Warhammer Dawn of War 2 is currently scheduled to be released in the US on February 19th, 2009. There has been a lot of buzz about the new iteration and how it differs from the first Dawn of War games and expansion packs.

First of all, Dawn of War 2 is not your standard Real Time Strategy game. We felt like there should be a genre called Real Time Tactics as this game is highly focused on where, how, when and with what equipment you deploy your troops.

The collection and micromanagement of resources is all but negated. Instead, similar to Dawn of War and the Company of Heroes games, resources are earned by holding strategic points. Players earn Requisition (cash) by holding Requisition Points and Power by holding and upgrading Power Points.

There is no base building. Yes, you read that correctly. In the main multiplayer Skirmish mode and the Single Player/Co-op campaign mode there is no base building. You start with a main HQ defended with a few turrets. The single base building can produce all available unit types and can be upgraded to produce more unit types and unlock special powers (an example would be Orbital Bombardment for the Space Marines).

Building queue and resource management will be less important than the typical RTS. Instead, players will be focused on unit combinations and loadouts. Units earn experience and all units level up. This means it is very important to keep your units working together and staying alive. The player that spams units and allows them to fight to their death will probably not be as successful as players that can keep their units alive and fighting throughout the game.

Speaking of keeping your units alive: cover is important. Those who have played Company of Heroes will recognize the cover types. Almost anything can be hidden behind or garrisoned (or destroyed). Some types of cover are better than others. Troops can get suppressed or pinned down so the savvy player will understand cover and how to use it. Many troops also have fields of fire and thus must be deployed carefully to ensure they can attack their targets without having to redeploy their weapons (which takes time and leaves them vulnerable). One last interesting variation from the original Dawn of War games: unit scale is more realistic. Buildings and vehicles dwarf your troops and really make you feel like you’re fighting with a realistic army.

Summary

Dawn of War 2 feels substantially different than it’s predecessor and other RTS games in general but he SyndicateX staff really enjoyed the fresh, tactical gameplay. The frenetic pace, excellent graphics and intense battles will please most RTS fans. Especially those that like to focus on individual squad tactics. However, some RTS fans may be turned off by the lack of base building, resource micromanagement and similar features that have been stripped from this iteration.

Haven’t played Dawn of War? The Platinum Pack is now on sale for only $29.99 (as of this posting). Get the original Dawn of War, the Winter Assault expansion pack and Dark Crusade for tons of single and multiplayer fun.