Considering the weaponry that humankind has already invented during the past couple of thousand years, it's difficult to even begin to imagine what kinds of implements of destruction will exist in the 41st millennium. However, England-based Games Workshop has done an excellent job of imagining what will come with its unique Warhammer 40,000 universe, which originated as a tabletop wargame but over the years has spun off into a variety of computer and video games. Dawn of War is the latest of these, and it's probably the best of these. Developed by seasoned real-time strategy maker Relic (best known for Homeworld and its sequel), Dawn of War is a testament to what can be so great about this style of gaming, and it captures the grim and brutal world of Warhammer 40,000 extremely well.
In the 41st millennium, warfare will take the form of great-looking, fun, and exciting real-time strategy battles.
Those unfamiliar with Warhammer 40,000 will get the perfect primer in the game's brief, spectacular, introductory cinematic that shows off a pitched battle between two forces that are bent on ripping each other to shreds--and are well equipped to do so. Dawn of War actually features four of Warhammer 40,000's most popular factions: The tireless and imperialistic space marines, highly versatile warriors who have access to a variety of vehicles as well as terminators, the strongest infantry in the game; the savage green-skinned orks, whose tough forces can vastly outnumber and therefore overwhelm their enemies; the enigmatic and technologically advanced eldar, who are the sneakiest and most maneuverable of the races, and who have access to numerous specialist units; and the traitorous forces of chaos--former space marines who have been warped by demonic energies, and whose strong infantry are assisted by terrifying demonic creatures.
Each of these factions has a great deal of personality in the game thanks to the imaginatively designed, vibrantly detailed, and beautifully animated units available to it, along with equally good speech and audio effects. Even the way in which the respective sides build their structures is interesting. Whereas chaos summons its buildings through arcane rituals, ork structures unceremoniously arrive from orbit in big heaps of junk parts. Visual differences aside, each faction is distinctly (though not drastically) different and playable in the game's skirmish and multiplayer modes, although the single-player campaign exclusively focuses on a space marine chapter called the Blood Ravens.
The game's relatively brief campaign of around 10 missions begins when the Ravens are called in to assist with the defense of the planet Tartarus, which has suddenly been overrun by the warmongering orks. In addition to fending off the orks, the Ravens soon experience some "misunderstandings" with the eldar, who are already on location investigating something sinister--something that chaos is after. It's a good setup to pit you against three of the game's four factions, and the main character of the story, a veteran space marine commander named Gabriel, is quickly likable because of his ruthless, loyal, and valorous attitude.
The campaign itself isn't great, though, since it's just a linear series of missions that typically involve building up a base, mustering your forces, and crushing the enemy. So, basically, it's standard stuff. Some missions have some interesting set pieces in them. In one mission, a computer-controlled battalion of the imperial guard--human allies of the space marines that lack the marines' cybernetic enhancements and power armor--covers your flank from an onslaught of orks as you conduct your operations. It's tempting to help the guardsmen in their defense of you, or at least it's tempting to watch as their tanks and laser weapons stave off the aggressors. However, the campaign is brief and conventional overall, so any remotely experienced RTS player should find it to be a cakewalk at the default normal difficulty setting (two tougher settings are also available). The actual story is pretty good, at least, and it unfolds between missions through some excellently over-the-top dialogue between the game's main characters. However, the between-mission cutscenes, which are rendered using the game's 3D engine, simply don't look good. You'll see characters flapping their gums and animating awkwardly, which is in stark contrast to how terrific they look in battle during actual gameplay.
The campaign only lets you play as the space marines, but the other three sides are yours to command in skirmish and multiplayer matches.
Playing through Dawn of War's campaign at least teaches you to respect the space marines' abilities in battle. In addition, the game features four separate interactive tutorials--one for each of the game's factions--which get you acclimated with the respective sides' buildings and units. As mentioned, the four sides in Dawn of War aren't drastically different, since they're each dependent on the same resources and have roughly analogous military units. However, these similarities are to the game's credit, because they serve to reduce the learning curve involved in switching from play as one faction to another. Consequently, the thought of learning to play as each of them, in turn, doesn't seem intimidating. Nevertheless, as in any great RTS game, it can take an indefinitely long time to truly master the different options of any one of these factions. Therefore, the devil's in the details of the various units, vehicles, weapons, abilities, and tactics available to them.
One of Dawn of War's accomplishments involves how successfully it translates some of the tabletop wargame's elements into effective twists on the conventional formula for real-time strategy games. For example, the action in any given battle revolves heavily around the capturing and holding of "strategic points," which have an abstract concept but literally take the form of beacons on the map. You may capture these points with most infantry squads, which is a process that leaves your squad immobilized and vulnerable for a number of seconds. But then, the captured point grants you a steady flow of requisition resource, which is necessary for purchasing new buildings, units, and upgrades. The idea is that the better you're faring in battle by capturing more strategic points, the more likely your faction is willing to support you from orbit with additional troops, structures, and supplies.
score 8.8
Guild wars
While it's tempting to compare Guild Wars to any number of other fantasy-themed role-playing games, there's really never been anything quite like it before. It innovatively and successfully combines many of the best, most addictive properties of action RPGs, online RPGs, and competitive multiplayer games in one beautifully produced package, which offers a tremendous lasting value yet none of the monthly fees typically associated with online-only games. The first title from developer ArenaNet, Guild Wars threatens the entire online RPG establishment with its bold design. More importantly, it's a very impressive game that's rewarding on many different levels and can be tremendously appealing for any number of reasons.
In the world of Guild Wars, the men are men, and the women are runway models. Oh, and it's awesome.
In Guild Wars, you play as a hero from Ascalon, your typical fantasy province that's fallen on hard times, thanks to relentless assaults from fearsome creatures called the charr. Ascalon seems huge and wondrous as you begin to explore it and its outskirts. But it turns out to be literally just a tiny portion of the richly detailed and shockingly gigantic world of Tyria, which you'll explore during the course of an adventure that's truly epic. Meanwhile, the other half of the game consists of competitive battles between teams of players, set in various types of arena events. It's action packed, it's tactical, and it's sporting. It's definitely more involved than a pick-up-and-play first-person shooter, but it's relatively easy to learn and certainly difficult to master. Unlike many other online RPGs, which often take a lot of flak from their audiences for lacking a definitive endgame, Guild Wars gives the impression that it was built with the endgame competition as a primary concern. However, one of its big surprises is just how much noncompetitive content there is. Even if you have no interest in player-versus-player battling whatsoever, Guild Wars will still provide you with more than 100 hours of quality gameplay, which you can tackle either alone or together with other players pretty much every step of the way.
The core gameplay in Guild Wars is reminiscent of action RPGs like the Diablo series. It lets you navigate countless big, winding maps filled with enemies and treasure, and combat is frequent and fast. You can't climb or fall from ledges, so at times, the design of the maps feels pretty contrived. However, the generally linear layout mostly just helps to keep you focused. The game's interface is clean and intuitive, and offers a few neat perks like a minimap that you can scribble on to help you communicate with your team. You have free reign over the camera perspective, so you may choose to play from a first-person viewpoint all the way on out to a bird's-eye view. Although, a third-person behind-the-back angle seems to deliver the best of both worlds, because you'll get a close look at the game's gorgeous graphics and plenty of room to see on your character's periphery. When you see an enemy (whether it's a computer-controlled creature or an opposing player), you may target it with a hotkey or a mouse click, and then attack it with your ranged or melee weapons. Most of your combat will be focused on using your different skills, though.
You can have exactly eight skills readied at a time, which correspond to the number keys on your keyboard. Which eight skills you bring to battle and which skills you discover during your adventure is really at the heart of what makes Guild Wars such a compelling experience. It's what levels the playing field in PvP and keeps the action manageable even when things get really intense. Each of the game's six character classes has 150 unique skills, and each one has its own little icon graphic, description, and purpose. For the most part, skills are not inherently better or worse than other skills--they're just different. Depending on how you've developed your character or your role in a player team, the skills will be better or worse for your circumstances. Many skills have obvious uses, while many are much more specific to certain types of situations. Some will serve you better when exploring the role-playing portion of the game, while others will be better suited to PvP battling against real opponents. It's definitely an interesting selection process. It shares a lot in common with collectible card games, and similarly offers a very satisfying reward whenever you discover that great, new skill that makes you feel much stronger while also causing you to make significant changes to your overall strategy. Guild Wars' skill system is a resounding success.
Creating a character is a quick, straightforward process of choosing a gender, appearance, and character class. You'll quickly notice the game's striking character design right from this point. Even prior to that, though, you're asked to make an important choice: whether to build a standard role-playing character or a player-versus-player-specific character. If you choose the former, you start out as a first-level neophyte on a foreboding day in Ascalon's history. And if you choose the PvP option, you skip all the way through the 100-odd hours of questing and storyline and begin with a high-level character decked out with powerful equipment. He or she can then jump right into some competitive matches, but cannot participate in any cooperative gameplay.
An absolutely huge story-driven role-playing adventure awaits you, though you can cut straight to the player-versus-player skirmishing if you prefer.
The idea behind these two options is pretty obvious. Players who'd rather not muck around with leveling up and pretentious fantasy storytelling needn't even bother with it, and they can instead jump straight into the competitive game. Or, players who want to get their feet wet before diving into PvP combat, or who want to ignore PvP entirely, may do so during the course of the adventure. It's not quite this cut and dried, though, because Guild Wars wants you to experience both aspects of the game, regardless of whether you think you do or not. Specifically, if you cut straight to the PvP, you'll find that the vast majority of the different character classes' skills are locked away, waiting to be discovered during the course of the role-playing portion. Custom weapon parts can also be found in the campaign, which can later be used in PvP.
So, it's possible that players expecting Guild Wars to be a light and breezy experience will be disappointed, because this is a deep, enthralling, and potentially very time-consuming game. While combat in Guild Wars rewards skillful planning and coordination between players, many of the best Guild Wars players will surely be the ones who invest the largest number of hours into the game--not only honing their talents, but also seeking out the best skills and equipment in the role-playing portion. Fortunately, the role-playing portion is on equal footing with the PvP, so chances are you'll enjoy the opportunity to experience both, and appreciate the game all the more for it.
score 9.2
2007-12-21 17:10:48
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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