Each battle plays out pretty much the same. You land on Planet X, move your four squads around the map to each objective, kill what’s there, and move on until you reach the “boss” at the map’s far edge, kill it and then claim victory and snatch up whatever Wargear may have popped up along the way. The AI doesn’t plan or try to outmaneuver you at all. It just throws bad guys at you. It’s sort of like a Diablo RTS in that you’re looking for rare loot and killing whatever monsters appear on screen when you move into their area.

If this all sounds somewhat contrived – it is. But it’s still an experience that no 40K fan should miss. It’s so easily digestible that the lack of AI and the lack of real planning required doesn’t matter when you order your jump pack Assault Marines to zoom over a wall to smash down on unsuspecting Orks and they land with a satisfying thud and the screen shakes. Or when you tell your Devastator Marines to unleash hell and use heavy bolters to suppress the enemy infantry that is approaching --- or when your Dreadnaught snatches up a writhing Eldar Howling Banshee and snaps its back in two and you can hear another satisfying crunch.

Dawn of War II is a summer blockbuster without the cheesy dialogue. It’s irresistible despite its obvious failings.

Outside of the fighting, the game uses a nifty role-playing design where you spend experience points, deck out your troops with all sorts of swanky 40K gear and tailor your team exactly the way you want. It’s addictive – much like a good RPG. The campaign isn’t terribly long, particularly if you decide against trying the side missions, but it’s also highly entertaining. No, this isn’t a deep, brain burning game that pits your wits against a stingy AI. It’s popcorn entertainment.

And that’s what in the end may turn off some, especially if you are coming from Dawn of War and all of its expansions with a litany of races (sans the Hive). 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. It’s a new direction – embrace it – or be smashed by the Imperium.

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