the action during the battles is absolutely visceral and spectacular. PC Gamer magazine has given this game three highly favorable preview reviews so far this year and the 17-minute video shown at E3 and at Games Workshop's Games Day has amazed all who gazed upon it. When I watched the video at Games Day in May 2004 people actually responded audibly to the scene of the Bloodthirster (huge winged demon) taking possession of a Chaos Space Marine and then cheered at the spectacular scene of the Space Marine Captain leaping upon the Bloodthirster's shoulders and taking him down with his huge power hammer.

The game designers are so good that each of the "races" in Dawn of War have their own "feel" based on the Games Workshop mythology of the tabletop game, and not just in combat either. Even the gait of the soldiers is different from race to race: the Orks lope brutishly, the Eldar run in a graceful disciplined way and the Space Marines and Chaos Marines fall somewhere in between, marching in a forceful and orderly manner. It's the same in combat where the Orks thump and pound, the Eldar perform amazingly graceful and lethal martial arts moves and the Marines are powerful and straightforward. Even the fighting machines of each race follow this careful design and are amazing to see; Eldar Wraithlords, Space Marine Dreadnoughts, Land Raiders, Rhinos, Chaos Defilers, they are all here and behave in a manner consistent with the other troops in their army. Even if you're unfamiliar with 40K, you're in for a treat. Dawn of War promises to be one of the best RTS computer games ever regardless of whether or not you are into the Games Workshop tabletop miniatures hobby. Dawn of War stands on its own as an amazing and exciting science fiction/fantasy battle game like no other before it. If you are familiar with 40K, be prepared to see the 40K universe spring to life before your eyes like never before.

(...)

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This game is so good, I paid full retail., October 26, 2004

By 

Frugal Shopper (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (CD-ROM)

I am a very frugal person by nature. This is usually hard to reconcile with my desire to buy computers and computer games. My usual solution is to wait until a game goes "Gold" or gets some other value packaging ("The Mega Value Pack!"). Very, very rarely, will I ever buy retail - and never the full retail a game goes for when it is first released.

Dawn of War has proven to be the exception. Ironically, when I first saw the packaging/cover art for Dawn of War 40,000 (DOW40K) I was turned off. It looked like a cheap game, probably some lousy adaptation of the tabletop game that was going to trade on name recognition. Well, it turns out, they could have sold this game in butcher's paper and named it anything they wanted. It is the best computer game I have ever played.

I've been playing since the Atari 2600. I'm old. I should be doing bigger and more important things. My wife shouldn't have to roll her eyes when I tell her I'm going to turn on the computer. Alas, I like computer games. So I have played a great variety of games - strategy, role-playing, first person shooter, simulation. My favorites are pretty mainstream: Civilization, Morrowind, SimCity, Diablo, Half Life, and Medal of Honor. Until DOW40K, I had a "group" of favorites, but no one favorite game. Now, I have a favorite game.

There are basically three ways to play, and I would recommend playing them in this order: First, the single player campaign. It is a simple and effective tutorial that lasts about 10 hours, depending on how you play. You will finish it and know the basic game mechanics, controls, and some strategy. Second, the "Skirmish" option on the main options page. You play against one to seven AI opponents on several different maps. You can choose the difficulty level from easy, to standard, to hard, to harder, to insane. When you can beat the computer consistently at the standard difficulty, then try the third option: online play. The people in the online lobby know what they are doing. Try to join a game where it is team versus team, not a free for all. I really enjoy the online games, even though I lose a lot. Which makes the victories all the more enjoyable.

If you've read this and see me online, say hello. It's MEF40K (Marine Expeditionary Force 40,000). Good luck!