Dawn of War II

I remember wishing for battles which would actually instill a sense of loss deep in my heart as I watched my units being pushed to the verge of annihilation. Their repeated appeals for help merely succeeded in bringing an evil grin to my face. This sadistic behavior is not to be mistaken as a product of a twisted mind, rather an attitude spurred by the simple fact engraved into our minds from years of gaming – oh that can be replaced.

            Well, fellow warlords, Relic has come up with a new masterpiece to wipe away those sadistic grins for good. They do a fine job inspiring you to keep those men alive in the battlefield and watch them grow from raw recruits to battle hardened warriors, wielding the weapons of your choice and cutting your enemies making the most of traits and training provided by you.

            It is time I present you with Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II.

Storyline: This is really not the strongest point of the game but it does a descent job of getting you started on your bloody killing spree with a feeling that perhaps all this carnage is not mindless after all. The human race has advanced far beyond our wildest imaginations, taking control over galaxies. Instead of fighting over mere countries, planets have turned into battlegrounds where different races vie for supremacy. The humans are few and far in number compared to the hordes of Orcs infesting every planet. They still stand, however, thanks to their sheer determination and the purity of the human race. The Orcs are everywhere, trying to destabilize the regions (planets) united by fierce warlords. While their technology may be nothing short of primitive, their ferocity and strength more than make up for it. They’ve taken the definition of brute force to a whole new level. The Eldars are the known other race. These highly advanced warriors are adept at witchcraft and mind control. They have superior technology at their disposal and brilliant minds to utilize it. Their numbers are dwindling but their powers aren’t. They have mastered the art of magic and follow strict discipline. The humans might call them witches but they are far more dangerous than that and highly capable of wrecking havoc anywhere in the galaxy.

            So, as the battle rages on the humans find themselves coming under systematic assaults by the orcs. Unlike the nature of these green giants, now they are launching coordinated strikes on various planetary locations and important communication sectors. This is where you come in, a new recruit taken into the chapter of Blood Ravens for your good reputation and given the responsibility of force commander. You will be leading a handful of squads into battle to different planets as you try to reclaim the important structures captured by the orcs. Moreover, as the game progresses, you will try to unearth clues to find out what’s motivating the orcs and who else might be behind this scheme.

 

Gameplay: This is where Relic delivers to the fullest. The Company of Heroes fans will find this pretty similar. Squads of infantrymen utilizing the terrain to fight behind cover in a fully destructible environment. It is not entirely about having better weapons and technology, though that does have its perks but battles here are won by fighting from the right places and implementing the right unit skills.

You can assign up to three squads to your force commander. Just like the force commander, each of these squads has their own special abilities and traits which can be unlocked as they gain stats and experience advancing through the levels. I for one, found these abilities to be really cool. There are four areas you can develop: Stamina. This increases your health and rate of health regeneration of the squad. Ranged. This increases the squad’s ranged attack damage. Strength. This is responsible for melee damage and increases the chance of special melee attacks. Will. This is basically “mana” as the DOTA fans will know. The squads require energy to perform special abilities and this represents your energy limit. It also increases the energy regeneration rate. As the squads gain level, they get 2 stats points. Gradually, these points add up to unlock traits and abilities which are unique for each squad.

Moreover, every squad has a distinct role to play in the battle. Lets consider Cyrus, this is basically your scout infantry. They have long area of visibility and get abilities such as infiltration. This actually makes Cyrus invisible as long as his energy limit allows him to. So you can sneak right up to the nose of your enemy undetected and throw demolition charges to bring down guard towers and such. However, if confronted by enemy troops, they make delicious targets. So it’s normally wise to let him stay behind the lines during combat. Later on they can be given the ability to use sniper rifles and other precision weapons. Then you have devastator squad. This is basically your heavy machine gun. They can suppress enemies while your jump squads and force commander can go in and spill some blood. They have very little melee skills and are quite helpless if thrown into hand to hand combat. Though they can get the mighty swing later on to swing their guns in an arc and knock back enemies.

As the game progresses your force commander also acquires some really cool skills and weapons. Weapons and armor are given as prizes at the end of each mission. Also, you can take away weapons and other stuff from your dead enemies. This is referred to as wargear. The role of the force commander is to provide inspiration and bonus damage/armor to the squads. He is your melee specialist. Wielding a menacing chainsaw on one hand and a bolter pistol on the other, he is capable of knocking back enemy squads and ripping them apart with little help from anyone else. It is particularly satisfying to watch him charge in and stick his chainsaw into the guts of your foe and shoot his head with the bolter. Blood gorging out from the dead soldier, he kicks him to the ground and takes out the chainsaw from his corpse. Actions such as these actually make adrenaline rush through your body. If you zoom in you can actually see hands and legs coming off your enemies as he slices through making mince meat out of them. Later on he can be equipped with better swords and weapons provided he has the skills to use them.

Battles are fast paced and bloody. If not given proper support it’s not so hard to lose your entire team. Every unit’s abilities have to be used to support each other. To make things harder, you cannot save your game in the middle of a mission. If you fail, you have to restart the mission. Some missions arise based on current circumstances and you only get one shot at completing them successfully. So you can no longer afford to sit back and let you squads get obliterated. You can revive fallen squads using other squads. This makes them highly vulnerable to enemy fire. So while trying to revive a dead squad you might lose everyone else. This gets especially tough at the end of each mission when you are fighting the warboss. These guys have awesome destructive powers and can wipe away your squads if not dealt with respect. At that moment its hard to revive your squad when that might be the only one left.

Like company of heroes, you can capture important points such as relay points. These allow you to reinforce your squads and get them back to full strength. Then you have communication arrays and shrines. Shrines give you the chance to undertake an extra mission during the day. Communication arrays give you the option of calling in artillery strikes. These increases are based on how many of a certain type of building you control.

You get points based on how fast you complete a mission, how many enemies you kill, how many sectors you capture.

The user interface is very friendly and precise. You can see what’s going on in different planets and choose to take up mission that you like. Occasionally you will be given special defending missions which cannot be repeated. The best part is the simplicity of it all. Its very easy to use the information popping up everyday and decide on your next step.

 

Graphics: In simple words, the graphics is just stunning. The details of the body armor and weapons are amazing. Explosions look highly realistic as you watch limbs and body parts being thrown apart. The visuals are something that keeps you wanting for more. The golden glow around the force commander actually gives the impression that he is someone special and not to be messed with. The terrain looks very realistic. Craters, destroyed buildings and cracks on the ground left from battles give you a sense of the destruction you’re leaving behind.

 

Sound: Relic does a good job of making the battles sound real. The different noises coming out of so many different types of weapons are all very fulfilling. The units charging in screaming add up to the realism. The background music is average. It’s the sound of battle that truly gives you an enjoyable experience.

 

Verdict: The story line might not be the strongest but the action and graphics certainly doesn’t give you time to ponder on it. The campaign has adequate depth and unlocking new skills always keep you on your toes. The only thing missing is the option of playing other factions in the campaign. The campaign only lets you play as the humans. Fighting against the other factions gives you an idea about their strengths and weaknesses and I would’ve really loved playing their campaigns. Although you can play the other factions in skirmish and multiplayer modes. At the end of the day, after all the blood and dirt, I still find myself craving for more. I guess that’s good from the business perspective. I can only imagine how the other factions would be when I get to play their campaigns.

Dawn of War II gives you hardcore action packed battles backed by a fair enough storyline. The battles are bloody and vicious. The graphics just takes them to a whole new level. Though it seems similar to company of heroes it goes far beyond that. This is a must have for any action loving gamer.

Storyline - 7/10

Game play - 9.5/10 

Graphics - 9/10    

                  Sound - 8/10