Time to enlist for humanity (Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War - Winter Assault Add-On (PC))

Member Name: DaveAshton

Product:	Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War - Winter Assault Add-On (PC)
Date:	12/10/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good campaign mode, addition of the IG.

Disadvantages: None

Winter Assault is the first expansion to Dawn of War, the real time strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The biggest selling point for this game is the addition of the Imperial Guard to the series, meaning you can swamp your enemies under hundreds of infantrymen, or batter them into oblivion with heavy armour and artillery (and yes, the 10-guns-on-1-tank Baneblade is included).

The game has 2 ways to play, a campaign mode and a skirmish mode. The campaign is basically your typical story mode, involving completing missions in a set order until you complete the storyline. This can be played from 2 perspectives, Order or Disorder. The order storyline will see you controlling a mixture of Eldar and Imperial Guard forces, whereas the Disorder campaign involves you controlling the Ork and Chaos armies. Unlike some games, if you pick the Order campaign, you won't play the same missions as the Disorder campaign with different units. Each side in the conflict has their own story, but they do overarch and interact a lot.

The skirmish style of play as kind of like a free-for-all, involving you picking your side from the 5 available armies (the 4 previously mentioned, and also the Space Marines), choosing a map, setting what you want the objectives to be (ranging from capturing and holding locations, destroying your enemies' bases, or just assassinating the enemy commander), choosing your allies and enemies, and then going to war as you set it up. The skirmish mode also allows you to use your own colour schemes for your army, which can be set in the Army Painter mode.

This is a great expansion, but you will need the original Dawn of War game to play it.

Summary: Fantastic game