Warhammer: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

By Liam O'Connor

The original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was a big risk. While it had the rich universe of Warhammer 40,000 to work with, it also had the task of doing the franchise justice. On top of that, it was always going to have to fight against the fact that it was a Warhammer game.

There has always been a certain stigma that surrounds tabletop games like Warhammer. Although they are essentially just glamorous versions of chess with an element of chance, the people who play them have always been classified as transcending geek territory into the realm of super-nerd. Fortunately, like role-playing games, tabletop games suddenly become okay when they’re in video game form.

Dawn of War was an excellent strategy game that not only exemplified the strategy genre but also managed to expose the Warhammer universe to a new audience. And, as with all PC games that sell well, Dawn of War has deemed itself worthy of expansion packs and Dawn of War fans are now preparing themselves for the next expansion, Dark Crusade.

One of the main selling points of Dark Crusade is that it will add two new playable races, taking the number up to seven. If that wasn’t enough of a reason to get out your wallet, Dark Crusade will also feature a brand new single-player campaign. People say that PC gaming is expensive, but console fans are the ones too often paying full price for an expansion pack that is pretending to be a sequel. Dark Crusade promises to deliver a fresh, exciting campaign that is more than worth the price of admission.

The campaign itself will play out like the board game Risk. Players will attempt to hold a series of territories will invading and conquering others, and rewards will be given for maintaining ownership of a territory, just like in Risk.

With 2 new races, an excellent single-player campaign, and the gritty Warhammer 40,000 universe to play with, Dark Crusade looks set to be an excellent expansion for an already excellent game. Stay tuned to NZGamer for further updates regarding this eagerly awaited expansion.

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