#28 – Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 (PC)
I was actually quite close to finishing this about three months ago but the way the game works is that your units have persistent levels and the game will randomly generate optional missions to accomplish for more experience points and loot. I saw an enormous list of missions and felt a little overwhelm and getting tired of the gameplay so I stopped playing. Matt got this last week and we played a 1v1 game and he totally stomped me so I suggested trying out coop mode, and after that I felt the desire to polish this off in the fastest manner possible. There were only two unique missions left anyway.
I loved the first Dawn of War so I was a little skeptical when I read that Dawn of War 2 was not only vastly different but also a better game. But it is! Rather than harvesting resources and building bases, which have no place in the tabletop game, Dawn of War 2 focuses on small unit tactics by giving you control of a small handful of hardy units and putting the emphasis on using cover and flanking and equipment loadout rather than throwing as many bodies as possible at the next encounter. The multiplayer is a little more traditional with the main objective being the capture and holding of victory locations, with unit building and resource harvesting.
The game looks and feels great. Weapons have appropriately powerful sounds and effects. When your assault marines jump into a fight, they send enemies and terrain flying outward from them. Grenades and artillery blast the landscape and buildings to pieces.
This all comes together to make Dawn of War 2 and more dynamic, and, ultimately, a more enjoyable game than its predecessor.