Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War attempts and thoroughly succeeds in recreating the sharp and bloody conflicts of the tabletop game in a fully 3D environment, bringing to life the Elite space marines, corrupted Chaos, calculating Eldar and bloodthirsty Orks. A somewhat short single-player campaign still manages to introduce efficiently the four races and the relative characteristics of each ready for intense multiplayer both online and off, and with Relic's continued support the game should also flourish as an engine for mod makers.

The graphics engine is superb, to the point that on mid-range systems there can be a slowdown. Players can zoom and pan around their troops at a range close enough to see their facial expressions and be deafened by their firepower; complete freedom of movement, without being awkward. For high-end systems an extra .ini file entry can bump up the texture quality even more. This game was made for screenshots and cinematic perspectives, as those here will testify. Zooming in to watch a dreadnought pick up an enemy soldier, crush him into a bloody pulp, and then hurl the lifeless body away with an accompanying long trail of blood is a perfect example of how well the graphics have been implemented.

As gameplay goes it is smooth and refined. Nothing seems out of place or unnecessary to your war machine, and skilled players will be pleased to know that on top of each of the four races' strengths and weaknesses there are dozens of different tactics and strategies that could be employed for victory. Use Eldar ranges to stealthily scout out a landing zone at the rear of your enemy base, ready for prism cannon grav tanks to come screaming out of the sky, or bury your spacemarines in the dust of a deep crater, ready for a last stand to mark the annals of history. The use of requisition and strategic points is somewhat similar to Ground Control II and related games, in that strategy becomes dependent on the acquisition of resources about the map. The most powerful units of each race can only be created upon the capture and successful holding of ancient relics, which predictably are usually the most hotly contested points on the beautiful 3D maps.

This game is ideal for deathmatch style battles between friends, as its nature leads the game to focus on small, elite groups of forces battling it out in epic style. Fully fleshed out armies, to the limit of the population cap, number less than a hundred men (or aliens) and about ten vehicles depending on the race, and so battles become more about holding good ground and ambushes than basic mob tactics. For example, a couple of well equipped chaos squads in a trench with a chaos lord could hope to take three times their worth in troops before being overwhelmed. Customisation is also well supported, with a built-in colour scheme designer to create your own variants in whatever uniforms you wish, a nod by Relic to the painting aspect of the Warhammer 40,000 wargaming hobby. Gamers with a TGA editing program like Photoshop can also create their own custom badges and banners. There is a significant buzz to be had watching the Havoc marines bow to a huge banner bearing 'Havoc was here.'

Support-wise, Relic has thus far released two patches for the game, with the second 1.10 being significant in adding more maps and a slew of gameplay fixes. Unfortunately the patches are incremental, meaning 1.01 needs to be installed before 1.10. Once this has been done however, Relic has provided on its website a comprehensive SDK that can be downloaded and used to alter almost every aspect of the game, from map creation to importing models from 3DSMax. Relic's development network and the already significant online community is sure to make DoW last the test of time.

As to flaws in the game, the AI has its faults in skirmish and multiplayer games, generally focussing on a single human player to the exclusion of all others. If an AI player happens to be on your side it has more or less free reign of the map, as your opponents will ignore such units in their pursuit of human punishment. In addition the AI, while acknowledgeably excellent at beating human players, will rarely vary its tactics to any great degree. The game eventually degenerates into humans utterly destroying the AI units or they the human players, with no real middle ground. Another feature that is missed is deformable and useable terrain, something which has almost (but not quite) become a staple in modern RTS'. Troops in DoW can't occupy buildings either, the few of them that are left in the wartorn cities of the 41st Millennium, but this is made up for slightly in that most buildings are so destroyed that the remains can be hid in as heavy cover. The previously mentioned short single-player campaign can be frustrating to solo enthusiasts, though it can be expected that expansion packs and mod campaigns will soon be arriving in force. And for diehard strategists the lack of multiple squad formations can be irritating, although DoW allows for enough variations on squad equipment and upgrades that this discrepancy can be easily forgotten.

In summary this game is a must-buy for real time strategy players. It has refreshingly different gameplay while still retaining a familiar theme to the current greats. If you are blessed to have a background in Warhammer 40,000, this game will mean all the more to you as the literature you've read comes alive on the battlefield. However if you've never heard the name before but you love your RTSs you still must buy this game. It's worth it for sure.