Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

 PC
  • Publisher: THQ
  • Release Date: Oct 9, 2006
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 410 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 359 out of 410
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 410
  3. Negative: 13 out of 410
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  1. ursasolus
    Nov 24, 2012
    2
    This game ruined what could have been the best RTS game series ever, and is the single most driving reason why I have never bought another THQ/Relic game at full price when it was first released since that time. Having played the original DOW and Winter Assault, I was a die hard DOW fan and supporter; but the play and deviation from the original first person story line of the first twoThis game ruined what could have been the best RTS game series ever, and is the single most driving reason why I have never bought another THQ/Relic game at full price when it was first released since that time. Having played the original DOW and Winter Assault, I was a die hard DOW fan and supporter; but the play and deviation from the original first person story line of the first two took so much joy out of the game that I never bothered to finish it.… Expand
  2. JackG.
    Oct 16, 2006
    3
    Poor story, poor movement, poor game.
  3. Richard
    Feb 7, 2008
    4
    I bought Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War + Winter Assault almost three years ago, and it was a pretty cool game back then. My friend and I would play it online and have a good time. However with Relic releasing these expansions I thought I'd put my thoughts down here. I bought Dark Crusade last year. My criticisms about this game are agitated by the fact that Relic keeps releasing more I bought Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War + Winter Assault almost three years ago, and it was a pretty cool game back then. My friend and I would play it online and have a good time. However with Relic releasing these expansions I thought I'd put my thoughts down here. I bought Dark Crusade last year. My criticisms about this game are agitated by the fact that Relic keeps releasing more and more races into the online mix, (Nine total with the next expansion), and its become just silly. You cannot take this game seriously anymore, and while it's cartoonistic humour and style used to suit it well. It's become to the point where Relic dirtied the bath water with a bunch of filthy pointless races that don't complement the others at all. Every race has become foreign around the next, and it doesn't play smoothly like it used to when there were only four races. When it was the first game, vehicles like the dreadnought were immensely powerful and exciting to watch as they threw around squads and ripped through them. With every 'balance' patch relic has released, their sole idea was to NERF other units down to balance the gameplay instead of bump the other units up. After almost four years of patching in this fashion, Warhammer's battles are now painfully slow, the units take an incredibly long time to die, not helped by the instant reinforcement feature. I find that the excitement and the fast-paced gameplay is no-more because of Relic's constant balance nerfs. Secondly, the end result of having NINE races into the Warhammer mix is that this game is now IMPOSSIBLE to properly balance. And any attempt by Relic's traditional nerfing will simply cause slower and slower-paced fighting. I am positive that this game's future is dead. My four is given to this game mainly because of the way it's been handled over the years. It's just been terribly poor and the original depth to it has been filled in with poor design. The original pace and character of the series is utterly gone with the arrival of these new expansions. It seems like they just churn out their ideas constantly. And some of these ideas are just disturbing, they have three races revolving around Death, one based on Feminists, another two on technology worship, and the last on religious fanaticism. The Orks main theme is stupidity, seriously, the developers spell everything wrong in the Ork descriptions. ??? In conclusion, this game used to be really something, but Relic's deadening patches and un-inspired expansions have proven to be more like a cancer. There is not a chance in hell they can ever straighten out this gameplay as far as I can see, and the game is just no longer fun. It's just silly.… Expand
  4. BenjaminS
    Feb 7, 2008
    4
    I bought Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War + Winter Assault almost three years ago, and it was a pretty cool game back then. My friend and I would play it online and have a good time. However with Relic releasing these expansions I thought I'd put my thoughts down here. I bought Dark Crusade last year. My criticisms about this game are agitated by the fact that Relic keeps releasing more I bought Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War + Winter Assault almost three years ago, and it was a pretty cool game back then. My friend and I would play it online and have a good time. However with Relic releasing these expansions I thought I'd put my thoughts down here. I bought Dark Crusade last year. My criticisms about this game are agitated by the fact that Relic keeps releasing more and more races into the online mix, (Nine total with the next expansion), and its become just silly. You cannot take this game seriously anymore, and while it's cartoonistic humour and style used to suit it well. It's become to the point where Relic dirtied the bath water with a bunch of filthy pointless races that don't complement the others at all. Every race has become foreign around the next, and it doesn't play smoothly like it used to when there were only four races. When it was the first game, vehicles like the dreadnought were immensely powerful and exciting to watch as they threw around squads and ripped through them. With every 'balance' patch relic has released, their sole idea was to NERF other units down to balance the gameplay instead of bump the other units up. After almost four years of patching in this fashion, Warhammer's battles are now painfully slow, the units take an incredibly long time to die, not helped by the instant reinforcement feature. I find that the excitement and the fast-paced gameplay is no-more because of Relic's constant balance nerfs. Secondly, the end result of having NINE races into the Warhammer mix is that this game is now IMPOSSIBLE to properly balance. And any attempt by Relic's traditional nerfing will simply cause slower and slower-paced battles. I am positive that this game's future is dead. My four is given to this game mainly because of the way it's been handled over the years. It's just been terribly poor and the original depth to it has been filled in with short-sighted design. The original pace and character of the series is utterly gone with the arrival of these new expansions. It seems like they just churn out their ideas constantly. And some of these ideas are just disturbing, they have three races revolving around Death, one based on Feminists, another two on technology worship, and the last on religious fanaticism. The Orks main theme is stupidity, seriously, the developers spell everything wrong in the Ork descriptions. ??? In conclusion, this game used to be really something, but Relic's deadening patches and un-inspired expansions have proven to be more like a cancer. There is not a chance they can ever straighten out this gameplay as far as I can see, and the game is just no longer fun. It's just silly.… Expand
  5. EdoardoV.
    Oct 23, 2006
    0
    The game is very good as the other WH40k ones. Good graphic, excellent music and sounds, wonderful settings and animations. The two added races (Necron and Tau) are very well designed. The campaign mode is a good RISIKO type territory conquest. Unfortunatly for THQ I do not appreciate the purely commercial initiative with the multiplayer mode: if you want to play with the old races you The game is very good as the other WH40k ones. Good graphic, excellent music and sounds, wonderful settings and animations. The two added races (Necron and Tau) are very well designed. The campaign mode is a good RISIKO type territory conquest. Unfortunatly for THQ I do not appreciate the purely commercial initiative with the multiplayer mode: if you want to play with the old races you have to install (buy) "Dawn of War". dark Crusade is a 4.4GB big game, it allows you to play all races in single player, WHY I HAVE TO PAY MORE TO PLAY ONLINE WITH SOMETHING I ALREADY HAVE? I am not pleased, I expect the gamers' community will not be pleased too.… Expand
  6. BillH.
    Nov 21, 2006
    0
    I'm a huge fan of the first two games, this third edition is absolutely horrible. They've taken away the ability to play the factions in unique methods which differ from what the computer does in replay by way of unit restrictions which affect each and every existing faction so severely as to essentially make the game actually different from the first two. Unfortunately, this I'm a huge fan of the first two games, this third edition is absolutely horrible. They've taken away the ability to play the factions in unique methods which differ from what the computer does in replay by way of unit restrictions which affect each and every existing faction so severely as to essentially make the game actually different from the first two. Unfortunately, this difference is not an improvement in my personal opinion. The risk-like campaign mode is new and interesting, but after two turns at it you begin to spot glaringly obvious balancing issues. It promises a sequel after completing the campaign, but I've already quit playing this one. There seems to be a movement in the game development industry as of late to restrict options of gamers, this saddens me greatly, this isn't the first good game I've seen destroyed by that mentality. I don't think it will be the last either, the first two are excellent and I highly recommend them, however, this latest edition is a complete waste.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best PC Game of 2006
22
#22 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
29
#29 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. IGN
    87
    The campaign mode is absolutely interesting and fits wonderfully within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It's a great beginning to something that we're sure will be bigger and better in the future and provides a ton of gameplay hours and exciting moments.
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  2. GamesRadar+
    90
    An enormous amount of top-drawer content for $29.99, and newcomers may rightly mistake it for a full blown sequel. Highly recommended.
    Read full review
  3. Yahoo!
    90
    By adding more stuff for you to admire and kill, and more places and ways to do it, Dark Crusade gives the already lively Warhammer RTS universe even more life, personality, blood, and meat. It's a gory, giddy delight, with more depth and gameplay than ever.
    Read full review
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