Stand up and show what you are made of for the man god known as the emperor is calling you to action.
Now with that out of the way i will move onto the game itself and its review. Gameplay for Dawn of War is initially focused on capturing and holding strategic locations on the battlefield. 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. The control points sort of work like the take and hold battles players do with the table top game. That would more than likly have two sides trying to get to the points and having control of them at the end of the turns. In Dawn of War there are no turns as all this happens in real time.
In Dawn of War there are two primary resources, these are 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 called Listening Posts 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. But like requisition sources, generators will decay over time and consequentially produce less power. 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.
Infantry units in Dawn of War are not given orders as individuals; they move and attack as squads. Most fully reinforced squads consist of about 10 individuals, although when they are first requisitioned, they usually have less. They can usually be equipped with special weapons and a specific leader, depending on the squad type. Squads can produce and replace their own units and weaponry anywhere in the field, but the player must wait a short period of time before new individuals, weapons, and leaders appear in the squad. Additionally, all races have commander units, which are general leaders or other units that can be attached to most squads, but are produced separately. Infantry units can fight in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, and many units will have weapons for both types of combat, and if attacked in close combat will have to respond accordingly. Hand-to-hand combat is played out as a series of synchronized attack animations between combatants. When one combatant defeats the other, a Finishing move known in Dawn of War as Sync Kill plays out as the victorious fighter finishes his opponent off in a dramatic and violent manner. More powerful units, such as Heroes, Walkers, and monstrous Super Units, may have personalized Sync Kills against each other. Which to be honest is alot of fun to see.
Vehicles are highly resistant to most standard infantry weaponry, so they must be targeted with specific heavy weapons such as anti-tank rockets to be destroyed. Vehicles can also be upgraded with multiple weapon systems, usually forcing a choice between either anti-infantry or anti-vehicle armaments. Walkers are a type of vehicle often armed with powerful heavy melee weapons, causing devastating damage in close combat. In addition to a typical hitpoint system, infantry units also have morale. When in combat, squads take morale damage as well as health damage. However, morale applies to a squad as a whole. In addition to health, the morale of a squad heavily influences its combat ability. When morale drops to zero, the squad "breaks", which significantly reduces the squad's ranged accuracy, damage dealt in mêlée, and defensive capability. The squad's movement speed, however, is slightly increased to allow it to retreat. 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, and the squad will regroup and regain combat effectiveness once it reaches a certain threshold.
The plot for Dawn of War runs something like this. Set on the planet Tartarus, an Imperial planet that is currently being besieged by a large Ork invasion force. 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 the planet fall and saves Brom and his remaining men, who 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 the recent sterilization of the planet Cyrene; however Isador makes it clear he is not to bring it up again, particularly not in Angelos's presence. The Blood Ravens then prepare to attack 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 then 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.
The Blood Ravens pursue the Eldar to the abandoned city of Loovre Marr and engage them in a full-scale battle across the city. Upon the 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, stating that thanks to the Space Marines, the Eldar are too weak to confront them....It is at this point i leave the story as people who have not played this yet will not want to know the end...
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for Microsoft Windows in north america on September 20, 2004 and in europe on September 24, 2004.
The System requirements are:
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.
Dawn of War is a game that is not only alot of fun but can also open your eyes to a differant type of gaming. For a first step its cheap and you get to know a little of the backstory and the history. Either way be it a fan of the table top or new to the fight this is a game for many many people.