Dawn of War 2 - PC

[Orgun]

Huh, no ones made a first play for this?

Well I guess the best way to describe how this plays is like RTS-lite mixed with Diablo in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

In single player (you only play as Space marines) rather than slowly building a base and slowly gathering an army you choose 4 squads while in orbit of a planet and then you dropped into the map. You can also play through the entire campaign in co-op, i believe you each have control over 2 squads each.

Almost forgot that sometimes when you kill a unit they will drop LOOT, which is very similar to diablo/WoW loot in they have stats like "20% chance on hit to regain 13health".

None of the mission are very long, some of the levels i've banged through in 5 minutes and i've put over 15 hours in the single player.

Okay I suck at first play threads, I just like it I REALLY REALLY LIKE IT It's incredibly addictive in single player and a lot deeper than I thought it would be in multiplayer (aka I'm crap).
The multiplayer is a bit different to single player in that you have a main base where you order new troops. You also have to capture three differnt types of command points (Victory, power, requisition) to gain resources, it's a lot like Company of Heroes of 'spose.

This abomination of a first play thread shouldnt even exist but this game needs some lovin

Hit me up with an invite if you want to try some CO-OP or multiplayer, gamertag is OrgunUK.

edit: Oh and my steamid is orgunuk or you can look for me in the steam NTSC-UK group.

[briareos_kerensky]

Soon...as soon as I get all the pieces for my new computer I'll play it too...it's a shame that Relic hasn't nailed down a good single player campaign like they did in Dawn of War...an improved version of Dark Crusade would have made this game much more enjoyable.

[Orgun]

I prefer the campaign mode in DoW2 over the Dark Crusade mode, its similar in that you have an overworld and you can choose where to take your missions (over 3 planets), you'll also get optional mission which you'll have a limited amount of time to complete (after every mission 1 game day passes, if you do well enough you can gain additional drops in 1 day). Each mission area will contain 2 capturable locations but you can only capture one during a single mission, they are Imperial Relics, Factories or Communication arrays.

Occasionaly (at least on my difficulty setting) your captured areas will come under attack and you'll have about 5 game days to run to its defence, I really enjoy those missions because you just fortify the area around your Relic etc and then wait for them to come to you Nothing quite like seeing a Dreadnought with an assault cannon lay down heavy fire into a massive group of Tyranids..mmm guts.

Theirs also a lot more story in DoW2, makes me want to start reading W40K books, man I loved the stories in the Blood Angels: Codex.

[ExtremePabs]

I have this and am up for some coop.

My steam id is pablored35

[Rick]

I like it, i just wish you had the option to swap squads members mid level.

[mikewl]

Been playing this a fair bit over the last week, its really a quality game, the campaign seems to get better as it goes on, the first couple hours were a bit easy, didnt really need to think too much as it was easy enough to just run and gun through the areas.

For me the game got good the first time I failed a mission, since then i've been putting the squad's abilities to good use and thinking more before entering hostile territory, finding good cover spots etc.

Also have to agree with you Orgun, those defend your base missions are excellent fun, especially when you get the Terrantula Guns, I just finished the mission where you have to close the big gate, man that last part is insanely hectic, first time I just got completely overwhelmed, second time I just about got through it.

My gamertag is Mikey360, would be up for some multiplayer sometime if anyones up for it.

[eastyy]

just had a quick boot up on this...is there no single player skirmish modes ?

[Orgun]

There is, just go to multiplayer and make a private game with AI opponents

[Ajay1986]

Im loving the new style of gameplay as well, i really get the feeling Relic wanted to differentiate the game from Company of Heroes as they played pretty similar before.

For someone like me who loves RTS but isnt really that great at them this hybrid style is perfect. It still requires skill, strategy and micro but is that bit more manageable.

As Im playing on an iMac i can't go higher then medium settings but even at medium the game looks lovely and some of the physics are amazing.

[sharky_ob]

Absolutely loving this. The structure of the campaign works really well, and the ability to see rewards earned for each mission helps you to go for upgrades which suit your style of play.

How soon do you get terminator armour, and when do you get to use a dreadnought? I've unlocked terminator honours for my devastator squad, and I'm assuming that terminator armour is a suit just like the armour upgrades?

Up for some co-op this week if anyone is about on evenings?

[mikewl]

You get the Terminator suits about two thirds of the way through and shortly after that you get a Dreadnought which is awsome.

I finished the game the other day but didn't get the achievement for it, im guessing its bugged.

[Orgun]

I finished the game the other day but didn't get the achievement for it, im guessing its bugged.

Same here.

[sharky_ob]

You get the Terminator suits about two thirds of the way through and shortly after that you get a Dreadnought which is awsome.

I finished the game the other day but didn't get the achievement for it, im guessing its bugged.

That's rubbish, I want to be able to use the stomping beasts earlier than that!

Actually, talking of bugs did anyone get the game from hmv? You get a code with it for special wargear for the scouts. No matter what I try this doesn't appear in the game, even though it said new content was available after loading once I'd got the content from the marketplace.

[mikewl]

That's rubbish, I want to be able to use the stomping beasts earlier than that!

Actually, talking of bugs did anyone get the game from hmv? You get a code with it for special wargear for the scouts. No matter what I try this doesn't appear in the game, even though it said new content was available after loading once I'd got the content from the marketplace.

One thing to note is you can do tons of optional missions before the final level which will give you more time to use the Dreadnought, I did alot of these missions to get a maxed out commander and also to do some optional boss levels, one which with all units 17-19 level took about 20-30 minutes to kill, quite a tough fight to get through.

As for the hmv thing I didnt get it but would just guess its another bug, they need to sort these out.

[JohnMcL7]

It's refreshing to see so many positive comments, on other forums I've been reading there seems to be many complaints about the lack of base building. I think the new single player at least fits in much better with the Warhammer franchise where Space Marines aren't disposable units to just through at the enemy, I also enjoy the gameplay where it's focused entirely on the combat. It seems well designed in that if you make a mess of things it's often possible to recover however if you put it all together well then you can plough through the enemies with ease. Storywise I notice they've attempted to bring it in line with the books in terms of characters and locations.

I think the rpg element is fantastic as it gives me an incentive to clear out the level and I enjoy sifting through the wargear to choose what equipment to add and change on my squads. I'm disappointed you can only customise the main character in each squad rather than kitting each out individually as needed and also that the squad sizes are small and stay that way. I'd prefer if they gradually built up as you progressed through the game.

During one of the loading screens I was surprised to see a Venerable Dreadnought rather than one of the newer designs(which were in the trailer and DoW), the Venerable is an older version which is bigger and has a head on the front. Is this in the game or is it one of the conventional deadnoughts?

John