what it lacks in size and intricacy it most surely makes up for in narrative, impressive combat and mechanics.

i have always felt this game was in the same arena as warcraft 3, a basic straight down the line rts that threw a few mechanics and a good story lifts it to become something more. the voice acting is good, characters are well thought out with glimpses of history, Gabriel is the unswerving loyalist and out of everyone the hero. all of the emperors forces are perfect in their pitch, the only one to give me pause is isador, i just never really bought into how quickly he gets corrupted and how considering his position- as soon as he realised their was a chaos sorcerer why didn't he tell anyone.

the orks are a brilliant foil for all parties and as it turns out are in their way the eventual winners, if by winning we mean conquering the planet. they are never really involved in the story, only briefly to help chaos but that was only to get chaos equipment, they have no interest in the big picture, they just want to fight and die.

the eldar are the wise ones, fighting a battle they are unready for, they have no desire to do so but in their way see their destiny unchangeable. they are frustrating, giving only tiny pieces of information and usually when it can no longer help.

chaos are the demon weavers, plotting in the dark, hiding behind a mass of ork bodies until they revel themselves, they are the originators of the story on planet Tartarus, there is a demon locked inside a relic on the planet, the expedition is commanded by lord bale with his sorcerer sindri doing all the complicated work. i would be interested to know what exactly lord bale was hoping to achieve but we never get to know, he is betrayed by sindri who becomes a demon for a short amount of time.

Overall i think the combat is my favourite aspect, its absolute chaos at times with massive tanks, dread noughts and an endless amount of soldiers being destroyed to be replaced, the imperial guard are completely cannon fodder and only useful in large quantitates, its very satisfying the game is a little short for me and feels quite small, apart from the campaign there are no scenarios or additional material- so a great game but doesn't reach epic levels.

What can I say about Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War? Well, only that it is one of the best games I have ever played. The lore, tabletop games and comics for the Warhammer 40 000 universe exist for a while now, but so far, we only got some Excellent “Warhammer” games like Dark Omen and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos.

When the first Warhammer 40 000 game came out, I shat my pants. Finally, a worthy game in the Warhammer 40 000 universe. I could not wait to play it and it did not disappoint. The intro movie starts playing and I was like: “Oh yeah, this is gonna be goood”. And it was.

The story is as classic as always. You are on Tartarus, which is under attack by vile Orks. You need to wipe them out and secure the planet. The Ork Warboss escapes and you hunt his ass for a few missions. On your pursuit, you discover the presence of Eldar and Chaos aliens in the vicinity and your purge-o-meter is going off the charts.

The campaign exists of many missions in which you finally kill the Ork warboss from the beginning of the game, attack Eldar settlements and stop Chaos from corrupting the galaxy, like they always try to do. Your glorious conquests in name of the emperor strengthen your Arsenal over time and new units are unlocked in some missions like the Dreadnought and the Predator tank. The game gets harder with every mission and the tension rises.

The way to win a mission is either by capturing strategic points on the map or by destroying the base of the enemy. The strategic points offer you requisition to purchase more troops and buildings. The more points you have secured, the more dough you get. Of course, the enemy can steal and reclaim those strategic points too. The action is intense and every mission feels like a glorious conquest, it is just epic.

The game mechanics are easy to understand and work perfectly. You build your base, conquer strategic point, gather some troops and go to war, its that simple.

The graphics in Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War are still beautiful. They may be a little outdated for todays standards, but when looking back, the effects of the gunfire, the explosions, the craters, the lasers, it is all still very nice to look at. The animations are smooth and the little kill moves some units perform on slain foes gives that Warhammer 40 000 vibe.

The sound design is also excellent. Explosions from blowing up buildings and vehicles feel rewarding and the grunts of dying foes let you feel invincible sometimes. The voice acting for the story and the units is also really good.

Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War offers excellent multiplayer in which you battle for domination of the map and trying to win an annihilation or strategic victory. Its also fun to play with friends.

Although the game is a simple concept, in which you do much of the same, it works and it never bores. The satisfaction you get when you build your base from scratch, train your units and go to war in which sometimes, the struggle is real, is even better than games like Command & Conquer.

Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War feels and plays in true Warhammer 40 000 style and the expansions that this game produced is a true compliment to its legacy.

It is an all-time classic and an important part of my gaming history. Definitely recommend this masterpiece to everyone.