All Games You Need: WarHammer 40,000 - Dawn of War 2 - Full

Publisher: THQ	Developer: Relic
Genre: Real-Time Strategy	Release Date: TBA
ESRB: TBA

"It's all about the '300' fantasy," says lead designer Jonny Ebbert.

We're seated at a conference table in Vancouver at the offices of Relic Entertainment for our first peek at the sequel to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. Relic's brilliant far-future real-time strategy title was a revelation when it came out in 2004, helping to create a new style of RTS games that de-emphasized the role of base-building in favor of squad and ability management, fast movement and ground control. Its success paved the way for the even better Company of Heroes, a World War II RTS that was extraordinary for the comparative intelligence of units that would take cover, fight back when attacked, and even move out of the way of danger. Those merely expecting Company of Heroes with a Warhammer 40,000 skin in the sequel, though, should prepare themselves for disappointment. According to Ebbert, the Relic team's plan for Dawn of War II are much bigger -- and smaller-- than that.

"The key idea for Dawn of War was always bringing the core fantasy of Games Workshop's amazing universe to life." In fact, one of the knocks on previous Warhammer 40,000 videogames is that they tried to stick to closely to the rules of the tabletop war game and came off rather dry. "Games Workshop themselves have said the tabletop game isn't the universe, merely a representation of the universe," Ebbert continues. "The tabletop game is awesome. There's a reason it's been so popular for so many years. We were trying to capture the raw brutality and violence of the universe along with that "300" fantasy of the few against the many." In the far future of Warhammer 40,000, the human Imperium is beset on all sides by technological versions of classic fantasy archetypes including orks wielding laser beams, elves (Eldar) on spaceships and undead spirits in robotic shells. "[In Dawn of War] we got the brutality but not the fantasy."

"When we sat down to consider what we would do for the sequel, we looked really hard at the original game to figure out what made it work," Ebbert said. In the end, the team came down to a few basic Dawn of War "values." Brutal melee combat and violence were at the top of the list, of course, along with over-the-top units and abilities ("Nothing goes in the game unless it's awesome!" Ebbert quips). Then there was the focus on action and rock-solid strategic gameplay. The team decided that none of these could or would be compromised for the sequel. The trick would be to find the places where they felt it was falling short.

The gameplay of Dawn of War II is markedly different from that of Dawn of War and its expansions. Jonny Ebbert, the game's lead designer, describes the feel of the game by saying that it "takes everything that was great about the original and combines it with the best that Company of Heroes had to offer." There is a heavier focus on cover, which gives more substantial defensive bonuses. Accordingly, there is also new emphasis on methods of dealing with units in cover. Some weapons, such as grenades and other explosives, can destroy cover, while others, such as flamers, ignore cover bonuses completely. Other differences between Dawn of War II and its predecessors include improved unit AI (squads under fire seek cover, for example), more realistically sized vehicles, and an improved physics engine.

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: Pentium 4 @ 3.2 GHz or any Dual Core Processor
Memory: 1 GB for XP, 1.5 GB for Vista
Hard Drive: 5.5 GB Free
Video Memory: 128 MB (nVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI X1600 (Shader Model 3.0)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c or 10
Keyboard & Mouse
CD/DVD Rom Drive

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: AMD Athlon 64×2 4400+ any Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 5.5 GB Free
Video Memory: 256 MB (nVidia GeForce 7800 GT/ATI X1900 (Shader Model 3.0)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c or 10
Keyboard & Mouse
CD/DVD Rom Drive