ashecitism
Member
Comes out on April 27, open beta this weekend.
Metacritic
Opencritic
RPS
PC Gamer - 78
Gamespot - 8
Eurogamer - Recommended
IGN - 7.6
Destructoid - 7.5
Polygon - 8
PCGamesN - 8/10
Metacritic
Opencritic
RPS
There are moments, many of them, during multiplayer and AI skirmishes, where I'm absolutely certain that Dawn of War 3 is the best game in the series, even with its missteps when it comes to cover and fortifications. I could happily continue rambling on about the brilliant faction design or how I still squeal with glee every time I drop a gargantuan beast of an Elite like Imperial Knight Solaria into a fight – you haven't lived until you've witnessed her impossibly huge guns turning an army of Orks into green-red paste. If you're only interested in the campaign, however, then you're unlikely to find as much to get enthused about.
PC Gamer - 78
Other flaws pepper the experience, too, whether it's the absence of autosaves during the long campaign missions or the mind-boggling inability to reassign keybinds. For all this, I can't say I wasn't usually having fun. I admire Dawn of War 3 for trying to reinvent its formula again. It isn't quite the pure RTS of the first game or the RPG experiment of the second, but it sits somewhere in between. In its finest moments, when armies are crawling over each other and mechs make the ground tremble, it's an exciting place to be.
Gamespot - 8
An odd chimera of its forebears, there's a lot in this fast-paced RTS that's a little bit off. Parts of the interface don't work sometimes, inter-match army management is half-baked, and the micromanagement needed to use the game's signature hero units effectively doesn't jibe with the extensive base-building you'll need to support them. But those problems fall away when you're in the heat of battle. Dawn of War III builds and maintains an organic tension that yields huge pay-offs, and there's nothing else quite like it.
Eurogamer - Recommended
Dawn of War 3 is not going to be universally popular - that much is clear already - and nor is it, despite appearances, going to turn the entire genre of real-time strategy on its head. But like it or not, the clunking, lumbering hulk of Terminator Armor that strategy gaming has become is indeed beginning to creak at the joints. Relic has had the audacity to launch it into an unexpected frontflip, and what a glorious, inventive somersault of design Dawn of War 3 is, even if it doesn't completely stick the landing.
IGN - 7.6
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is flashy and loaded with complex, micromanagement-heavy warfare. Its single-player campaign is long and challenging, but feels uninspired because it rarely makes creative use of the three factions' abilities. In multiplayer it's even more demanding and intimidatingly chaotic, but with only one mode and not a lot of maps, it seems limited. Relic deserves credit for not simply remaking the same game with prettier graphics, but this hybrid approach doesn't feel as strong as Dawn of War 2's memorable tactical focus.
Destructoid - 7.5
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III takes a few steps back in time to make one step forward. It hearkens back to a lot of older design choices from the first game, and attempts to build upon other RTS conventions in the process. Not everything works (especially the strict adherence to the core conceit), but it's still very much both a Warhammer and a Dawn of War joint.
Polygon - 8
Dawn of War 3 makes an admirable attempt to nudge forward a genre that has struggled in recent years to progress. The addition of Elites offers intriguing and complex challenges for those who are prepared to put in the necessary practice. Relic has obviously thought long and hard about how realtime strategy might best be improved — even if true evolution seems out of the game's grasp.
PCGamesN - 8/10
This is the most conventional RTS in an historically unconventional series. While this fact alone may divide players, its quality of presentation and polished mechanics mean that, as it inevitably expands with more content, Dawn of War III may yet become the champion of a genre that remains stubbornly resistant to evolution.
I'm not going to feel hurt that y'all forgot my review over at USgamer.
Much more aggressive play required over previous games. 50% DOW, 40% DOW2, 10% MOBA.