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Very Disappointing Expansion

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 18
Date: November 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First let me explain something about myself; I almost never play computer games. I make my living on one, and in my off time I'd just as soon do something else. That said, I'm a total fan of 40K and decided to give Dawn of War a try. I was hooked. To lure this non-pc gamer into the fold it HAD to be a powerful gaming experience. And it was. I even bought a second copy, and my son and I played head to head (cooperative and adversarial) on our two computers.

So given that, I was SO stoked that an expansion was in the works. I was like a kid again, counting the days till it's release. So was my 12-year old son!

Well, it just doesn't cut it on so many levels, where to start?

Forget the new race. They did a nice job on the Imperial Guard, but it won't matter.

Forget that the graphics are slightly better than before. So what if it looks just a little better, it won't matter.

Forget about the new campaign game. They did a nice job on it, don't get me wrong, and the cool twist is you can play it as either the forces of good or evil. Nice. But it's not going to matter.

Why? Well, after you do the campaign, what's left is playing the game either against online opponents or against the computer's AI. The former is still the same, and I have no complaints, but I find I spend most of my time versus the AI.

And THIS is where they totally messed with Dawn of War. They didn't just add the IG to the game, with a new campaign. No, they totally messed wit the AI. Now, in "easy" mode (not a mode I EVER used with the original game) the various computer opponents simply turtle-up and wait for me to advance. I've played 8 player free-for-all games and simply knocked them each off one by one. How dull.

And in "Normal" mode, they are so aggressive, beyond the smallest maps I don't stand a chance. And I've logged many, many games, and I'm no novice. I know what to do and when to have a good chance, and it matters not one little bit.

So beyond the additions, they gutted the suporb AI of the original game, thus turning a splendid game with hundreds of hours of repeat playability (as I can personally attest) into a game that, once you play the campaign, you won't want to ever put this disc back in your computer. I find myself time and again STILL reaching for my DoW disc, while the WA disc sits there unused.

I asked my son if he still plays WA and he said no. The AI makes it either too easy or too hard, no middle ground. I can't imagine what Hard or Insane are like in WA (modes I've tried with some success using DoW).

I really don't understand why they did this. They could have simply added a fifth race and left us with a much better product.

So my advice? If you are tired of playing Dawn of War and want a little something extra, google free ad-on maps, and you will find several dozen high-quality (I would say professionally done) free maps to download. The best have been bundled up into sets that download and install beautifully. These new maps have recharged the game for me and my son, and they will for you to. And they don't cost a dime.

And there are folks out there working on various mods to the original Dawn of War game (including Tyranids and Necrons). I can't wait to have a go with those races in the original DoW game. But Winter Assault? Save your money. It's not worth it at any price. It could be FREE and would still not be worth it, because they tampered with the AI.

A distinct disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: October 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Pros:
1) a new army - IG
2) a bit more streamlined upgrade tree
3) two new campaigns

Cons:
1) only one new army yet full price?? Ridiculous!
2) game balance is really messed up now
3) difficulty levels in skirmish have an enormous gap between easy and standard
4) somehow your ally AI is dumb as a rock (wasting resources on buildings when having no units to defend himself; not backing you up; stealing your resources) while the opposing AIs are smart cookies (always gang up to rush one of you).
5) All IG is just Cadians?? Their colors look like crap.
6) IG has no anti-tank until you get sentinels. Meanwhile you are SOL.
7) Annoying guardsmen voices. They are not all juveniles, you know.
8) Marines can build just ONE landraider??
9) Stationary defences seem significantly reduced in effectiveness. Without meaningful fortifications, the game becomes a grunt rush festival and armies like IG won't survive in a skirmish.
10) The Marines get a hero unit that cannot join other units??
11) Only six missions for each of two sides?
12) No meaningful learning curve on the new missions at all. Just a jumble of units and mission objectives that often are completely cryptic as to ways of implementation. I often found myself wondering "What the hell does this mean and how the hell am I to implement it in terms of the game?"
13) Automatic routing is horrendous. Units just sit there wondering how to get where you told them to go. Why the hell is this so difficult to do right?
14) On some of the new maps, you can actually box yourself in by your own buildings!! Once you do, there is no visible way to demolish your own structures to get out.

A big disappointment. After finishing the new campaigns, I find myself playing the original far more often than the expansion. Relic should be ashamed. Instead of becoming the new Blizzard, they have decided to cash out by offering inferior products at the lure of an excellent first work. The same thing happened with 14 East. Guess what, I have not bought a single 14 East product after they went down that road.

Stinks and stinks some more.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 15
Date: October 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

What a way to ruin the vaunted memory to the first Dawn of War. I guess it's true...the sequel is never as good as the original. As far as gameplay, WA works pretty much like DOW. However, the new units S T I N K! The Imperial guard....S T I N K! The missions....well, you get the idea. The plotline is more poorly developed than in DOW. Even the voice responses (and the voices) aren't very good. In the end, I wondered why I wasted my money.
Part of its problem is that it will always be held up against Dawn of War, a game that, aside from some cheesy cut-scene graphics, was an absolute masterpiece. From its awesome intro movie to the characters to the cooooool voices, it rocked! Dawn of War even excelled at subtle nuances like varying the voice responses to your commands. WA doesn't do this AT ALL and you'll grow more annoyed by the minute every time you have to hear those whiny Imperial Guard answer your commands.
Winter Assault falls WAAAAAY way short. Quite frankly, it's a dreadful piece of software and should be avoided.

Game does not work.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 21
Date: October 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I enjoyed the original so much. But when I installed this game, I experienced multiple errors and difficulty installing it. Once I finally got it installed, the game doesn't start.
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=73787
That is the link to the relic forums where multiple people are having the same problems.
Don't buy this game if you want to avoid wasting 3 hours of your time.

awful campaign mode

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: September 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Why does relic spend so much effort and money developing such a sophisticated and exciting RTS platform and then give it a campaign mode that is just a confusing goatf$#k of massed enemies and nonsensical storylines? The game was designed to reward subtly matching unit types to enemy strategies, but the campaign mode is just a wave after wave of mixed units that must be endured with no time or even need to plan a defense. I feel like I've been given a set of surgical tools and then told I have 10 minutes to cut dow a tree with them; the sophistication of the tools makes the brutish nature of the task all the more frustrating. Bad, bad job relic.

Expansion Pack?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: October 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Dawn of War was a great game. Winter Assault detracts from the gameplay in every respect besides the addition of the Imperial Guard.

I wish I hadn't purchased this game, as the existing armies had multiple unit types, upgrades, and research removed from them. more was removed in fact, then was added.

Avoid!

Unleash the hammer of the Eldar?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: September 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ok so I was waiting with baited breath like a good Games Workshop nerd for this exspansion. Everything, and I do mean everything, I read about Winter Assault says it's chock full if Imperial guard goodness. Even the box is covered in Imperial Guard goodness. However...Once you get good and into this game you're suddenly realize you're spending just as much time playing the eldar as you are Imperial Guard. The whole game you're switching between Imp. guard, and smeldar. The end of the game is kind of un-imperial in nature, but I won't ruin it for those that haven't played it yet.

Game play is much like DOW, however there is little to no base building in this one, you get started out with a ton of req. points, and power. So taking strat. points and building generators is kinda pointless. I don't really like that part of it very much, it kinda takes some of the fun out of the game, as most of the battles, you pretty much have your army from the get go.

It's not a bad game overall, but I was expecting alot more from it.

Doesn't measure up to the original

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: September 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying that I have enjoyed this game overall. However, it is rather disappointing in comparison to the original game. The campaign missions feel very linear and scripted, giving the player minimal choice in how to progress to victory. This is partly because, as mentioned by the first reviewer, base building has virtually been removed from the campaign. There are some play balance issues, as well, which lead to some rather absurd events, such as an eldar avatar that stands around in my base for half an hour neither attacking nor taking damage, while I figure out how to progress to the next step in the script to destroy it, and without any real fight. Overall, the game feels like the developers rushed through it, and didn't pay enough attention to things like play balance and making it challenging. I haven't played with skirmish or multiplayer much yet, but hopefully that will be better than the single player campaigns. Overall, it is not a bad game, but it could have been so much better.

Its still fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I liked this expansion to the original DOW. It was more of the same and since I liked the original game I knew I would like this expansion. I felt it was overpriced for an expansion pack that was on the short side for the single player campaign. Some of the criticism I see here on the Amazon page is justified. I felt the story was well thought out and the voices were beliveable. The graphics and sound were the same as DOW. I saw where some one said the Imperial Guard should have AT weapons, they do its the rocket launchers. It is true the scenarios feel a bit rushed, as if you do not have enough time to really think about your strategy. The problems is I think that is a fair criticism of all RTS games. Once again when installing the game the software secretly tells my firewall to let the game phone home, a very annoying feature.

dont see what all the hype is about

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 14
Date: February 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Nothing special about this game that sets it apart from any other RTS. In fact, older RTS like command and conquer:generals have more features in game than this title. For instance, in C&C:G you can garrison any civilian building. You can only garrison certain structures that you build in W40k:DOW, but you cant garrison civilian buildings.

Is this game fun? Yes. Is it worth the $49.95 it cost for the game and the expansion? Not even close.

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