A new Dawn of War has risen, and it’s an exciting return from a long dormant franchise. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III successfully takes the best elements from the previous two games and blends them with traditional RTS mechanics to create a game with deep strategic gameplay. The campaign, which ultimately serves as a glorified tutorial, is entertaining and lengthy enough to keep players hooked for hours even though it’s predictable. The focus on Elite units differentiates Dawn of War III from its competitors by introducing a new sense of depth and progression into the game.

Veterans of the original Dawn of War will take to this game like stepping into their old Power Armour. Exhilarating, over-the-top spectacle, and meeting expectations like only Dawn of War can.

Overall I was very happy with it. My last Warhammer experience was with Eternal Crusade which really didn’t hit the spot for me… so Dawn Of War 3 is a pleasant scratch to that itch for some space melodrama. As mentioned, if you are a long time fan, don’t expect to get the same game you’ve played before… or even a mix of the two, it would seem they have taken a slightly different approach. On the other hand if you like a bit of RTS action, some fun storytelling, it’s a great bit of fun and visually quite pretty (epic opening movie especially). If in doubt, wait for a good sale… but there’s a lot of fun to be had here.

This is the most conventional RTS in an historically unconventional series. While this fact alone may divide players, its quality of presentation and polished mechanics mean that, as it inevitably expands with more content, Dawn of War III may yet become the champion of a genre that remains stubbornly resistant to evolution.

Dawn of War 3 has overly dominant elites, and a merely serviceable campaign, but it captures the power of mass battles well.

Dawn of War 3 is a decent enough game, but don't expect any strategic depth, though.

Plays like MOBA, smells like Heresy. [Issue#262, p.51]