When I first heard that Relic was creating a Dawn of War II I was as giddy as a school girl.  I loved the first Dawn of War.  It was every Warhammer 40k enthusiast’s dream come true. Finally a game that truly brought to life all the detail and scenery of the 51st millennium, as morbid as that may actually be.  It was a bit awe-inspiring to see a squad of space marines move up to secure a point, as mighty dreadnoughts waded in to slaughter the enemy.  I assure you that every enthusiast of the table top game has imagined, at one time or another, what it would be like for their squads, armor, or giant monstrous creatures to come to life on the table top and shoot, chop, or claw it out in a gritty and bloody battle, though repairing the paint chips might get a bit annoying. I bought all the expansions for Dawn of War, and though the single player campaigns dwindled, the addition of the various armies and the chance to use new units more than made up for it.

I thought the games were perfect, everything I could have asked for.  With my biased blinders and euphoria of finally having a game that was a good representation of the table top version, I missed a few details.  One of my close friends (with less of a biased vision) told me that the game had plenty of flaws, many of them in the mechanics and physics of it, such as units shooting through the ground.  In other articles I read about the tedium of resource and building management, and the let downs of a four hour game ending with a five minute swarming base attack. 

So now Dawn of War II is here full of promise to alleviate those issues and get back to focusing on what Warhammer 40k is all about.  Highly detailed armies made up of unique units and characters clashing against one another in epic battles for the supremacy of the countless worlds.