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Don't buy if you have Service Pack 2 for Windows XP!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 28
Date: October 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been unable to install this game. The installation quits near the end of install (after I've put the 3rd disc in); it quits with no error message and all the files already installed are automatically permanently deleted (i.e. not sent to the recycle bin). Have tried installing multiple times. It seems that there is a bug in the interaction between Install Shield and Windows Installer 3.0 (which installs with SP2 for Windows XP). After several email exchanges with THQ tech support, they advised me to use Task Manager to end the installer program just as it's finishing the installation, but before it crashes out. That had no effect, so I was then told to seek a refund. Simply not good enough. I was really looking forward to this game. So, if you have Windows XP and Service Pack 2, either roll your system back to pre-SP2 or don't buy this game. Very sad

Great Graphics, but not much else

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 34
Date: September 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Good graphics and a pretty faithful rendering of the war hammer 40K universe are the only positive things I can say about this game.
The game's interface is simple which is usually good, but it lacks a lot of functionality that is necessary in controlling a larger battlefield with more than one force deployed at once. There are no hot keys for toggling between different unit groups and more importantly there is no way to speed or slow the passage of time. This makes it very difficult in hectic battles to manage the production of units and control multiple armies in the field and very boring at the end of levels when you are just trying to clear enemy units from the field. The only way to play the game is to create an army and then follow it as it moves around the board.
In fact the only reason the game is beatable is that the levels are so easy. With a medium sized cadre of standard space marines and a couple missile-launchers a player can clear even the final level. This negates the need to build most advanced structures as the most powerful unit, or at least the most powerful unit you will ever need, can be built with simply a chapel and an armory. In fact the only reason to build the more advanced units are the ever annoying 'puzzle levels' where you must make the unit with some special ability, like the ability to jump or teleport over a crevice in order to defeat some ridiculously weak enemy. Hence most of the difficulty comes from figuring out how to build a unit that can teleport rather than defeating the enemy, which seems to have no AI at all, but rather just creates roaming adversaries. I never needed to save more than once and could usually play a level straight through beginning to end (including the final level, which is actually one of the easiest).
Also, without going into the mechanics of game play too much, resource gathering is so tedious that it is more time effective to just take the few strategic markers inside your base then go make a sandwich (don't worry there is no danger of an enemy attack) while resource points accrue than to undertake the difficult process of taking and developing markers in the field. Also, there is not much point in gathering too many resource points, as there is a finite number of units you can field at one time and they almost never die.
It's frustrating that in the 10 years since Dune II RTS's actually seem to have regressed.
I know I've slammed this game pretty hard, but there is one more thing I need to mention. The writing, both for during game play and in the cut scenes, is awful (I know I'm being a hypocrite since this review has a pretty good schemer of run-ons and sentence fragments). Even for the WH 40k universe, which is pretty complex, the characters in the cut scenes seem to have no internal momentum, but just come into conflict because... well, the game needs conflict (I still have no idea why the Eldar and Empire fight each other as their greater enemy is Chaos, but, oh well).
All in all, the game is a big disappointment.

Multiplayer Review

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: December 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'll keep this short and sweet because I'm not a big writer. The game has lots of minor and a few major bugs and imbalances that make the game not suitable for "pro" level play. If you want to be one of the top players of this game you will find yourself very frustrated. The developers of the game have been very slow to make any improvements or fixes and have actually *lied* (about two things) saying they had made a fix when they didn't. Instead they just turned features off, thinking people wouldn't notice. You will not see a lot of negative comment on the official forums because such comments are deleted or the threads are closed. The on-line "system" for the game is a complete joke, if Armies of Exigo (AoX) is a 10, this is a 5-6. Both are based on GameSpy, if I were to compare it to BattleNet, which is a bit unfair, it would be a 3 or 4.

Anyway the game has lots of potential, but it is far from realizing it. I'm not sure the developers intend to take the game much further through patches either.

$50 for this?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 15
Date: November 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I borrowed this game from a friend that found out he didn't have enough RAM to run the game. I was going to buy this game because of all the hype I had heard about it... good thing I borrowed it.
To start the game is too short to be worth my $50. And it's not challenging at all. The 12 missions that you get just don't justify the price tag. I can get WarCraft 3 (both RoC and FT) for about the same price and I have, roughly, 8 times the game as DoW. The only differences would be that WC3 would have a degree of challenge. But wait... WC3 doesn't have that nice camera that can go down to ground level so you can be in the midst of the action... and you can't forget the glitches and bugs that plague this game... isn't that worth the $50 right there? Nah.
Bottom line. If you like RTS games, your money is better off somewhere else... actually, ANYWHERE else.

Not quite worth it!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 23
Date: October 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First off, I generally liked Dawn of War. Numerous other reviews address and detail the strengths of this game. In many ways it is a step above the most recent generation of RTS games.

What I wish to address is the fact that the solo campaign is comprised of only 12 missions. That's right, 12 missions (about 10 hours). On top of that, you only get to play as Space Marines and not one of the other 3 races (i.e., Chaos, Eldar, Orks). Furthermore, the storyline ends with a cliffhanger that suggests that there will be an expansion released in the future. In my opinion, when you spend $49.99 you deserve a bit more than this. The multiplayer is fine and the single-shot missions are alright but for this amount of money... more story content should be presented.

Engrossing, but short.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 13
Date: April 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game for my husband for Christmas. While it kept him busy for a short while... he had finished the game in under a week. For the amount of money I spent on it, I expect more than a week's worth of play. I was disappointed in that area only. However, he quite enjoyed playing the game.

An OK game, but nothing creative

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: October 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game under the mistaken impression that there would be campaigns that could be play either as Eldar, Orks, Chaos, or Space Marines, however, you only get to play the Space Marines, on very limited battle maps. There is no freedom of movement, and although the graphics are amazing, the play is too frantic to zoom in and watch or pay attention. If you want to win, you gotta micro manage and utilize all of your resources as the become available.

There is no strategy as in Total War or excitement of (take your pick of first person shooter).

Also the characters, well, I could give a hoot about them. The story pretty much blows. I mean, why would you want your character to win? He acknowledges that he exterminated everyone on his homeworld, et cetera. Also, one thing about game play, when you main character dies in combat, he just magically regenerates behind your lines. How is that explained?

Although the AI in Total War is weak, on the battle field you have to apply tactics (pin with phalanx, flank with calvary, et cetera.) here it is just 1) take energy out put, 2) build and up grade nrg, while protecting what you have and gradually expand the no. of nrg sites under your control, 3) then sit back max out all of your troop numbers, 4) Blitzkrieg and 5) you win.

great game bad story

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: April 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was so please to see a RTS game come out in the WH40K world and I played it straight through. The animations and gameplay are great but there should be more missions. Also, the cutscenes were very long and dull. The actors speaking the voices were not right in my opinion. Play the game, but skip the cutscenes!!

Based on 10-minute video: simply amazing!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: June 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Although this game will not ship until the fall of 2004, I was lucky enough to see an astounding video of game play that was roughly 10 minutes long at the recent Games Workshop Games Day in Maryland. Reviews and previews in PC Gamer magazine earlier this year were very favorable. A brief trailer is also available at the Dawn of War website. Based on everything I've seen so far this game has the potential to be one of the most spectacular futuristic strategy games ever released. Note that I've annotated my review below with parenthetical comments for non-Warhammer 40K players.

If the actual game play is as astounding as the simulated play in the video and trailer, this game should be very pleasing not only to Warhammer 40,000 fans, but to everyone looking for a terrific fantasy/science fiction strategy game. The images of the Chaos Defilers (walking demon possessed machines with claws and huge cannons) tearing a Land Raider (large tank) apart, the Eldar Avatar (fiery space elf demon) wailing on the Defilers with his huge magic sword, Ork Killer Kans sawing their enemies in half, Eldar Falcon grav tanks hovering and pouring energy weapon fire into their enemies; all of it was simply amazing.

The game animation when the Bloodthirster (huge demonic monster with gigantic axe, wings, horns, etc.) appears by possessing one of the Chaos Space Marines made people watching the video at Games Day "ooh and aah" and people cheered and applauded at the sight of the Space Marine Captain leaping upon the shoulders of the Bloodthirster and then pounding it to death with his Thunder Hammer. It was spectacular!

If the game is as good as it looks when released, if it is relatively free of programming bugs, and if the user interface and other important features are fun and easy to use, I'll have to come back and give it 5 stars!

Excellent gameplay, but single player campaign lacking

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 39 / 45
Date: October 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Dawn of War is one of the most anticipated strategy games of 2004. Like most overly hyped games, it has a lot to live up to - fortunately, the new Warhammer game fulfils most of the publicity, with one glaring exception. Hardcore Warhammer gamers will be impressed with the slavish attention to detail. The Relic Developers are clearly Warhammer fans, and it shows in every frame - from the Orc flamethrower in the opening cinematic (with a cigar shoved in its mouth), to the harsh fascist nobility of the Space Marines ("Beware the alien, the heretic"). This game doesn't shy away from its martial origins, and doesn't pull any punches either.

There's nothing I can say about the gameplay that hasn't been commented on, elsewhere. The learning curve for the user interface isn't all that steep. The only change is the use of constantly aggregating resources from strategic points, which leaves players to focus on the strategy element, rather than micromanaging resource gathering.

The music from Jeremy Soule is outstanding (as always) - he has been a composer on several excellent games, including Neverwinter Nights, and once again shows why he's the "go-to guy" for quality music.

The only problem with the game is the extremely short single-player campaign - at 11 missions long, the storyline is seriously abbreviated. By the time it's over, it's obvious that only one-third of the story has been told. This is quite remarkable, as Relic were the same developers who created the classic epic Single-Player storyline for Homeworld and Homeworld 2.

Inevitably, this game will be compared to Starcraft and Warcraft 3 (both developed by Blizzard). The comparison is inevitable, as both games revolve around the same themes. In terms of technology and gameplay, Warhammer is the better choice. But in terms of storyline and Single-Player campaign, Warcraft 3 and Starcraft are still unparalleled in its execution.

In summary, Warhammer is an outstanding addition to the Real Time Strategy genre. Despite it's visceral violent content and action, it's not a revolution, but rather a evolution. The key achievement is placing the focus on combat and strategy, rather than micromanagement. Hopefully, other RTS's will emulate this approach.

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