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Dawn of War: Dark Crusade Mini Review
Chris Leyton
06/11/2006
An expansion pack crammed so tightly that you don't even need the original to play it...
With a string of solid RTS releases, THQ and Relic Entertainment have largely been responsible for pushing the genre ahead in recent times. Company of Heroes helped to ease the memories of a deluge of mediocre WWII titles (usually coming from a German publisher); whilst the looming return of Chris Taylor to the genre with Supreme Commander promises to bring the next evolutionary chapter in the genre.
Before that, Relic Entertainment return to the Games Workshop world of Warhammer 40,000 with one, presumably, final chapter in the Dawn of War series, before the Canadian developer commences work on the inevitable full-blown sequel. Promising a stand-alone product that also acts as an expansion for those that own the original Dawn of War, Dark Crusade not only adds new content in the shape of the fearful Necron and the Tau Empire, but also changes around the structure of the game considerably.
Instead of a linear campaign set around a loose narrative, Dark Crusade employs a structure similar to the classic board-game Risk in the single-player campaign. Assuming the role of any of the seven different races featured in the Dawn of War series to date (Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Orks, Eldar, Tau, Neocron, Chaos), Dark Crusade takes place on the planet Kronus, a world on the Eastern Fringe of the Imperium of Man, where humans co-habitat peacefully with the native Tau Empire. The peace is broken with the appearance of the Blood Ravens Space Marines chapter and the Eldar Craftworld Ulthwe, however, both of whom have an interest in the planet. The situation is complicated even further when the forces of Chaos and an Ork Waaagh! are discovered; whilst unbeknownst to all of them, the planet is a resting place for the feared Neocron that are awakening from their slumber. Setting the scope for a conflict of cataclysmic proportions, success in Dark Crusade comes from the systematic execution of alternative races until you're the sole survivor on Kronus. Divided into different âprovinces', each owned by the varying factions, the single-player campaign is strictly turn-based, requiring the player to move into different areas to instigate a battle or conversely defend against an attack during an opponent's turn.
Maintaining the series tradition of balance, the introduction of the Neocron and Tau Empire compliments previously available races superbly, increasing the range and diversity that Dawn of War has to offer. With an emphasis on stealth and ranged combat, the Tau Empire's units cover the gambit of fans favourites with options such as Fire Warriors and Battlesuits. To overcome their extreme weakness in close-quarter combat, the Tau Empire enlists the assistance of the savage Kroots who can dismember their opponents and harvest their enemy for energy with the Cannibalise Corpse command.
Despite the Tau's lack of defensive capabilities beyond installing fortified Listening Posts on captured Strategic Points, the race can create units that act as alternative turrets and mines. Entrenching itself into the ground, the XV88 Broadside becomes a stationary unit whilst it charges up powerful dual rail guns to cause devastating destruction. Equally helpful on the defensive front, the Drone Squad can hide itself under the ground, exploding when it comes into contact with enemy units.
The Tau Empire also employs two different tech-trees, opening up different strategic approaches with varying units that the player must commit to. The Mont'ka Command Post (Killing Blow) favours the XV8 Crisis Suit and Hammerhead Gunship, whilst the Kauyon Command Post (Patient Hunter) unlocks Kroot Hounds and Krootox.
Conversely the Necron play a little differently to everything else. An ancient enemy of the Eldar, buried in the sands of Kronus and hinted at towards the end of Winter Assault, the Necron have little need for the game's sole Requisition resource and instead gain a Time bonus by capturing Strategic Points and constructing Obelisk's. The Time Bonus accelerates the rate at which construction, training and research are conducted, which equates to the same significance that other races place on chasing Strategic Points and earning Requisition.
The change in structure of the main campaign effectively addresses the series biggest misgiving, concerning the short and repetitive mission designs that failed to compliment the skirmish based nature of the core gameplay. Instead the turn-based domination game type injects a sense of overarching strategy, with enough content to ever defy being merely labelled as an expansion pack. Each of the existing races also benefit from alterations and new unit additions: the mysterious Daemon-hunting Grey Knights for the Space Marines; the forces of Chaos unlock The Daemon Prince; the Orks enlist the Flash Gitz; The Eldar gain the Harlequin; whilst The Imperial Guard acquire Heavy Weapons Teams. Relic Entertainment have also modified the various tech-trees for the existing races with a variety of new abilities; whilst the constant strive for a perfect balance finds a cap on specific unit production a welcome addition. The seven different races each provide separate campaign choices, whilst the 75 Skirmish maps and strong multiplayer support will keep the game going long after the many months of gameplay that are to be found in the single-player campaign.
Dawn of War: Cark Crusade is an expansion pack beyond all expansions, so good that THQ decided to let everybody appreciate it by making it a stand-alone title. With a change in design, Dark Crusade captures the emphasis on strategy and combat that the Dawn of War series provides. Admittedly it's beginning to look a little rough around the edges, which isn't helped by the awkward path finding and dated visuals; but it is easily the most expansive, balanced and entertaining offering in the series to date...
Roll on Dawn of War 2.
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