Dawn of War is a rare specimen in that it is simple and streamlined in many places, but amazingly deep where it counts.
Dawn of War's greatest strength comes from the sheer intensity of its battles. Artillery fire will send infantry flying, mechs will pick up and dissect units in gory detail, and all sorts of futuristic weaponry will permanently scar the landscape and cause some pretty fireworks in the process. What's so amazing about Dawn of War is that this intensity does not come at the price of tactical depth. Dawn of War is all about well balanced combined arms forces that can meet any contingency. Balance is important because specialized units can wreak serious havoc on their preferred targets - an anti-infantry mech can drop squad after squad of men if they lack sufficient anti-armor weaponry. Building a combined-arms force is mad simple, as most units arrive from their spawn building without much in the way of specialization - you outfit them with their weapons once they are built. This feature works very well, as it essentially makes each unit customizable. As far as squads go, this means that you can create a team of anti-armor specialists, or a diverse squad with mixed weaponry to be a bit more self-sufficient. As such, most of the battles in Dawn of War are won or lost on having the right people attacking the right target at the right time. This could easily have been a micromanaging nightmare, but so much of Dawn of War is beautifully streamlined that this isn't the case. Infantry are assembled into squads of around 10 men, and if one of them dies, they can be replaced in the field by selecting the squad and clicking the "reinforce" button. This makes keeping tabs on your squads and making sure they are full strength a very manageable affair.
This is good news, because that means you can focus on tactics instead of office work. Lots of units, but mainly infantry and the leader units that can be attached to them, have special abilities like physic attacks or equipment like grenades that require active involvement from the player. These bonuses can turn the tide of battle, however, so there is huge incentive for the player to be fully involved in every firefight. Morale is a feature that is handled simply but elegantly in Dawn of War. Every infantry squad has a morale bar in addition to a health bar. If the squad takes a beating (or is subject to special morale-breaking attacks such as artillery fire, flamethrower, or psychic attacks), their morale shatters and they become cannon fodder. Special units that can be attached to infantry squads can rally a squad, however, so a good leader can keep tabs on his army's morale (which is easy to do because you are given big visual clues) and rally as needed. With all the attention needed balancing squads, abilities, and morale, it's a good thing that the economic side of things is so simple and streamlined. Supply points (think gold) is accumulated automatically if you control strategic points on the map, a fact which can turn many rounds into fierce turf wars as sides battle to secure and hold limited resource points. Energy, the other resource, is continuously added via power plants, which can be built in a base. Other than the ability to research upgrades that speed up the money-making process, that's all there is to know about the economy.
The single player campaign is simply amazing - at the hardest difficulty level, it provided challenging and intense slugfests filled with many tough decisions. It is long, but very well paced, and most missions are sufficiently long and involved that their completion brings on a feeling of satisfaction. The game looks great and is filled with amazing flair and detail. The sounds are appropriately futuristic and gritty (turn up the bass to really feel the artillery strikes) and the music is appropriately epic.
If you want an accessible yet involved real time strategy game that is pretty to look at, then look no further than Dawn of War. Rarely can a game simplify so many aspects of its gameplay and interface without sacrificing depth.