I am taking a break from Civ V and Shogun 2 and may dive into some WH40K for the first time.
I have both Dawn of War I and II. I fired up DoW I and it looks a little dated but I have read here that the gameplay is great. If I go straight to DoW II would I be missing a lot?
Thanks all!
Aren't you swabbing decks or something?
Different game play Gus. Think army, base building vs. squad and equipment gathering.
Quote from: Bison on April 07, 2013, 07:54:49 PM
Aren't you swabbing decks or something?
Different game play Gus. Think army, base building vs. squad and equipment gathering.
+1
I actually like DoW II better than the first, but opinions differ on that. Personally, if you're going to play DoW II, make sure you get the Chaos Rising game and play it. High water mark IMHO.
I think both are good in different ways, and worth playing. Play 1 first, then II.
If I reloaded one of the two collections, it would be DOW I. Because II feels like I'm being dragged through the experience by the nose - very linear. Which is odd because I usually go for the more customization detailed RPG-ish type stuff as opposed to classic RTS.
DOW 1 is fairly standard RTS fare. Build sequence, start army fight, tech up, fight more. the army cap is large relative to DOW2. DOW 2 is squad based, far more about position tactics, graphics eye candy, rock paper scissors.
I prefer DOW 1, it feels less click fest to me.
Quote from: LongBlade on April 07, 2013, 09:14:37 PM
Quote from: Bison on April 07, 2013, 07:54:49 PM
Aren't you swabbing decks or something?
Different game play Gus. Think army, base building vs. squad and equipment gathering.
+1
I actually like DoW II better than the first, but opinions differ on that. Personally, if you're going to play DoW II, make sure you get the Chaos Rising game and play it. High water mark IMHO.
Yep, I'll second this. I enjoyed DoW I, but I liked the squad focus (which fits 40K space marines better than base building, anyway) from the sequel.
Quote from: Nefaro on April 07, 2013, 10:38:10 PM
If I reloaded one of the two collections, it would be DOW I. Because II feels like I'm being dragged through the experience by the nose - very linear. Which is odd because I usually go for the more customization detailed RPG-ish type stuff as opposed to classic RTS.
I agree. The only thing that kept me playing the DoW II campaign was all the loot that you could equip your squad with between battles. Relic did a nice job with all the descriptive detail attached to the gear. But the actual campaign was very boring: Move from point A to point B, and kill the boss monster. Wash and repeat.
I just started Chaos Rising, the add-on for DoW II, and find it closer to DoW I in that it is slightly less formulaic. But I hear that DoW II: Retribution is the best of them all.
Quote from: RooksBailey on April 08, 2013, 01:29:56 AM
I agree. The only thing that kept me playing the DoW II campaign was all the loot that you could equip your squad with between battles. Relic did a nice job with all the descriptive detail attached to the gear. But the actual campaign was very boring: Move from point A to point B, and kill the boss monster. Wash and repeat.
Exactly. Despite a few attempts at getting through the campaign, I never made it.
I don't think I ever got around to attempting the add-ons, despite having them installed, since I expected them to be just more of the very linear gameplay.
Yeah for DoW II I have Chaos Rising and Retribution. The copy of DoW I I have is the Game of the Year edition. Don't know how much of a difference that makes to my original question...sounds like there are fans of both.
Quote from: Gusington on April 08, 2013, 07:39:38 AM
Yeah for DoW II I have Chaos Rising and Retribution. The copy of DoW I I have is the Game of the Year edition. Don't know how much of a difference that makes to my original question...sounds like there are fans of both.
Did you get them on the big sale just before Christmas last year? When they had the whole package deal on sale?
Something suggested to me on the Wargamer boards an age ago:
Play DoW I on slow speed. It actually feels a bit like 40K on the tabletop as you marginalize the base-building/resource gathering madness.
Personally, I prefer DoW I, but enjoyed both.
Now if I could just get into a Blood Bowl league with people who spoke English, I'd have something.
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
Quote from: Gusington on April 08, 2013, 07:39:38 AM
Yeah for DoW II I have Chaos Rising and Retribution. The copy of DoW I I have is the Game of the Year edition. Don't know how much of a difference that makes to my original question...sounds like there are fans of both.
An important feature of the latest expansion, the one with the Sisters of Battle, was that it supported full 1080p video modes. Older versions of the game made your screen run in a blurry upresed format. Recently the Soulstorm format was pasted onto the older games in an update. At least the Dark Crusade game, which is why I am redoing the campaign.
Thanks for the tips guys. Nef I got DoW I as a gift and got DoW II a year or so ago as a Steam bundle.
Having played DOW2 up through the end of Chaos Rising, I too hankered for DOW1 again. Despite my curiosity about DoW2: Retribution, I'd still more quickly fire up DOW1. There's just more to it altogether. Even the campaigns are kind-of better.
Plus, DOW2 requires not only always-online Steam but also always-online Games For Windows registration. At the same time. Maybe that was dropped for Retribution, but it was annoying as all hell for the first two games.
Quote from: JasonPratt on April 08, 2013, 02:47:24 PM
Having played DOW2 up through the end of Chaos Rising, I too hankered for DOW1 again. Despite my curiosity about DoW2: Retribution, I'd still more quickly fire up DOW1. There's just more to it altogether. Even the campaigns are kind-of better.
Plus, DOW2 requires not only always-online Steam but also always-online Games For Windows registration. At the same time. Maybe that was dropped for Retribution, but it was annoying as all hell for the first two games.
The GfWL requirement was dropped with Retribution.
Quote from: Cyrano on April 08, 2013, 10:20:42 AM
Something suggested to me on the Wargamer boards an age ago:
Play DoW I on slow speed. It actually feels a bit like 40K on the tabletop as you marginalize the base-building/resource gathering madness.
Personally, I prefer DoW I, but enjoyed both.
Now if I could just get into a Blood Bowl league with people who spoke English, I'd have something.
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
there is, or at least was a massive BB community over at RPS
Quote from: Arctic Blast on April 08, 2013, 03:23:39 PM
Quote from: JasonPratt on April 08, 2013, 02:47:24 PM
Having played DOW2 up through the end of Chaos Rising, I too hankered for DOW1 again. Despite my curiosity about DoW2: Retribution, I'd still more quickly fire up DOW1. There's just more to it altogether. Even the campaigns are kind-of better.
Plus, DOW2 requires not only always-online Steam but also always-online Games For Windows registration. At the same time. Maybe that was dropped for Retribution, but it was annoying as all hell for the first two games.
The GfWL requirement was dropped with Retribution.
It was dropped in the original. It made me refuse to buy the expansions. Maybe a year after I got it you could esc key out of the GfWindows login. By then I could not care less, the gameplay was too rock paper scissors for my taste.
I played the original DoW2 and DoW2Chaos earlier this year, and GfWL was definitely still required for both registration and online linking.
If GfWL was dropped/never required for Retribution, that significantly increases the likelihood I'll play it someday; but I have other games on my to-buy list first.
I cannot say I really ever had issues with GfWL. I find the extra log in/registration annoying but I've never been unable to play a game with it as the DRM. I guess I've been fortunate in that regard.
Quote from: Bison on April 08, 2013, 04:19:55 PM
I cannot say I really ever had issues with GfWL. I find the extra log in/registration annoying but I've never been unable to play a game with it as the DRM. I guess I've been fortunate in that regard.
The only issue I've ever run in to with GfWL is GfWL trying to update itself. It inevitably breaks and fails and has to be done manually...every single time.
I really enjoyed both, for different reasons. They really are different games. I like the larger unit cap and variety of factions in DOW I. The campaigns were just ok; I found some of them to be too much of a clickfest and I'm not keen on base building. DOW II feels like it has a lot more of the WH40K fluff in it, the graphics are nicer, and the squad focus is fun. DOW II is also the only game I've ever spent any significant time playing multiplayer.
Also, DOW II has some missions on Space Hulks that are a lot of fun.