Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault (2005)
Winter Assault is Relic's first expansion pack to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, featuring new units for the original four races, and introduces a new race: the Imperial Guard.
First released
Sep 21, 2005
Franchises
Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Developed by
Relic Entertainment
Published by
Game Factory Interactive Ltd., THQ
Platforms
PC
Genres
Real-Time Strategy
Themes
Sci-Fi
Rating
PEGI: 16+
Releases
- PC - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Gold Edition (Steam) United Kingdom
- PC - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Anthology United Kingdom
Community reviews
*Warning: spoilers* First of the many great expansions for Dawn of War
Warhammer 40, 000 Dawn of War: Winter Assault is the first masterpiece expansion of the series.
In this game you can play a “good” and “bad” campaign in which you either play as the newly introduced Imperial Guard, or the vile forces of Chaos and the Ork horde.
In the good campaign, the Imperial Guards are searching for a “Titan war machine” that is taken by the heretics of Chaos somewhere on a cold, freezing planet.
Meanwhile, the Eldar are also present and try to avoid the awakening of one of the most dangerous foes of the universe, the Necrons. They are, of course, hindered and mistrusted by the patriotic Imperial Guard and the Space Marines, like usual.
In the bad campaign, you defend the Titan war machine from the Imperial Guard with the Chaos Space Marines, and with the Orks, fulfill your own agenda (which mostly consists out of shoot and smash stuff).
You play as the Imperial Guard this time, the main fighting force of the Imperium of Man. The Imperial guard is known for its low endurance, cowardliness and is overall hard to control and master.
This innovative approach of playing is really challenging and fun. You use your commissars to keep your soldiers in line, need to upgrade your tech drastically and need to bring in you elite units like the Kasrkin and the Ogryns, as fast as possible.
I really like the harsh culture, discipline, and emotion of the Imperial Guard, they are really well implemented. Soldiers whimper and cry when they are killed, the cut scenes and lore show commissars executing their own soldiers for being cowards and the zero-tolerance policy is just amazingly done. It really gives the feeling of a real, present-day army, in which not everyone is the fearless Space Marine that does not fear death. It also shows the struggle with keeping the morale high and the cause to fight for.
The Imperial Guard can become really, really powerful when the right upgrades, leader attachments and combinations are made. A single squad of Guardsmen without any leader feels like cannon fodder, and in most cases, they are. The first time attacking an Orc Nob Squad with a single squad of Guardsmen got me thinking: “These poor souls don’t stand a chance”. But combine them with some cold-blooded commissars and back them up by some Sentinels and Kasrkin and they will become invincible. You really play in numbers, rather then strength.
The multiplayer is also greatly improved in Winter Assault and is way more balanced than the first Dawn of War game. There are also new units for the Eldar, the Orks and the Chaos Empire. One for each faction.
The sound and graphics did not change much from the first game, although the Imperial Guard units come with their own models and new animations. I liked the laser attacks from the Karskins and Sentinels, and the hail fire from the Ogryns. The icy and snowy planet environment is also really well done and gives you the feeling of fighting in Russia during WWII.
The fresh style of playing, the careful strategic use of your units and resources made this game absolutely amazing.
Warhammer 40, 000: Winter Assault is an amazing expansion of the main game and a real classic to this day.
Definitely worth your time.
In this game you can play a “good” and “bad” campaign in which you either play as the newly introduced Imperial Guard, or the vile forces of Chaos and the Ork horde.
In the good campaign, the Imperial Guards are searching for a “Titan war machine” that is taken by the heretics of Chaos somewhere on a cold, freezing planet.
Meanwhile, the Eldar are also present and try to avoid the awakening of one of the most dangerous foes of the universe, the Necrons. They are, of course, hindered and mistrusted by the patriotic Imperial Guard and the Space Marines, like usual.
In the bad campaign, you defend the Titan war machine from the Imperial Guard with the Chaos Space Marines, and with the Orks, fulfill your own agenda (which mostly consists out of shoot and smash stuff).
You play as the Imperial Guard this time, the main fighting force of the Imperium of Man. The Imperial guard is known for its low endurance, cowardliness and is overall hard to control and master.
This innovative approach of playing is really challenging and fun. You use your commissars to keep your soldiers in line, need to upgrade your tech drastically and need to bring in you elite units like the Kasrkin and the Ogryns, as fast as possible.
I really like the harsh culture, discipline, and emotion of the Imperial Guard, they are really well implemented. Soldiers whimper and cry when they are killed, the cut scenes and lore show commissars executing their own soldiers for being cowards and the zero-tolerance policy is just amazingly done. It really gives the feeling of a real, present-day army, in which not everyone is the fearless Space Marine that does not fear death. It also shows the struggle with keeping the morale high and the cause to fight for.
The Imperial Guard can become really, really powerful when the right upgrades, leader attachments and combinations are made. A single squad of Guardsmen without any leader feels like cannon fodder, and in most cases, they are. The first time attacking an Orc Nob Squad with a single squad of Guardsmen got me thinking: “These poor souls don’t stand a chance”. But combine them with some cold-blooded commissars and back them up by some Sentinels and Kasrkin and they will become invincible. You really play in numbers, rather then strength.
The multiplayer is also greatly improved in Winter Assault and is way more balanced than the first Dawn of War game. There are also new units for the Eldar, the Orks and the Chaos Empire. One for each faction.
The sound and graphics did not change much from the first game, although the Imperial Guard units come with their own models and new animations. I liked the laser attacks from the Karskins and Sentinels, and the hail fire from the Ogryns. The icy and snowy planet environment is also really well done and gives you the feeling of fighting in Russia during WWII.
The fresh style of playing, the careful strategic use of your units and resources made this game absolutely amazing.
Warhammer 40, 000: Winter Assault is an amazing expansion of the main game and a real classic to this day.
Definitely worth your time.