Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault
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| Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault | |
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| Developer(s) | Relic Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Latest version | 1.51 |
| Release date(s) | September, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) PEGI: 16+ USK: 16+ |
| Platform(s) | PC |
| Media | 2 CD |
| System requirements | Windows 98/2000/XP/ME, 1.8 GHz Pentium III or equivalent AMD Athlon XP processor, 256 MB RAM, 1.8 GB free hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM, 32 MB DirectX(R) 9.0b compatible AGP video card with Hardware Transform and Lighting, DirectX 9.0b compatible 16-bit sound card |
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault is a expansion to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for the PC developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. Based on Games Workshop's popular tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000, Dawn of War: Winter Assault was released in 2005.
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[edit] Imperial Guard
A new race was included, The Imperial Guard, previously available in certain single player missions of Dawn of War. They are the countless billions of regular men outfitted with Lasguns who defend the Imperium of Man. In Dawn of War, they are extremely weak. The group you control in Winter Assault is a division of the Cadian Shock Troops. The Imperial Guard specialise in defense, and as such have the strongest defensive structures of all the races in the game. Squads of infantry tend to be large numbers of weak footsoldiers, but the Imperial Guard make up for this with a large range of powerful vehicles, such as the mighty Baneblade tank, and the walking Sentinels, which are the only vehicular unit in the game which can uncapture strategic points.
[edit] New Units
- The Space Marines gain the Chaplain, a powerful close combat hero unit with a healing aura and the special ability to weaken an enemy squad's resolve and temporarily decrease their movement speed.
- The Forces of Chaos gain Khorne Berzerkers, strong and fast close combat assault squad armed with a bolt pistol and a chain axe. Khorne Berzerkers have no morale whatsoever, meaning that the squad cannot be broken.
- The Orks gain the Mega-Armored Nobz, slow-moving, but powerful and heavily armored semi-hero unit. Their speed can be boosted temporary with their own unique ability, although they take constant damage while using the ability. (Power Surge)
- The Eldar gain the Fire Dragons, short-ranged fusion gun wielding aspect warriors best utilized against vehicles and structures, although very weak against other targets, especially in melee.
[edit] New Campaign
There are two new single player campaigns, which focus around a lost Imperial Titan. The three leftover races from the original Dawn of War (Orks, Eldar and Chaos) are available in addition to the new Imperial Guard, with each race trying to find and gain control of the Titan for their own reasons. Although the Titan as a whole is not controllable, its weapon systems can be used to assist in the destruction of the Necrons, who make a cameo in one level.
[edit] Simplification
Many of the units available in Dawn of War were simplified, reduced or limited for the Winter Assault expansion. For example, Space Marine Predator tanks were limited to carrying anti-tank weapons while Chaos Predators were limited to anti-personnel weapons. In the original Dawn of War game both sides could upgrade their tanks from anti-personnel to anti-tank(Annhilator pattern and Destructor pattern respectively). Likewise the Land Raider was converted from a heavy tank into a super-heavy tank the equal of the Imperial Guard Baneblade, and in so doing became limited to one per player. Limitations were mostly applied to the Orks who lost most of their upgrade choices and became severely limited in their weapon choices. The Eldar, on the other hand, had their "Hard Counters" removed, meaning that specialized units such as Dark Reapers were no longer as prominently effective against heavy infantry. In other words, a player could recruit more Dark Reapers, but to balance this, their main weapon and armour were drastically reduced, leaving them at a disadvantage and less use than in the original DoW. The new "Soft-Counter" system for the Eldar meant that spamming units (such as the powerful Warp Spiders) was much more favored. Some units, including most of the Ork army, also lost the ability to use grenades. The Chaos Space Marines also lost the ability to upgrade to Missile Launchers and Plasma Guns, and were only limited to Heavy Bolters.
[edit] Notable Characters
[edit] General Sturnn
General Sturnn is the stern and upstanding leader of the Imperial Guard contingent deployed in Winter Assault's campaign mode. He wields a pair of lightning claws, one of which has an integral Storm Bolter. He also carries a Laspistol, but only uses this for field executions (one of his special melee combat kills involves its use). Unlike other Imperial officers, he is willing to ally with aliens if it would mean reaching his objective.
[edit] Farseer Taldeer
A Farseer of the Ulthwe Craftworld, Farseer Taldeer was part of the Eldar strike force sent to Lorn V to retrieve the Soul Stone in anticipation of an impending Necron attack. She and her group saved General Sturnn's men on two different occasions, without them knowing until much later in Winter Assault. When General Sturnn returned the favor by shielding the Eldar from a huge Ork WAAAGH!!, the two races formed a temporary (and uneasy) alliance to further their own goals. She was armed with a Witchblade and Shuriken Pistol in Winter Assault.
[edit] Lord Crull
The borderline psychopathic Chaos Lord that leads his Blood Legion of Khorne against the enemy on Lorn V. He and Gorgutz stike an uneasy alliance in order to destroy the Forces of Order, but immediately break once Gorgutz announces he will destroy the Titan, which he wants to claim for his own personal gain. He was defeated and killed on Lorn V by the Ork Warboss Gorgutz, but if Eliphas the Inheritor finishes off the Orks in Dark Crusade, Eliphas recovers Crull's skull and adds it to the tally for the Skull Throne of Khorne. Rather than the Manreaper wielded by Lord Bale, Crull was armed with a large Khornate mace and a big smile.
[edit] Warboss Gorgutz
The self-important warboss who unites the Ork Clans on Lorn V to claim the worthiest of heads, and to destroy the Titan. He later appears on the tomb world of Kronus at the head of an Ork Waaugh!
[edit] Chaplain Varnus
The Ultramarines Chaplain who leads the Space Marines who escort the Titan's crew to the Titan. He has immense respect for General Sturnn, yet he distrusts the Eldar Farseer Taldeer. It is unknown if Varnus was killed on Lorn V.
[edit] References
- (November 2004) "Index Astartes – Blood Ravens". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (298). ISSN 0265-8712.
- Goto, Cassern (2004). Dawn of War. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-152-8.
- Goto, Cassern (2005). Dawn of War: Ascension. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-285-0.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Official Dawn of War Website
- Official Dawn of War Forums
- Official Modding Forums
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War at MobyGames
- Gamespot article
- Dawn of War Planet
| Warhammer 40,000 Articles |
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