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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault

For the Winter Assault expansion pack, developer Relic Entertainment succeeds in the rare act of making an expansion that's actually better than its base product--at least in terms of the single-player experience. This isn't merely a few new units and maps slapped together in a box, but rather a full-on new game (requiring the original, of course) that stays challenging and entertaining for a good long while.

The bottom line then, is that while Winter Assault isn't as bold and ambitious as the original Dawn of War, it does exactly what an expansion pack should. It adds fun new stuff to the mix, fills in the holes in the original game, and opens up new strategic vistas that make the game feel fresh again. Even better, the new race and the gameplay changes have evened out the playfield for a while, offering a chance for new players to get into the game if they missed it the first time around. Kudos to Relic for re-invigorating an incredible game with a terrific expansion pack.

Warhammer maintains its hold as the heir apparent to the sci-fi RTS crown with this, the first experience to one of the best strategy titles in recent years.

Dawn of War: Winter Assault ist ein richtig schönes Addon, dass euch mit der Imperialen Garde, den neuen Missionen, Einheiten und Maps im Single- und Multiplayer einige vergnügliche Stunden bereiten wird. Zumal gerade die neuen Taktik mit der Imperialen Garde im Multiplayer auch viel Spaß bereitet. Wer das Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War bereits hat, sollte hier unbedingt zugreifen, auch wenn die KI bei der Wegfindung nicht gerade glänzen kann.

In a nutshell, if you're a Dawn Of War fan, Winter Assault is absolutely essential.

The single player campaign can bring about 8-10 hours of enjoymentdepending on the difficulty and skill of the player. When it comes tothe multiplayer aspect of the game....to be honest I haven’t stoppedplaying Dawn of War since it was released and with this expansion I cansee this as quickly becoming one of the most played multiplayer rtsgames of all time. You need this expansion. If you haven’t bought the original Dawn ofWar, do it now! If you like fast paced rts games then this is right upyour street. Beware Starcraft fans, you might find a replacement ;)

Endlich, statt den mir auf Dauer zu öden Space Marines schicke ich in Winter Assault nun die wirklich interessanten Völker in spannende Story-Missionen. Genial: der ständige Wechsel zwischen den Rassen. Der macht die teils extrem langen Missionen deutlich abwechslungsreicher. Zudem fügen sich die Einheiten der Imperialen Armee sehr gut ins Spiel ein und verlangen ganz andere Taktiken im Vergleich zu den bisherigen Rassen. Stören eigentlich nur die teils schwache Wegfindung und die geskriptete KI. Dennoch: Fans greifen zu!

really hope that Relic and THQ make a habit out of releasing Warhammer 40,000 RTS games because they're really good at it. I'm already salivating at the possibility of sticking this fiction in their new Essence engine, which if you haven't seen in their upcoming game Company of Heroes yet, is sweet. Either way, the future seems bright for one of the best licenses around if Relic can continue in the fashion set by Dawn of War and its expansion Winter Assault.

Schon wieder ein Echtzeit-Strategiespiel mit Orks, Menschen, Elfen und Dämonen? Stimmt. Aber im Warhammer 40.000-Universum greifen die verfeindeten Völker nicht zu ollen Hackepetern, der moderne Ork schwört auf Raketen und Flammenwerfer.

Der Mehrspielermodus von Dawn of War war über die meisten Zweifel erhaben. Die Einzelspielerkampagne enttäuschte. Winter Assault bringt nun beides unter einen Hut und setzt voll auf bombastische Warhammer-Atmosphäre.

Winter Assault isn't exactly a perfect expansion pack, but for the many fans that the original game rightfully garnered, that's not important. Aside from offering a decent campaign, the new units and faction give even more depth to Dawn of War's highly competitive multiplayer modes, which should be reason enough for fans to play the expansion. Even those who passed up Dawn of War the first time around might want to sit up and take note, since the expansion's new faction is much more user-friendly to beginners, even if it isn't as distinctive as the other factions. All things considered, Winter Assault is a great expansion pack for a great strategy game.

So stelle ich mir den Winter vor, auch wenn noch Sommer ist. Nicht nur cool, sondern auch verdammt heiß. Die spannenden Kämpfe von Warhammer 40.000: Dawn of War erleben in der Erweiterung Winter Assault einen furiosen Höhepunkt. Gut, die neue Imperiale Garde fordert reichlich und treibt den Schwierigkeitsgrad in ungeahnte Höhen. Dafür rummst es wieder an allen Ecken und Enden - so muss das sein!

Winter Assault is Relic’s latest offering and introduces a new race to the meat grinder in the Imperial Guard and several changes to the award winning game play of the original title. Some of those changes will be well received by the games extensive fan base and some of those changes will not be welcomed. Those hoping to experience more of the same monumental battles that the first title offered but now with new maps to choose from will not be disappointed. Those hoping to find a vastly improved game over the original will not be as lucky.

Winter Assault verlengt het spelplezier van Dawn of War op voorbeeldige wijze en is dan ook een must voor de fans van dit geprezen RTS.

The addition of a new race always has great value although this isn't the first RTS-expansion that has done this (something THQ tends to shout out from rooftops, remember Yuri's Revenge, TAK: The Iron Plaque,...). The Imperial Guard are a lot better than expected. The additions to the existing races clearly have less impact. In the end, the overall setup doesn't differ that much with the original game and although the campaign is a lot better than that in the original, the emphasis is clearly on the skirmish maps and multiplayer. Some things like the Ati-bug are extremely sloppy but there's nothing you can't "fix" by going to the Relic forums. If you already have Dawn of War and had good fun with it, you're obliged to get Winter Assault though. For all the others: it's not too late to surrender to the Spirits of the Dark Gods! You will no doubt also get taken over by the rich Warhammer 40.000 universe!

Zo je al een Warhammer 40K fan was, mag je deze expansie niet links laten liggen. We krijgen een uitgebreide, gevarieerde missie en een berg nieuwe eenheden die het spel nog meer gebalanceerd maken dan het al was. Bovendien is dit het perfecte excuus om het originele spel nog eens vast te nemen en je onder te dompelen in deze grimmige en vooral absurde wereld.

I'm a big fan of the original Dawn of War; to my mind it was by far the best traditional real-time strategy title in some time. Obviously, I was very pumped for this expansion to come out. However, while the new playable faction of the Imperial Guard is a worthy addition to the Dawn of War universe, Winter Assault didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Though the missions in the single-player portion of the game are fairly long and creative, there are only 12 of them. Also, none of the (admittedly minor) issues that I had with the base game were addressed. This all being said, though, there’s no arguing that this is anything but a good expansion to a great game.

The real measure of Winter Assault's success is that you'll willfully put the hours in doing exactly that. Not since Blizzard unleashed Brood Wars on the Starcraft community has a developer put such a well-conceived effort into an expansion pack. Relic has rewarded the patience of its fans with an absolute must have add-on, and for any RTS fan that hasn't already picked up the original game...no more excuses.

Winter Assault est un add-on dans le droite lignée de l'excellent jeu original. Disposant de deux campagnes solos enfin à la hauteur de nos attentes, il comprend en plus une nouvelle race au gameplay très typé défensif et quatre nouvelles unités pour les autres camps. Mais le coeur du jeu reste le multijoueur et celui-ci a bénéficié de quelques améliorations comme un meilleur équilibrage entre les races et de nouvelles cartes. Au final, Warhammer 40000 : Dawn of War est un titre qui, avec son add-on, est plus indispensable que jamais.

The game play all around is tight and the unit AI is good. The races are each unique in style and play and are each well balanced. There are no interface or camera issues, which is the way things should always be. The added content of Winter Assault though is well worth it, both if you have or haven't yet played the original. Picking up both and playing straight through all the campaigns is what I would prescribe for RTS gamers unimpressed by the current offerings from other studios.

Après avoir écumé la galaxie à la tête de vos troupes de Space Marines, vous pensiez pouvoir vous la couler douce. Avouez-le. Non ? D’accord. On reprend. Le doux ronronnement des bolters, les cris délicats des ennemis incinérés par vos lance-flammes, le gracieux vrombissement des moteurs de votre char Rhino… Tout cela, vous y songiez avec nostalgie lorsque le courrier impérial vint frapper à votre porte blindée, au sein de votre croiseur spatial. Vous désespériez de recevoir un jour un nouvel ordre de mission. Un petit mot a été ajouté à la main sur le dos de l’enveloppe : « couvrez-vous bien »…