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Dawn of War 2: Old and New Races ReimaginedDawn of War 2 for the PC is the sequel to the original Dawn of War Real Time Strategy game, centered around the Warhammer 40,000 universe. As with the previous game, the player can choose from several different races, with further in-game tweaking (via commander types and usable powers) to best fit an individual playing style. For a long-time fan of the series or the universe in which it's set, it can be jarring to go from the nine available factions present in the final expansion of Dawn of War 1 to just four in the new game. It's clear enough to most consumers that Relic Entertainment – the developer of both games – will follow its earlier market strategy and gradually add playable factions through expansion packs; however, Dawn of War 2's initial offerings are generally well balanced. The addition of faction-dependent commander units makes each race more customizable than before, and each faction itself offers a distinct range of play style. The Space Marines, the hallmark of the game universe, appears again right off the bat. Essentially, they are a group of superhuman bio-engineered soldiers charged with protecting the Empire of Mankind – the far-future descendant of modern humanity – against mutants, aliens, and the heretics who denounce Mankind's Emperor. Players who prefer a more straightforward sort of battle will be drawn to the Space Marines, who possess a good mix of defensive and offensive capabilities, and who most closely resemble 21st-Century elite fighting units. Emphasis is on direct and honorable combat, and the potential for taking on the Marines' religious and battle-hardened conviction and sense of purpose is extremely seductive. On the opposite end of the spectrum, mentality-wise, is perhaps the second-most recognizable face of the Warhammer universe: the Orks. Loud, stupid, strong, and, above all, numerous, this race excels in brute force conquest, fighting for the sake of advancing the Waaaagh!, the game's version of a pointless, brutal, and overwhelmingly compelling crusade. Orks relish combat for its own sake, enjoying the thrill of battle and eagerly rushing to their deaths, secure in the knowledge that ever more Orks will be spawned to continue the mayhem. Similar to the Chinese faction in Command & Conquer: Generals, this play style is doubly appealing: there's the satisfaction of creating an enormous invasion force to utterly overwhelm one's opponent, and, if that fails, the visceral enjoyment of seeing dozens of well-rendered greenskins getting blasted apart. This unthinking bloodlust is opposed by the third race, the Eldar, who focus on cautious precision and infiltration. The Eldar are essentially a magical and ancient race, and controlling them on the battlefield is a somewhat more cerebral endeavor. Players who enjoy micromanagement and devising plans to erode enemy resistance before crushing them will find a good fit with the Eldar. They provide the “intellectual” part of the style triad, as opposed to the Space Marines “spiritual” warfare and the Orks' “physical” orgy of destruction. Finally, Dawn of War 2 introduces a new race that wasn't seen in any expansion for the original Dawn of War, namely the Tyranids. These creatures are a truly alien presence, coming from outside the galaxy itself rather than the far-flung climes within. They do not speak in any intelligible way, but their motive and methods are clear within seconds of playing them: they seek to destroy all non-Tyranid life, to exploit and destroy all organic matter to their greatest advantage and then move on to exterminate further. While the Orks genuinely enjoy battle and carnage, the Tyranids seem to be biologically engineered specifically for the task. Destroying the opposition is not a task for them, it's just their nature. Instead of building traditional bases and reactors, their entire mechanism for conquest is organic and indefatigable. The novelty is very slow to wear off, and long-time fans of the series will undoubtedly be pleased by the implementation. Their differences with the other races – human and non – are basic, yet provide a very distinct and different approach to warfare that, if nothing else, is fun for the sheer simplicity of purpose. Herbert von Steuben
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Title: The Nine Races in the Dawn of War Game Related Links
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