Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

 PC
  • Publisher: THQ
  • Release Date: Feb 18, 2009
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1628 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,230 out of 1628
  2. Mixed: 200 out of 1628
  3. Negative: 198 out of 1628
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Interloper
    Jul 28, 2012
    9
    Okay, I'll be honest with you. At first, having tried the demo and a taste of what DoW2 has to offer, I was sorely disappointed by the drastic change from the gameplay of the original game. HOWEVER, I still decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad that I did. The game plays differently, (there's no building, and more about squad abilities and tactics) but this is by no means bad. TheOkay, I'll be honest with you. At first, having tried the demo and a taste of what DoW2 has to offer, I was sorely disappointed by the drastic change from the gameplay of the original game. HOWEVER, I still decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad that I did. The game plays differently, (there's no building, and more about squad abilities and tactics) but this is by no means bad. The campaign is quite engaging and you're given a number of varied squads to improve and upgrade throughout the game, and that is by far my favourite part. There is choice involved in missions, outfitting and strategy, making an overall flamboyant single player campaign. The co-op is just as sweet. But wait there's more. The cream of the crop is the multiplayer and The Last Stand where you take on hordes of monsters with 2 other heroes. Great additions all way round. Long story short, yes it is a massive departure from DoW1's style but it is fortunately just as good in its own right. I certainly have respect for the devs for changing things up and trying out something new, and I'm glad that they've still kept the strength of this series and its ability to constantly impress me.… Expand
  2. El_Burrito
    Dec 4, 2010
    8
    This along with Company of Heroes are my most favourite current RTS. The reason for this is the way the game plays. Rather than matches being about unit spam (unless you're playing Orks or Tyranids, where it's partly about unit spam), it's more about tactics and unit placement. My real problem with the game is how hard it is. I can't speak for everyone as I'm naturally bad at RTS games,This along with Company of Heroes are my most favourite current RTS. The reason for this is the way the game plays. Rather than matches being about unit spam (unless you're playing Orks or Tyranids, where it's partly about unit spam), it's more about tactics and unit placement. My real problem with the game is how hard it is. I can't speak for everyone as I'm naturally bad at RTS games, but I do believe that there has been a problem with this game for not just me, but a majority of people who try to play online and usually end up fighting against people 10x better than themselves. This causes a lot of new players to be put off meaning that other new players don't get a chance to fight against equally skilled people. I suppose it really just takes perseverance but it's still tough.
    The graphics of the game are absolutely lovely, definitely best out there, on par with, if not better than Starcraft 2's graphics.

    For originality of gameplay how ever, this game is basically Company of Heroes, set in WH40k, and a smaller viewing angle with a closer in camera.    … Expand
  3. mikey42782
    Jan 2, 2011
    8
    I never knew anything about the Warhammer Universe, until i picked up my copy of Dawn of War, several years ago and i was immediately engrossed. With great eagerness, i picked up this game the day it was released. EDITORS NOTE-All in all, i fear change so my review may be seriously biased but here it goes anyway.
    DOW 2, is a game that will please you and frustrate you at the same time.    I never knew anything about the Warhammer Universe, until i picked up my copy of Dawn of War, several years ago and i was immediately engrossed. With great eagerness, i picked up this game the day it was released. EDITORS NOTE-All in all, i fear change so my review may be seriously biased but here it goes anyway.
    DOW 2, is a game that will please you and frustrate you at the same time. To me, it is just company of heroes meets DOW and that aspect bothered me a lot. It took me a while to get over that. Also, the fact that you have to have an internet connection, and you have to get windows live bothered me a lot too. Well, what if someone doesn't have an internet connection. I am sure there are some people out there who still do not. I am lucky enough to have that.
    For those of you who are huge DOW fans, you might be a tad dissapointed at what is going on in this game. For starters, there are no more base building. You have an galactic map which shows you all the planets that you can travel too. there are three of them in which you are to initiate warp travel to reach. You start out with yourself, the commander, and a tactical squad. Mind you, the squad consists of only 4 space marines. then, as you progress you get other squads, a devestator squad(heavy weapons, 3 space marines), a scout squad,(3) and an assault squad.(3). As for the assault squad well, what can i say about the assault squad? I have had it on missions and he is always usually the first to die. He kinda sucks in the first DOW 2. He gets better in Chaos rising.
    During missions, your squad earns xp, and upon leveling up you can unlock new powers for your squads to use, some of which are pretty bad ass. But it seems to me, you can only have one and not the other, as there is a level cap of 20, so choose the right path you want for your squads, as you will not be able to get those points back.
    Personally, i stuck with the same for guys more or less the same time, varying upon the different missions parameters, which aren't really that different at all. You are going to either attack or defend, and most defend missions, you will have a time limit to do so, in which if you miss it you have to wait for a later point to go resecure that sector and what was lost. At times, i also do feel very overwhelmed. I know space marines are all powerful to an extent, but sometimes it is just insane. I do believe before the first patch, the weapons were a bit different and did more damage, as i get confused, when a bolter says it only does 11.6 damage per second and my squad which does 9 damage, goes down. I thought higher damage was better, call me crazy. Which includes power weapons. Most power weapons, which although do more damage then a chainsword, do not actually do as much damage on the field, due to their attack speed i am guessing?
    anyway, all set aside i have fallen asleep during the single player. The same type of missions do tend to get a tad mundane and repetitive, and sometimes the war gear rewards aren't even worth doing it in the first place. But it is a decent campaign.
    The multiplayer is pretty engrossing, but once again highly modeled upon the COH engine, with holding of victory points, and anniahalte. No base building, so dont even think about that. It is definitely a far cry from the DOW.
    the army painter i was dissapointed in as well, as it seems to me there is less detail you can do from the first one.
    the last stand? I don't even know what to say about that. It's as if someone said, no no, we want the game to be harder so they did. It gets repetitive. The leveling up takes too long. DONT EVER PRESTIGE BECAUSE IT SUCKS AND YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING AND GET SOME CRAPPY REWARD.
    do i reccommend it? if you're new to DOW yeah, you can go in this with a clear head. If you are into DOW? Sure, just be prepared to be let down a bit. Thanks    … Expand
  4. Fore
    Apr 10, 2011
    8
    I have DOW 2 and DOW 2 Chaos Rising, will probably get Retribution sometime this year. This game is good. The stand alone campaign is interesting and replayable. What makes this game really good is the co-op game "The Last Stand" and you can co-op the campaign games too. It is worth getting all 3 games together at $60 on steam but you can buy the first 2 games for $20 each.
  5. syrik
    Sep 3, 2011
    7
    This is a new approach at the RTS where you have control of stronger units than the typical RTS but you don't make new ones. Gone is the base building and resource management and you only focus on the combat. For me, that's fun but I can see where some people were let down. Since I only cared about the combat and paying attention to how much of this or that I have never appealed to meThis is a new approach at the RTS where you have control of stronger units than the typical RTS but you don't make new ones. Gone is the base building and resource management and you only focus on the combat. For me, that's fun but I can see where some people were let down. Since I only cared about the combat and paying attention to how much of this or that I have never appealed to me this game works really well. Other than that fundamental change its very much a RTS where you control each of your units from a top down perspective and each has a few unique abilities. This game adds a slight RPG element in that you collect loot as armor and weapons and customize your squads. You also spend points on very simple talent trees which adds a little extra to the game. Want your giant mech walker to kill from range or do you want him to squish units in melee range? You decide. It's got decent voiced story parts and the graphics are not bad either. Points taken off are for awkward keybinding which you can't change and missing graphical elements such as Vsync. These things can be modified if you want to go into the files and feel comfortable editing code and game files, something I think the devs should just put the stupid button in the game.… Expand
  6. McFinnegan
    Nov 3, 2011
    9
    Singleplayer was great, although filled with cheese. No room for character development with space marines, but I guess that's how they were created. Once the tryanids came in, you did see some repeating missions, but they were avoidable for the most part. Great strategic gameplay, and I loved the loot and the abilities (SO! MUCH! LOOT!!!!).

    The multiplayer modes seem well balanced,    Singleplayer was great, although filled with cheese. No room for character development with space marines, but I guess that's how they were created. Once the tryanids came in, you did see some repeating missions, but they were avoidable for the most part. Great strategic gameplay, and I loved the loot and the abilities (SO! MUCH! LOOT!!!!).

    The multiplayer modes seem well balanced, although I haven't touched them enough to give a rock-solid review on them. Last Stand is incredibly fun, constantly having me come up with new and interesting ways to slaughter hordes of enemies (although there's some loadouts that are clearly better).

    Some may not like the squad based gameplay, and I was a little confused with it at first, but it grows on you. Instead of most RTSs where individual units are usually expendable, keeping units alive in this game is crucial (multiplayer). As long as one squad member survives, you can replenish the squad, so their upgrades and levels don't go to waste. The entire squad gets gibbed, you lose their vital experience. That's not to say that you can't beat higher level enemies, but it's certainly harder.    … Expand
  7. DeadlyCornbread
    Jul 12, 2011
    8
    I'm a longtime fan of Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Dawn of War gave me the flair i loved of the stories from that game on my computer. And seeing the models I've painted for years coming to life on my screen was a thrill. Now dawn of war II comes out and I was excited to buy it.

    I wish on the cover it would have said tactical RPG, because there is no resource management at all in the    I'm a longtime fan of Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. Dawn of War gave me the flair i loved of the stories from that game on my computer. And seeing the models I've painted for years coming to life on my screen was a thrill. Now dawn of war II comes out and I was excited to buy it.

    I wish on the cover it would have said tactical RPG, because there is no resource management at all in the campaign. Go here, blow this up, go there blow that up. Use some abilities, mission ends. It is fun, but it is not a real time strategy. it's a fun game in it's own right, if you want more tactical play, get Company of Heroes or the original Dawn of War game with expansions.    … Expand
  8. fixedThor
    Oct 23, 2011
    8
    I love the graphics,the Characters,the weapons,the costumization hero,I'm not so impress with multiplayer mode but it's not bad.I don't really like about the design each mission of the campaign,they're al just the same activities= Explore,find the foundry or the what they call commlink or something,kill the ORKS then find the boss on the top of the map,get the wargear.it's kind of boringI love the graphics,the Characters,the weapons,the costumization hero,I'm not so impress with multiplayer mode but it's not bad.I don't really like about the design each mission of the campaign,they're al just the same activities= Explore,find the foundry or the what they call commlink or something,kill the ORKS then find the boss on the top of the map,get the wargear.it's kind of boring activity to me...however I still love the fantasy of the Warhammer 40K universe… Expand
  9. Cooperus
    Nov 14, 2012
    8
    How's every body doing, for my first review I decided to do one of my favorite games. Having played all of the previous Dawn of War games I had pretty high expectations for this one, especially with all the epic fails that all the expansions for the previous dawn of war ended up being.

    Just to start I'll go into the single player campaign. The game mechanics are very similar to the    How's every body doing, for my first review I decided to do one of my favorite games. Having played all of the previous Dawn of War games I had pretty high expectations for this one, especially with all the epic fails that all the expansions for the previous dawn of war ended up being.

    Just to start I'll go into the single player campaign. The game mechanics are very similar to the first Dawn of war, which were fairly easy to pickup within the first mission or two. It became very obvious to me from the beginning that the guys at THQ have actually started to listen to some of the fan base of the original game. They have implemented and in depth story line that does the books justice but still allowed for some choice on how to develop your characters, and how you proceed along the liner story line. "You must remember while playing the game that yes, the game play is important but they are trying to tell a story as well." The cover concept was add back into the game, well maybe that's a bad way to put it. A better way to put it is that they made cover important again, basically there is no more mad rush tactics that were so common in the previous expansions. Basically the campaign it's self is pretty solid all around, keeping you interested right till the end.

    The RPG element of the game, they have made vast improvements in this compared to it's predecessor. Now I'm not saying that it is anything new that we haven't seen in other games, but it works, it's simple and it keeps your focus where it should be... on the Mission map. Simply there is two RPG elements common to all RPG games leveling your characters and they're load out of equipment. The equipment load out is pretty simple you'll figure it out for your self. The leveling of your character can be a little trickier, you have to choose between being a jack of all trades or leveling up in very specific areas. This being said if you are not adaptable and can't move away from a certain play style your are not going to get much replay value out of DOW 2.

    Multiplayer, sorry I can't really comment on this part of the game. This is mostly because, the very hard-line multiplayer focus of the previous DOW was what ruined the game for a lot of fans of the first game, so to be honest I really had no interest into delving into that part of the game.

    In all I gave the game and 8 because THQ took and old game that people love and made it new again.    … Expand
  10. Neli
    Oct 4, 2010
    10
    Dawn of War II is an excellent game in its own right. However, it is easy to understand how fans of the first game feel slightly wronged after having played it. It is very different compared to the first game, perhaps too much so for it to be called a direct sequel. But if you only look at it as a game it is still quite a great one.

    The visuals are very nice and the gameplay is fluid and    Dawn of War II is an excellent game in its own right. However, it is easy to understand how fans of the first game feel slightly wronged after having played it. It is very different compared to the first game, perhaps too much so for it to be called a direct sequel. But if you only look at it as a game it is still quite a great one.

    The visuals are very nice and the gameplay is fluid and fun. Dawn of War keeps setting the standard for visceral combat in the RTS genre.    … Expand
  11. JamesW
    Jan 22, 2010
    6
    Due to the overwhelming positive review and the good experience from the first Dawn of War, I bought this game without much hesitance. After having tried the single player and multiplayer mode, I am hugely disappointed. Frist of, the single player campaign is boring. It is the first time in my life that I fell a sleep while playing an RTS (literally). All you do is just looking at your Due to the overwhelming positive review and the good experience from the first Dawn of War, I bought this game without much hesitance. After having tried the single player and multiplayer mode, I am hugely disappointed. Frist of, the single player campaign is boring. It is the first time in my life that I fell a sleep while playing an RTS (literally). All you do is just looking at your same tiny Squad, moving them around the map, setup a good position, let them do automatic shooting, heal, then occasionally use their special ability, and repeat that throughout the game. Multiplayer is almost unplayable. Most of the time the match will be disconnected due to somebody's slow internet or computer. However, the new mode, The Last Stand, was pretty fun to play once in a while. I really try to like Dawn of War II, I have install and uninstall the game more than 4 times, but every time I started playing, it bores me. It is great that Relic try new approach on DOW2, but it lost a lot of the charm from the first game while doing so.… Expand
  12. Coldspyros
    Mar 11, 2011
    6
    I think the best thing (in my eyes) of this game is the graphics. The graphics are a huge improvement over DOW I and any other RTS I've ever played (and I've played most of the major ones, SC2, Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander I and II, etc etc).
    That's the main good thing I liked. That and how the gameplay revolves more around combat rather than resource gathering. And, of course, the    I think the best thing (in my eyes) of this game is the graphics. The graphics are a huge improvement over DOW I and any other RTS I've ever played (and I've played most of the major ones, SC2, Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander I and II, etc etc).
    That's the main good thing I liked. That and how the gameplay revolves more around combat rather than resource gathering. And, of course, the fact that it features the Imperium.

    The thing that I didn't like about this game was that it had very small army sizes, and VERY small battles. This is a step down from DOW I, where you could actually command armies. In DOW II, you get a few squads, and that's it, you're stuck with them. No building squads, no calling in reinforcement squads, nothing. You choose four for each mission and you're stuck with them. This needs a serious fix in the next game.
    Second, the campaign is more of an RTS/RPG hybrid rather than a true RTS. You choose equipment for each character, and decide what each character brings. In regular RTS's, you don't get to do that, each squad has a specialty, and you know their abilities. So it's not a true RTS, but rather an RTS/RPG hybrid.

    Hopefully the next game will be better.    … Expand
  13. AndrewM
    Jan 10, 2010
    4
    Good quality campaign mode, it was accurate to how space marines would do things, not giant assaults out of nowhere. However, I was appalled at the lack of detail in multiplayer and single player scenarios. All the races were almost exaclty the same as the ones next to it and the playstyle was far from how they are supposed to be played, orks dont use tactics, they rely on numbers as do Good quality campaign mode, it was accurate to how space marines would do things, not giant assaults out of nowhere. However, I was appalled at the lack of detail in multiplayer and single player scenarios. All the races were almost exaclty the same as the ones next to it and the playstyle was far from how they are supposed to be played, orks dont use tactics, they rely on numbers as do tyranids (although they probably use more than orks). Furthermore being forced to get a windows live account to play the game is a huge waste of time if you will almost never use it.… Expand
  14. fdfsdadsad
    Mar 5, 2009
    1
    I was completly disapointed by DoW 2. If you loved DoW 1 you will be really disapointed by this second part. First thing, you don't even have a builder, you can't make any buildings, you just train squads to join the battle. Second thing, you can't micro at all, the only thing you can do is make your squad ''fall back'' an auto fast running that brings I was completly disapointed by DoW 2. If you loved DoW 1 you will be really disapointed by this second part. First thing, you don't even have a builder, you can't make any buildings, you just train squads to join the battle. Second thing, you can't micro at all, the only thing you can do is make your squad ''fall back'' an auto fast running that brings your squad back to your only building. Compare this to DoW 1 and its pure crap. The only good thing are the graphics. This game is not worth paying 50$ for, not at all.… Expand
  15. Thunderkat
    Nov 25, 2010
    10
    Beautiful campaign mode. Great voice acting. Great action. Wonderful ability to outfit your team and unit selection. nice graphics.
    A Rare game that is nearly perfect as far as a role play campaign is concerned.
    2 thumbs up!
  16. wordy_actions
    Aug 12, 2011
    7
    Impressive and plenty of fun, with some noticeable flaws. The biggest flaw I'd say is the lack of responsive units. Nearly every unit feels slow and uncoordinated. With that said, the tactical aspects of the game are very fun. Setting up your units behind cover and watching them obliterate the landscape (along with any Ork in the way) is satisfying. I miss the large army/base-buildingImpressive and plenty of fun, with some noticeable flaws. The biggest flaw I'd say is the lack of responsive units. Nearly every unit feels slow and uncoordinated. With that said, the tactical aspects of the game are very fun. Setting up your units behind cover and watching them obliterate the landscape (along with any Ork in the way) is satisfying. I miss the large army/base-building gameplay from the first Dawn of War, but they've done a good job with this one.… Expand
  17. Darkstalker
    Sep 25, 2011
    10
    Ein sehr gelungenes und spannendes Spiel, macht mir heute immer noch SpaÃ
  18. Damascus
    Jun 6, 2013
    8
    In many ways a very good game. It was however somewhat ruined by repetitive and unimaginative maps. It captures a lot of the atmosphere of the wh40k universe, and the units feel unique and have interesting development options.
  19. McMeepers
    May 10, 2011
    4
    Don't get me wrong, the game has some things I like about it, specifically a unique blend of RPG and RTS, not to mention that it has the name of Warhammer 40,000. But like many of the other people who expressed frustration with this game, I felt like it just barely missed being exceptional with a few short-sighted mistakes (including lackluster AI, early-launch bugs, and unbalanced play).Don't get me wrong, the game has some things I like about it, specifically a unique blend of RPG and RTS, not to mention that it has the name of Warhammer 40,000. But like many of the other people who expressed frustration with this game, I felt like it just barely missed being exceptional with a few short-sighted mistakes (including lackluster AI, early-launch bugs, and unbalanced play). The fatal blow to the game in my mind was the repetition. Did they really launch a game with only a handful of maps (campaign) and then expect you to play each one until you can recreate it in your head down to the very last pixel? This is one of the few times that I've been very disappointed with the professional critics because I think they missed the mark in a major way. I understand that they want to support a company who tries something new (i.e. blend multiple genres), but the game simply doesn't rate as well as the critics claimed (which is evident in the fact that, for once, the professional critics have a higher rating than the users).… Expand
  20. RexG
    Dec 10, 2011
    0
    For completely unknown reasons there are game designers who think you can never have enough generic 'zerg the world' games: And it seems they all worked on DoW2.
    There is no strategy in this game; there are barely any tactics in this game; but if you're a 6 year old moron and can be entertained for hours on the strength of pretty colours and sparkly lights then you'll find plenty in DoW 2    For completely unknown reasons there are game designers who think you can never have enough generic 'zerg the world' games: And it seems they all worked on DoW2.
    There is no strategy in this game; there are barely any tactics in this game; but if you're a 6 year old moron and can be entertained for hours on the strength of pretty colours and sparkly lights then you'll find plenty in DoW 2 to love.
    A massive step backwards for the franchise and seriously damaging to the entire GW brand.    … Expand
  21. Skizapper
    Jun 16, 2012
    2
    Hugely dissapointed, They took away everything that was great about DOW1 and pretty much screwed it up. The battles aren't epic, the lack of base building isn't fun, and the races are all the same and boring. I had really high hopes for this game, I seriously wish I could return this.

    2 for graphics.
  22. Gabbo
    Oct 18, 2011
    2
    This was no fun at all. except the missions where you defend against waves. INSANE repetition of maps, you will play the same map at least 3 times with similar objectives. Losing men is meaningless, you just retreat and recharge. EVERY situation can be dealt with the same way, lead the enemy to a bottleneck. The AI is non existent, units simply charge at you, or wait until you get in theirThis was no fun at all. except the missions where you defend against waves. INSANE repetition of maps, you will play the same map at least 3 times with similar objectives. Losing men is meaningless, you just retreat and recharge. EVERY situation can be dealt with the same way, lead the enemy to a bottleneck. The AI is non existent, units simply charge at you, or wait until you get in their viewing range.
    Massive step back in every respect except graphics.
    this is disappointing after the previous DOW games. No buildings just removes an element from the game without adding a thing. Except superior graphics and destructible environments, no advancements and all removals of features.    … Expand
  23. Lizard
    Feb 18, 2009
    0
    I nearly bought this game today luckily I noticed just in time that the game is infected with steam crap , oh well at least I saved some money - any single player game that forces you to have an internet connection before you can even play the damn thing can go to hell, I got stung once with HL2, never again.
  24. JeremyJ
    Jan 12, 2010
    0
    Imtro video 10,game 0. It's a crap.The original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is far better.
  25. flyntj
    Jan 6, 2010
    9
    pretty fun like the multiplayer stuff and survival mode, main quest is fun though a little boring after a while
  26. TrevorCapp
    Apr 5, 2009
    3
    While the game is playable enjoyment is constantly ruined by broken down video display 75% of the time, whoever thought streaming this kind of game in a manor similar to everquest (even saved games have to be loaded from the net) should be castrated. since buying the game I have managed to play 3 small sessions the other times display breaks up to make it all but usless, I will not beWhile the game is playable enjoyment is constantly ruined by broken down video display 75% of the time, whoever thought streaming this kind of game in a manor similar to everquest (even saved games have to be loaded from the net) should be castrated. since buying the game I have managed to play 3 small sessions the other times display breaks up to make it all but usless, I will not be purchasing any other games using Steam hosting as a requirment.… Expand
  27. JohnM
    Nov 3, 2009
    1
    Completely unplayable. Unless you have a powerful computer dont bother buying this game. Besides the extremely annoying and frequent hiccups and slowdowns (often resulting in a total system freeze) the multiplayer aspect of this game is a huge nightmare. First of all the lag from someone else's connection also affects your own experience, so 90% of the game result in an agonising Completely unplayable. Unless you have a powerful computer dont bother buying this game. Besides the extremely annoying and frequent hiccups and slowdowns (often resulting in a total system freeze) the multiplayer aspect of this game is a huge nightmare. First of all the lag from someone else's connection also affects your own experience, so 90% of the game result in an agonising slowmotion followed by a, "player has disconnected" message. Then there is the issue of game balance ... There is none at all ! Just pick the flavor of the month unit, spam it and obliterate your oponents. Completely lame and boring. Stay away from this game as if it were an infectuous disease !!!!… Expand
  28. SeanB
    Oct 26, 2009
    4
    Cool graphics and the army painter is definitely much more capable of creating various armies, but many player favorite factions were left out which was an extreme dissapointment. Each mission was extremely repetative, and halfway through the game, I felt as though I had already beaten it. The same tactics can be used over and over again, and the only challenge the game brings is keeping Cool graphics and the army painter is definitely much more capable of creating various armies, but many player favorite factions were left out which was an extreme dissapointment. Each mission was extremely repetative, and halfway through the game, I felt as though I had already beaten it. The same tactics can be used over and over again, and the only challenge the game brings is keeping you interested in it.… Expand
  29. STARSBarry
    Feb 19, 2009
    6
    Dawn of War 2 is one of those games that trys to reinvent the genre, and bombs itself down with stupid marketing, poor ideas and a lackluster play style, an easy example will be the removal of base building, as stated constantly in a boring monolog that spews from relic base building isent needed, infact this is 4th RTS game relic have made without it (the first 3 being homeworld 1 & 2 + Dawn of War 2 is one of those games that trys to reinvent the genre, and bombs itself down with stupid marketing, poor ideas and a lackluster play style, an easy example will be the removal of base building, as stated constantly in a boring monolog that spews from relic base building isent needed, infact this is 4th RTS game relic have made without it (the first 3 being homeworld 1 & 2 + its spinoff) however it fails to take into account that for everything you take away you must give something back. What this turns into is bassicaly an RTS for the console, there is no defence just attack attack attack, there is no base building just attack attack attack, indeed while attacking is the key focus of this game i find it so slow and repetative that i get board watching my heavy bolter team waddle slowly towards some cover, while my oponants attempt to slowly waddle towards my position only to be instantly supressed and for there commander to hit the recall button for them to return to base. The multiplayer matches last a max of 15 mins each if you have played C&C 3 multiplayer before and im assuming that you have, and have probebly stopped playing it along with everyone else becouse it gets boring FAST! this game gets boring FAST! I got board of it in the Beta thats how fast you get board. Over all as far as RTS go the multiplayer and skirmish is not fun, if you on the otherhand have ever thought hey I wish RTS got rid of all that boring base building and got strait onto fighting, but you wished the fighting involved eldely men who will die at any second of high colestrol and can only amble around the battlefeild at walking pace while screaming about the good old days of Halo 2 when games lasted only 3 minutes this is the game for you, infact I emplore you to buy it becouse you will buy the craptastic DLC relic will spew from its anus every 2 weeks for live points. All in All its probebly becouse im a turtler in RTS which is a valid tac in team games, however this game removes all defence style strats, so you cant really do that... therefore alienating half of all RTS players in one go, if you play defence in RTS's you will HATE this game dont even bother, go play company of heroes as the brits and artillary people from the otherside of the map behind you massive stronghold of AT guns and morters. SINGLEPLAYER!! yea this is the big thing... well not according to relic its not but it is.. bassicaly this plays like one of those standard issue C&C or starcraft or infact any RTS game mission where you dont have a base, theres multiple objectives with multiple paths and you have to decide, theres also loot so bassicaly your playing world of warcraft except less fun as a group of slow waddling old people in armor, this is what saves the game for me, yes its repetative, yes the gameplay gets boring quickly as with the rest of the entire game, but the storyline drives you along, you really want to see what happens to this group of eldely "BURN THE HERETIC" marines on there slow quest to collect there pensions. So pretty much, if you liked dawn of war you probebly wont like this, if you liked company of heroes you probebly wont like this, if you liked homeworld you probebly wont like this, however if you enjoy smashing your face into an xbox controler while screaming FAG over the microphone to a bunch of 13 year old mexicans on a game of GTA4 this will be the RTS for you, infact its not really an RTS its more of a QTE becouse you just mash the build devasator squad and then mash the move to commander button over and over till you win/lose it wont really matter eitherway becouse itl be 10 minutes over and then you will go off and play some TF2 or subcom or a game that takes more tactical thinking like pong! over all 6/10 I was gonna give it a 7 but found out I coudent make space marine chapters with a dick or nazi symbol or a middle finger on there shoulders, this is largly down to relic releasing these 3 chapters in the "community pack" later this year for 599 microsoft points, there will also be adding realtime weapon change while there at it.… Expand
  30. AZ
    Feb 21, 2009
    4
    bleh, just bleh. HUGE fan of DoW1 & CoH, this is just bleh. Campaign got boring and repetitive fast, multiplayer same thing. Its just not that fun with such small armies that can be killed in seconds if you are not watching them the entire time. Very small amount of maps (7!!!!!) causes most games to be a repeat. I was very disappointed, I was sure this would be my next RTS, but no, seems bleh, just bleh. HUGE fan of DoW1 & CoH, this is just bleh. Campaign got boring and repetitive fast, multiplayer same thing. Its just not that fun with such small armies that can be killed in seconds if you are not watching them the entire time. Very small amount of maps (7!!!!!) causes most games to be a repeat. I was very disappointed, I was sure this would be my next RTS, but no, seems like im going back to CoH.… Expand
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best PC Game of 2009
9
#9 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
19
#19 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 67 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 67
  3. Negative: 0 out of 67
  1. PALGN
    85
    The single-player mash-up of RTS and RPG elements works really well, and the multiplayer is fast and exciting. Relic's reinvention of the Dawn of War brand is a breath of fresh (or possibly fetid, Tyranid infested) air.
    Read full review
  2. YouGamers
    89
    Dawn of War II is a highly innovative twist on the usual RTS formula that dares to think outside the box while staying true to the WH40k source material. Campaign co-op play is a great addition to the already superb single player game but the head-to-head multiplayer skirmish is a bit of a disappointment.
    Read full review
  3. GameShark
    83
    Dawn of War was a finely tuned game with huge battles and many disposable troops. Dawn of War II is faster, lighter, smaller, in some ways more interesting and in other ways somewhat lacking in its execution. But taken as a whole it’s impossible to not recommend the game to 40K fans and to those who are willing to accept that this is not a linear sequel to an aging franchise.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »