Dawn Of War II

[ainwood]

I was surprised that there has been no dedicated dawn of war discussion thread here.

For those of you not familiar with it, Dawn Of War is a RTS set in the warhammer 40,000 universe. The original was a campaign-based game, with a couple of expansions. Recently, Dawn Of War Soulstorm was released - the third expansion (the beauty of the last two expansions is that they are stand-alone - you don't need the original to play).

Anyway - Dawn Of War II has recently been announced.

Here are a couple of screenshots (click to download hi-res versions)





The game won't be released until Spring 2009, so its a while to wait yet!

Sequel to Multi-Million Unit Selling Real Time Strategy Series Features Vicious Frontline Combat, Extensive Co-Op Campaign and Cinematic Visuals


AGOURA HILLS, Calif. April 3, 2008 -- THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II, the highly anticipated sequel from one of the industry's premiere Real-Time Strategy (RTS) developers, Relic Entertainment, is scheduled to bring the 41st Millennium's savage warfare to life like never before in spring 2009. Powered by an enhanced version of Relic's proprietary Essence Engine 2.0™, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II will take players to the brutal frontlines of war where they'll experience intense action and visceral combat through a non-linear single player experience and a fully co-operative multiplayer campaign. Set in Games Workshop's (LSE: GAW) highly popular Warhammer 40,000 science fiction universe, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is being developed exclusively for Windows PC.


In addition, THQ is pleased to announce that gamers purchasing copies of the recently released Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® - Soulstorm™ will be able to participate in an invitation-only multiplayer beta program for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II set to take place at a future date.


"The original Dawn of War and its subsequent standalone expansions have established the series as one of the industry's leading RTS franchises," said Brad Carraway, vice president, global brand management, THQ. "Dawn of War II will re-define RTS gaming to gamers worldwide, delivering brutal frontline action and tactics, and allowing players to get straight to the action with unprecedented fast-paced RTS gameplay and a full co-op campaign, all in stunning cinematic detail."


"We started with everything fans loved about the original Dawn of War and then added more than they ever could have hoped for in the sequel into Dawn of War II," said Tarrnie Williams, general manager, Relic Entertainment. "Leveraging our critically acclaimed Essence Engine 2.0, gamers will develop and lead an elite strike force through Games Workshop's war-torn universe, engage in devastating combat among the ruins of fully destructible battlefields, and be immersed in an ever-changing single-player and co-op multiplayer campaign."


About Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is set in the grim, war-ravaged world of Games Workshop's (LSE: GAW) Warhammer 40,000 universe - a dark, futuristic, science-fiction setting where armies of technologically advanced warriors, fighting machines and hordes of implacable aliens wage constant war. Developed by critically acclaimed RTS developer Relic Entertainment, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II ushers in a new chapter in the acclaimed RTS series, as ancient races - including the dauntless Space Marines and savage Orks - clash across ruined worlds on a mission to claim the galaxy and preserve their own existence. Powered by the re-vamped Essence Engine 2.0, the next evolution of Relic's proprietary game engine made famous in the award winning Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II will deliver fast-paced RTS action with ferocious melee and ranged combat in fully destructible environments. Immersing players in an in-depth non-linear single-player campaign and a fully-co-operative multiplayer mode, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is set to deliver the most visually-stunning Warhammer 40,000 setting ever created. For more information on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, please visit www.dawnofwar2.com.

 

[Tee Kay]

I've never played Dawn of War, but maybe I'll give this one a shot.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

I got a copy of Dawn of War free with Company of Heroes, and always meant to play it, but kept getting distracted by CoH. I'll try to give it a shot in advance of the sequel.

I was hoping that Relic were going to work on a new Homeworld sequel, but ah well

 

[civverguy]

I just started playing Dawn of War a month ago and I like it. I'll be looking forward to it but my computer probably can't play the game.

 

[Rheinmetall]

It's a good RTS in my opinion the variety of units and tactics is good. Reinforcing excisting units intead of building new ones is a brilliant idea. The morale is also well working game mechanic, and the UI is streamlined quite well. But the best thing is that it's fun to play.

 

[Harbringer]

I decided to try it out, so I bought the suer deluxe edition for 30 bucks. Theres nothing wrong with it, just that company of heroes was a big progression over it, so it just came of as a step backwards to me.

 

[Kal'thzar]

You know, I always knew a Universe setting where there is constant war would be a good setting for Computer Games; Now if there were screen shots of these two things: An Eldar Craftworld (beauty) and a Chaos Deamon World (Twisted), that, that would be worth buying the game for.


I did however like the different game dynamic (less tanking) and I think its improved how I play these games (attack early, cut their resources off and cripple them).

 

[Thorn]

Realtime (RTS) =

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I liked Dawn of War, but spring 2009 ? That's really bad timing.
What time I have left for gaming wil probably be consumed by Starcraft 2.

 

[Symphony D.]

I was hoping that Relic were going to work on a new Homeworld sequel, but ah well

That's pretty much a pipe dream, sadly.

I liked Dawn of War, but spring 2009 ? That's really bad timing.

Eh, if anything has decent odds of standing up to that watered-down imitator of the fiction, it's the original deal.

 

[Harbringer]

What they really need is a COH II, which this will essentially be but with DOW aesthetics. I honestly liked the fist one for the sheer variety and colorfulness of the units, my only problem was the arbitrary unit caps and again, it was the spiritual predecessor for COH, and it showed, very bad. It did however have the advantage of having hundreds of units and stuff blow up on screen and get shot down and all that fun stuff, lots of carnage, very big brutal battles where none of the games units ever became obsolete.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

That's pretty much a pipe dream, sadly.

That's from 2005. I've read some articles that Relic have reacquired the rights to the series, which got my hopes up

 

[Till]

Looks smashing!
I enjoy Dawn of War, even though it is still no match for the kings of the genre. But it has nice graphics, easy gameplay, and is not set in WW2. The latter being the most important criteria...

 

[FriendlyFire]

DOW is inferior to COH
but given relics record with Homeworld and COH hopefully this one will be a solid game.

 

[Harbringer]

DOW is inferior to COH
but given relics record with Homeworld and COH hopefully this one will be a solid game.

Well the whole point was that COH was the progression.

 

[Izipo]

On a related note I managed to get my hands on a freeware version of Space Hulk.
For those familiar with the board game, it is very well done and should make the waiting for DoW II easier.
Sadly, downloads have been disabled due to some legal troubles, but I'm sure that with a bit of searching you should be able to find it.

 

[ainwood]

On a related note I managed to get my hands on a freeware version of Space Hulk.
For those familiar with the board game, it is very well done and should make the waiting for DoW II easier.
Sadly, downloads have been disabled due to some legal troubles, but I'm sure that with a bit of searching you should be able to find it.

Please don't encourage that sort of thing - we have zero tolerance for piracy here.

 

[Izipo]

Yes, sorry. I honestly didn't see the harm since I got my version in a computer magazine DVD last week.
I had already written the first two lines before looking for the link, and this is when I discovered they had some legal problems.
The best would be to delete those 3 posts, then.

But a modern version of Space Hulk would be very nice.

 

[Stormrage]

What I really want to see is a turn-based Warhammer (40,000) game, since WH(40k) is.. you know.. turn-based...

But DOW2 is good too

 

[Rheinmetall]

What I really want to see is a turn-based Warhammer (40,000) game, since WH(40k) is.. you know.. turn-based...

But DOW2 is good too

Have you played Chaos Gate?