Warhammer
40,000:
Dawn of War III
RRP: $59.99 | Website: www.dawnofwar.com
L
ong-time fans of Dawn of War will know that this
is a franchise that’s not at all comfortable with
stagnating. With each new entry, Dawn of War
has practically reinvented itself – which, considering
the games industry is filled with franchises that’re
constantly accused of growing stale and showing little
to no evolution, is kind of a big deal. Sure, it’s remained
largely confined to the basic template of the real-time
strategy genre, but it’s nonetheless impressive how
different each game in the franchise is when viewed
alongside its siblings.
Take the original Dawn of War, for example. It’s
very much a traditional RTS, and didn’t stray far from
convention. You built a base, collected resources,
trained a scary army, and used it to boop enemy
forces on the nose. What set it apart was its strong
sense of character, and its commitment to making the
battlefield come alive with gory, vicious carnage. The
inclusion of synchronised kill/death animations gave
the proceedings a sense of extreme brutality that’s in
keeping with the Warhammer 40,000 motif. Units didn’t
just boringly keel over when their health bars hit zero –
they were eviscerated, torn apart piece by piece.
Meanwhile, Dawn of War II veered so far off the tried-
and-tested RTS path that I wouldn’t be surprised if
many RTS lovers were thoroughly disgusted by it. Base
building all but disappeared. Armies were smaller, but
more intimate as a result. Each unit you opted to train
felt enormously valuable, indispensable even. The solo
campaign offered up a brilliant mix of ARPG mechanics
(complete with skill trees and loot drops of varying
rarity), branching choices and persistent character
progression. The excellent cover system from Relic’s
Company of Heroes made a welcome appearance.
It inherited the synchronised battle animations and
overwhelming ferocity of its predecessor, and dialled it
up to an even more obscene level.
Now, Dawn of War III has arrived, and it’s once again
completely revamped the Dawn of War experience.
In fact, if you’re expecting something akin to Dawn of
War II, there’s a very real chance you’re going to be
disappointed. The fundamentals are intact. You still
gather resources by capturing and holding strategic
34 The OverClocker Issue 41 | 2017