| Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War |
 |
| Developer(s) |
Relic Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) |
THQ |
| Version |
1.51 |
| Platform(s) |
Microsoft Windows |
| Release date |
NASeptember 20, 2004
EURSeptember 24, 2004 |
| Genre(s) |
Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) |
Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
ESRB: Mature (M)
PEGI: 16+
USK: 16+ |
| Media |
3 CD-ROMs, download |
| System requirements |
1 GHz Pentium III or equivalent AMD Athlon XP processor, 256 MB RAM, 1.8 GB free hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM, 32 MB DirectX(R) 9.0b compatible AGP video card with Hardware Transform and Lighting, DirectX 9.0b compatible 16-bit sound card |
| Input methods |
Keyboard, Mouse |
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment based on Games Workshop’s popular tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000. It was released by THQ on September 20, 2004 in North America. Since its release, three expansion packs have been released: Winter Assault in 2005, Dark Crusade in 2006 and Soulstorm in 2008, and the sequel, Dawn of War II said to be released in 2009.
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. Recently, 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, all three expansions along with Dawn of War have been released as The Complete Collection.
Contents
- 1 Gameplay
- 1.1 Resource management
- 1.2 Warfare
- 1.3 Units
- 1.4 Buildings
- 2 Setting
- 3 Reception
- 4 References
- 5 Further reading
- 6 External links
|
Gameplay
Gameplay is initially focused on capturing and holding strategic locations on the battlefield, much like the game Company of Heroes. 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.
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 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, with each headquarters supporting up to six generators. 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.
Warfare
Infantry units are given orders as squads rather than as individuals. Most fully reinforced squads consist of about 10 units, and move and attack as a single entity. Squads can produce and replace their own units anywhere in the field. They can be equipped with special weapons and have heroes or special units attached to them. For example, a Space Marine squad starts with 4 marines, but can be expanded up to 8 standard marines and a sergeant, and individual marines can be equipped with heavy weapons. A Force Commander, Librarian, Apothecary, or a Skull Probe can also be added, bringing the total number to 10. The player is also free to choose particular upgrades and can specialize each squad for a specific purpose.
Infantry units can fight in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, and most units will have weapons for both types of combat, and if attacked in close combat will respond in kind. Hand-to-hand combat is played out as a series of attack animations between combatants. When one combatant kills the other, a Finishing move commonly called a Sync Kill plays out as the victorious fighter finishes his opponent off. 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. rockets) to be destroyed. Vehicles can also be upgraded with multiple weapon systems, usually differentiating between anti-infantry and anti-vehicle armaments. Walkers are a variant type of vehicle that is capable of fighting in close combat
In addition to a typical hitpoint system, infantry units also have morale. Morale applies to a squad as a whole. When morale drops to zero, the squad “breaks;” at this point the squad’s accuracy at a range, damage dealt in mêlée, and defensive capability while using cover are significantly reduced, however the squads movement speed is slightly increased. 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. Some weapon types, such as flamethrowers, are made specifically to demoralize the enemy. Favorable terrain gives units a defensive cover bonus, while water and swamps slow units down and 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. 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 can usually only be built once. If they perish, they may be rebuilt. A sub-class is the semi-commander unit, which has many abilities like the commander unit but may be built multiple times. Infantry are foot soldiers, and may either be regular or heavy, with heavy infantry being much tougher than normal infantry. Vehicles are heavy weaponry and transports, and include tanks, artillery and troop carriers.
All units, aside from most heroes and vehicles, come in squads. These are groups of infantry 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 healer units or repair.
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.
Setting
The planet Tarturus as shown from high orbit.
-
Main article: Warhammer 40,000
The game is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, a dystopian vision of the future with gothic undertones. Humanity has forged a galaxy-spanning empire, The Imperium, with the Immortal Emperor as humanity’s leader and a living God. 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.
Factions
-
Main articles: Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000), Chaos Space Marines, Eldar (Warhammer 40,000), and Ork (Warhammer 40,000)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War features four playable armies.
The Space Marines are the elite genetically modified superhuman soldiers of the Imperium. Space Marines have the highest morale in the game. Their troops and vehicles are more expensive, however. The Space Marines are the only playable race in the single player section of the game, and the 11-mission campaign features the Blood Ravens chapter as the protagonists, led by Captain Gabriel Angelos and Librarian Isador Akios.
The Chaos Marines are traitors that have chosen to abandon The Imperium and their duties to humanity, and instead worship the Gods of Chaos. In Dawn of War, they use troops that are similar to their Imperium 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 an ancient, technologically advanced race. Eldar in Dawn of War are fast and agile. They are able to move quickly across the map via webway gates. The campaign features the craftworld of Biel-Tan, and their leader, Farseer Macha.
The Orks are a savage, warlike race. 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 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. They would later be made into a featured race for the first expansion pack, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault.
In the Second Dawn of war expansion pack, Dark Crusade, there are an additional 2 races to be played online and solo, T’au and the Necrons. Note: to play as space marines, Chaos, Eldar, Orks and Imperial guards online you must have both the original DoW and Winter Assault installed.
Plot
The Blood Ravens make planetfall. Cutscenes are rendered using the game engine.
The Single player campaign is set on the planet Tartarus, an Imperial planet that is currently being besieged by a large Ork “Waaagh!”. 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 makes planet fall and saves Brom and his remaining men and 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 a recently conducted Exterminatus of the planet Cyrene; however Isador makes it clear he is not to bring it up again. The Blood Ravens then prepare for a mission of extermination of 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 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 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 resolves to destroy the traitors, unknowing that Isador is already under the influence of Sindri Myr, the Chaos Sorcerer of the Alpha Legion.
Gabriel executes the Traitor Isador.
Upon 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.
After a pitched battle with Alpha Legion forces, (including traitor Imperial Guard regiments who have 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: as he puts it ‘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. Gabriel and Toth form an alliance and make plans to find and destroy the Maledictum; however, Isador is then completely overcome by the temptations of Sindri and Chaos, and resolves to steal the Maledictum for himself.
The Blood Ravens and remaining loyal guardsmen destroy the army of Lord Bale, who was betrayed by Sindri, during which time 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 defeats Isador in single combat. Isador pleads for forgiveness to Gabriel. Gabriel tells him, “If redemption is what you seek, then redemption is what you shall get,” before shooting him in the head with his bolt pistol, using him as an example to his men about the dangers of Chaos.
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. 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, Macha warning prophetically Gabriel has doomed them all, and the Blood Ravens leave to be evacuated. However, Gabriel stays back, 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 tells Gabriel that he will soon come to claim him and his men. Gabriel vows to destroy the daemon, before following after his departing men.
Reception
| Reception |
| Review scores |
| Publication |
Score |
| Game Informer |
9.25/10 |
| GamePro |
5/5 |
| GameSpot |
8.8/10 |
| GameSpy |
  |
| IGN |
8.8/10 |
| PC Gamer UK |
91% |
Computer Gaming
World |
4.5 out of 5 |
|
| Aggregate scores |
| Aggregator |
Score |
| Game Rankings |
87% (based on 65 reviews) |
| Metacritic |
86% (based on 51 reviews) |
|
Upon release, the critical response to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was on the whole extremely 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. They also cited the skirmish and multiplayer as one of the game’s strongest points. Gamespot came to similar conclusions, in particular praising the game’s presentation and audio.
Conversely, an area of the game that drew criticism was the single player campaign, which many reviewers found to be too short and unchallenging. 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.” The French website Jeux PC (lit. “PC Games”) awarded the game 16 out of 20, in particular praising the simplicity of the user interface and the intensity of the battles. German reviewer Daniel Matschijewsky awarded the game 83 out of 100, in particular praising the user interface and the sound, but identified the campaign and the AI as weaker areas.
Overall Dawn of War was well received by critics, earning aggregate scores of 86/100 from Metacritic and 87/100 from Game Rankings.
References
- ^ “PC release dates”. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “Release dates”. GameFAQs. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ Biessener, Adam. “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War review at Game Informer“. Game Informer. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “Review: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC on GamePro.com”. GamePro. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b Kasavin, Greg. “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “GameSpy: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review”. Gamespy. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b c “IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review”. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b c d “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Reviews”. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (pc: 2004): Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “IGN: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review”. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “PC Zone: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War”. PC Zone. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ Kasavin, Greg. “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for PC Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “Test Warhammer 40 000 : Dawn of war” (in French). Jeux PC. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ “Titelstory: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War” (in German). Gamestar. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
Further reading
- “Index Astartes – Blood Ravens” (November 2004). White Dwarf: Australian Edition (298). ISSN 0265-8712.
- The same information can be found in “Index Astartes – Blood Ravens” . White Dwarf: UK Edition (305). ISSN 0265-8712.
- Goto, Cassern (2004). Dawn of War. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-152-8.
- Goto, Cassern (2005). Dawn of War: Ascension. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-285-0.
- Goto, Cassern (2006). Dawn of War: Tempest. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-399-7.
