PC Dawn of War III

There are moments, many of them, during multiplayer and AI skirmishes, where I’m absolutely certain that Dawn of War 3 is the best game in the series, even with its missteps when it comes to cover and fortifications. I could happily continue rambling on about the brilliant faction design or how I still squeal with glee every time I drop a gargantuan beast of an Elite like Imperial Knight Solaria into a fight – you haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed her impossibly huge guns turning an army of Orks into green-red paste. If you’re only interested in the campaign, however, then you’re unlikely to find as much to get enthused about.

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If I were to pass judgement on it now, I'd call Dawn of War 3 flawed but fun. The flashy animations might chase away Warhammer fans who can't bear the thought of guy in terminator armour flipping into battle. There's certainly fun here, though, and I'll be back with a fuller review explaining whether that means it represents a new dawn for the real-time strategy genre as a whole.

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An odd chimera of its forebears, there's a lot in this fast-paced RTS that’s a little bit off. Parts of the interface don't work sometimes, inter-match army management is half-baked, and the micromanagement needed to use the game's signature hero units effectively doesn't jibe with the extensive base-building you'll need to support them. But those problems fall away when you’re in the heat of battle. Dawn of War III builds and maintains an organic tension that yields huge pay-offs, and there’s nothing else quite like it.

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For now though, there are signs of serious promise. Bringing it back to that button-mapping for just another second, this feels like the RTS equivalent of the moment everyone sat down and decided that controllers have two analog sticks and the jump button goes where PlayStation put the X. What's more, DoW3 has more going on than both previous games combined when it comes to scale, tone and the straight-up phwoarr-factor of battle. Whether or not those brilliant highs are undermined by a couple of clumsily missed marks will become clear enough soon.

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Overall, Relic deserves credit for not simply remaking the same game with prettier graphics for the third entry in the series. But from a single-player perspective, this hybrid approach doesn’t feel as strong as Dawn of War 2’s memorable tactical focus. If I had to score it now, based solely on the single-player campaign, I’d give it a 7.2, for good.

Check back next week for the final review, including my thoughts on Dawn of War 3’s multiplayer mode.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III takes a few steps back in time to make one step forward. It hearkens back to a lot of older design choices from the first game, and attempts to build upon other RTS conventions in the process. Not everything works (especially the strict adherence to the core conceit), but it's still very much both a Warhammer and a Dawn of War joint.

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Dawn of War 3 makes an admirable attempt to nudge forward a genre that has struggled in recent years to progress. The addition of Elites offers intriguing and complex challenges for those who are prepared to put in the necessary practice. Relic has obviously thought long and hard about how realtime strategy might best be improved — even if true evolution seems out of the game’s grasp.

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The good

• Fast-paced, objective-driven multiplayer.
• Enough unique tasks in the campaign missions to support healthy tension.
• Control points turn resource collecting into fun, contentious choke points.
• Splits at least some of the difference between Dawn of War 1 and 2.

The bad

• A flat story told out of sync.
• Limited multiplayer options.
• The user interface can be a bit slow in the menus.
• Doesn't really scratch the Dawn of War itch all the way.

The ugly

• The game requires a connection to Relic's servers—even during single-player—which leads to needlessly lost progress if you disconnect...

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Dr.Para schrieb:

also ich bin etwas erschrocken im moment. fühlt sich so an, als ob sich jede befürchtung bewahrheitet hat. dow 1 und 2 in nem mixer gesteckt und danach nochmal mit moba verdünnt.

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“While Dawn of War III has a dedicated player base, it didn’t hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn’t performed the way we had hoped since. It’s been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do.

When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War III, we simply don’t have the foundation we need to produce major content. We’re working in close partnership with SEGA and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio. “

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