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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade Profile Preview - Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, and the Imperial Guard

By Staff, GameSpotPosted Oct 6, 2006 11:11 am PT

Find out more about three of the mighty factions in Dark Crusade and why they're fighting for the planet Kronus.

There's a lot more to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War than just gory, over-the-top, cinematic violence. This real-time strategy game had a lot of strategic and tactical depth to it. Instead of just sitting back in a base, collecting resources, building up a huge army, and swarming your enemies with sheer numbers, Dawn of War forced you to attack early to seize and hold territory. The combat got even more intense as larger and more ferocious units joined the fray. In the upcoming stand-alone expansion, Dark Crusade, the designers at Relic are adding a new strategic campaign to link the battles together. You'll battle for control of the planet Kronus as one of seven Warhammer 40,000 factions, and your goal will be to wipe the other factions off the face of the planet. In earlier previews, we covered the tau, the necrons, the space orks, and the eldar. Now we finish our look by examining the space marines, the chaos space marines, and the Imperial Guard. Dark Crusade will ship later this year.

Space Marines

Brother-Captain Davian Thule.

The elite space marines are genetically modified defenders of the Imperium of Man. Organized in chapters, the space marines forces are often on the front line against the enemies of man. The Blood Ravens, the chapter involved in Dark Crusade, have arrived on the planet Kronus to uncover lost secrets of their chapter. Since the planet is important to the Blood Ravens, the space marines are determined to evict the other factions by force.

Leading the Blood Ravens on Kronus is Brother-Captain Davian Thule. Being a faction hero, Thule can be equipped with war gear, special weapons, and equipment, which are unlocked throughout the course of a campaign. The Blood Ravens have established their base in the artic lands of North Vandea, which is also home to a ruined Blood Raven temple. If North Vandea falls, the Blood Ravens will be forced to flee the planet, and their mission will have ended in disgrace.

Chaos Space Marines

Eliphas the Inheritor.

The chaos space marines were originally space marines thousands of years ago, but they were corrupted by chaos and splintered away from the Imperium. Settling into the Eye of Terror, the chaos space marines have flourished, and they continue to battle the Imperium.

Kronus was one of the battlefields during the brutal civil war, and the chaos champion Eliphas the Inheritor still seeks to conquer the planet. Eliphas is a Black Apostle who seeks the favor of the four chaos gods. He can win that favor by defeating the other factions on the planet, thus avenging an ancient chaos defeat.

The chaos space marine stronghold is on the Deimos Peninsula, a tropical region that has since been corrupted to look like the chaos vision of hell. The forces of chaos have opened a warp gate in Deimos. If another faction can conquer Deimos, the chaos space marines will have no way of reinforcing their position and will have to flee.

Imperial Guard

Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander.

Kronus used to be peacefully shared between the Imperium of Man and the tau empire, but the rise of the soulless necrons on the planet upset the balance of power. The tau began to assert more control, and the Imperium responded by dispatching the Imperial Guard.

The Imperium comprises a million worlds, with a vast population that offers countless recruits to the Imperial Guard. The forces on Kronus are led by Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander and his 1st Kronus regiment, and they seek to make the planet their new home. The Imperial Guard is headquartered in Victory Bay, the old Imperial capital. There the guard recovered the mighty Hellstorm cannon brought to the planet long ago by the techpriests of Mars. However, if Victory Bay should fall, the Imperial Guard will be defeated.

91 Comments

  • Deyyhayederaned

    Posted Oct 14, 2006 7:01 am PT

    This be so cool cannot wait to get this game, should have the option of diplomacy so you can eventually stab them in the back just like real life hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Zennious

    Posted Oct 12, 2006 3:57 pm PT

    You do battle the IG however it's because their General is going Crazy and thinking that the Space Marines are not their for the reasons they should be. It's more of a rouge leadership deal rather than the one General representing all of the IG.

  • sathoon

    Posted Oct 12, 2006 12:53 pm PT

    that may be true but it is an easy matter to pretend that the IG have spent the past 10 years taunting the SM and stealing their lunches and now they are offering all those stolen edibles to chaos, SM's of course as you are well aware of; hate chaos in all forms, literally. That or you can just pretend that they are corrputed IG like from the first DOW, albeit a bit stronger than those pathetic excuses for guardsmen in the first DOW!

  • Silencex

    Posted Oct 12, 2006 1:54 am PT

    that is my question indeed.
    If you are playing Space Marines, are you then going to battle IG? Sounds unfun & wierd to me.

  • lucien86

    Posted Oct 11, 2006 7:46 am PT

    Its simple really, the Space Marines see ordinary people and even themselves as totally expendable in the service of the emperor, its not unknown for them to purge (exterminate) the population of a whole planet if there's even a possibility that some of them have been tainted by Chaos. Also in such a vast empire there are many factions that have old grudges and want to kill each other for various reasons - so you can even have Imperial Guard fighting other Guard. Marines are the same as they are only loyal to their own chapter.

  • DredWulf

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 5:58 pm PT

    after playing DC yes the Space Marines are so after thier relics they ignore and attempt to destroy the IG...for some odd reason it's also sanctioned by the Ordo Mallus *Grey Knights*

  • davbat400

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 12:22 pm PT

    in answer to silenex the imperial guard and the spacemarines are the same race. The spance marines are geneticacly (excuse my spelling) advanced. If you go to the warhammer website you can find out the whole history and background knowledge of all the races here is a quote about the space marines; The Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes are Humanity's ultimate warriors, dedicated to the defence of the Emperor and the Imperium of Man. They are barely human at all, but superhuman, having been made superior, in all respects, to a normal man by a harsh regime of genetic modification, psycho-conditioning and rigorous training.

    "They shall be pure of heart and strong of body, untainted by doubt and unsullied by self-aggrandisement. They will be bright stars in the firmament of battle. Angels of Death whose shining wings bring swift annihilation to the enemies of Man. So it shall be for a thousand times a thousand years, unto the very end of eternity and the extinction of mortal flesh."

    - Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines

    The imperial guard are just ordnary soilders of mankind which have a lot of guts. Here is another quote it is about the imperial guard;

    The Imperial Guard is the largest and most diverse organisation the galaxy has ever seen, containing billions of men from a million different worlds, united under the banner of the Imperium of Man. The entire diversity of the massive Imperium is encapsulated in its ranks. Despite its awesome power, however, the Imperial Guard constantly struggles to protect the Imperium from its many enemies. The mighty Tyranid hive fleets batter at the Eastern Fringe, Ork Waaagh!s erupt without warning or pause, the damned Traitor Legions pour from the Eye of Terror hungry for Mankind’s souls, mysterious Eldar raiders strike without mercy, the ancient Necrons sally from their tomb worlds and numerous emergent empires, such as the Tau, rise up to challenge Humanity’s mastery. Against these diverse and often incomprehensible threats, the Imperial Guard pits human resolve and ingenuity in an unending battle with an inimical universe.

    In the midst of genetically engineered super-beings, alien killing machines, warrior mystics, and technology that approaches sorcery in its sophistication, the Imperial Guard are mere soldiers. Clad in a flak jacket and carrying a lasgun, they have to contend with the most terrifying threats, relying on numbers, massed firepower and a bayonet with some guts behind it. As such it is easy to identify with these brave souls and to see in them the qualities of true heroes.

    thankyou for reading sorry if it's been too long.

  • stubbsthe

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 11:56 am PT

    Now all we need are Tyranids... my fav

  • madmartigan117

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 10:57 am PT

    I bought Company of Heroes about a week ago and it featured a demo for DOW DC. So I played it and I fell in love. After playing CoH and DoW I went out and bought DoW gold edition. I love RTS games I play CnCgenerals, BFME1&2, AoE, but I really like the feel of the games by Relic, I think I am a fan now. I am still playing around with all the different factions, but so far I think I ike the Emperial Gaurd, and the Space Marines the best. I cant wait to try online when I feel more comfortable with the game. The races are very unique and I love the leaders, Like the Force commander, General Sturn, and my personal favorite The Librarian. Anyway I am ranting, I just I didnt realize these games where so good, I never paid attention to them, but now I will definantly keep an eye out for anything with the Relic logo on it.

  • joshua4

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 10:14 am PT

    the newer units look sweet !!! GET SOME MORE lol

  • DredWulf

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 9:51 am PT

    they usually are

  • Silencex

    Posted Oct 10, 2006 2:27 am PT

    one question:

    arn't the imperial and Space Marines allies? (they where in winter assault

  • Nessay

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:39 pm PT

    I think you can play as all seven races in SP and skirmish. Going online with just Dark Crusade means being able to play as Tau and Necron. With DoW and Winter Assault in addition to Dark Crusade, you can play as those races (Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, IG, Eldar, and Imperial Guard) in MP as well.

  • night_haunter

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:01 pm PT

    Time to kick some heretic and xeno a$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • _Sam_

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 6:00 pm PT

    looks cool

  • Bloodnecron

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 5:23 pm PT

    it wpuld be cool if you could ugrade your own tanks, thay need is witch hunters, finish the deamonhunters, and dark eldars.

  • alenfishman

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:22 pm PT

    heh, dark eldars, that would be cool, but its allready done, pritty much the marines and the dark marines (chaos) honestly, like waw think about 7 races. and there not like slightly different, they are all pritty much different in most ways. 7 totaly different races, most i have ever seen. can't wait. im gona pick up a copy on my way home from school today.

  • bigelf72

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:47 pm PT

    Now all they need is Dark Eldars....

  • lilsoldja

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:14 pm PT

    All i know is i'm gonna play the hell oudda the glowy green alien race and the other one with the beasts and stuff, its gonna be really fun, cant wait.

  • alenfishman

    Posted Oct 9, 2006 12:54 pm PT

    this is a "stand alone" expansion, so that means you dont need the other games to play this game. so it doesnt matter if you dont have the other games. you should be able to still pick any race. because then it wouldn't be a stand alone game if you need the other games to play the races.

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