Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III

Mechanics

Warhammer 40.000: Dawn of War III combines the best elements of the previous installments together. Thus the players receive a game focusing on spectacular battles fought on huge maps and involving hundreds of units. The player can also fire at the enemies from gigantic, orbital lasers. A modern-day graphic engine delivers satisfactory results in this respect, for it allows to destroy many kinds of environmental objects.

The mechanics behind construction of bases, known from the first installment, are back. The player is obliged to build energy generators and take control over specified areas, which gives access to resources needed to produce machines and train units. The fans of the Space Marines are going to be glad, for their favourite units can be dropped on the battlefield in capsules, right onto the enemies. Similar to the previous installment, a large emphasis was placed on heros having useful abilities and substantially better statistics. Before the battle, the player chooses three of the so-called elite units. This decision affects the capabilities of the entire army, for elite units are extremely powerful. All of those heros can be developed, because the player unlocks new skills for them and improves their statistics. Once an ability has been acquired, it can be used in subsequent battles. Additionally, the equipment carried by the heros depends on the player as well.

The player can become a leader of one faction, choosing from among the Orcs, the Space Marines and the Eldars. Each group has different units, heros, abilities and buildings. During the battles, a significant role is played also by large rovers, such as Imperial Knights (Space Marines), Gorkanauts (Orcs) and Wraithknights (Eldar). These units also have a large set of special abilities requiring manual activation. The game features a cover system present in several titles developed previously by Relic Entertainment, though it has been simplified here and focuses mainly on visibly marked barricades. The player spends great amounts of time fighting over the barricades, for they provide very effective cover.

Game modes

Warhammer 40.000: Dawn of War III for PC offers an extensive story campaign, which casts the player in the role of a different leader in each subsequent mission. This allows to view the conflict from different angles and forces the player to learn tactics effective for different kinds of units, which makes beginning one's adventure in the multiplayer component easier. The players can both compete against one another in the PvP mode and cooperate in fight against AI-controlled armies.