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Dawn Of War I or II your thoughts.
Betaboo
Member Posts: 384
never played either but am bored silly of the current MMO's and need a break. I have been spending more time ranting about the genre than playing lately so it is defitenly time for a break.
I downloaded the DoW2 trial this morning and found it fun and am going to buy the game. My questions is should i buy DoW1 first or is the 2nd installment so much better than the first i will have no need to play it? Is their a huge difference besides the graphics?
And what did you find fun about the series?
And before someone calls me an idiot and says to make my own damn decisions My answer is i really dont want to have to spend the extra 30 bucks if i dont have to.
Comments
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series of DoW games, DoW and it's expansions are more typical RTS fare. DoW 2 is more squad oriented with RPG-ish elements.
either way, both are really good, solid games. They just released an xpac for Dow2 adding in Chaos.
Current Games:
First you have to know that DoW 1 and 2 are totally different games to each other. DoW 1 was such a good game as it was a RTS in the conventional sense. You gather resources and build up your huge armies and duke it out to win whereas DoW2 is a RTS but is a squad based RTS as you know since you have been playing the trial. An expansion for DoW2 has been released recently aswell it will have a bigger player base if your looking for multiplayer combat.
Currently playing : Darkfall
Character name : Aeola Anara
Played: Almost every P2P MMO you can get your hands on, notably:
Daoc, SWG, LOTRO, WAR, AoC + Dozens more
I loved both games. DoW1 won't have much multiplayer anymore though, it was empty a year ago before DoW2 was even out, but if you just want to play the story arc through it's fun. However, it's by no means necessary to play DoW1 before DoW2. They have completely different story arcs and only one or two characters that carry over. In fact it's not until the expansion, DoW2: Chaos Rising (also excellent) that you even hear about the DoW1 main game arc at all.
DoW1 does have a cool "conquest" mode though that's absent in DoW2, where you can battle other computer players in a Risk -type board for control of all the different territories. DoW1 also has a lot more races since the game was out for much longer.
DoW2 has the character upgrades where you can also select wargear, which really sells it for me as the better game. The maps are less about antiquated RTS mechanics and more about just moving your squads through the environments. The only part I objected to really, were some of the goofy boss fights, which the game was simply not well-suited to handle. Overall the game plays and feels a lot more like a very tactical RPG game than a typical RTS, which I found perfect for my tastes. It also had some neat multiplayer options where you can level up a character co-operatively, or have a friend join you in the main story arc, both a lot of fun.
I just love the Warhammer 40k mythos. The universe is incredible and probably my favorite Sci-Fi IP. They did a good job capturing the feel of it and I really enjoyed developing the characters, a feature that's always fun to find outside the RPG genre. I was a bit upset DoW2 didn't have Chaos make an appearance but it was quickly rectified in the expansion Chaos Rising, which also rocks.
The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night.
And you should never even have to post that. Anyone that gives a response like "make your own decisions" is just a child. Obviously it will be your own decision no matter what, and the smartest decision is always an informed one, so simply ignore that behavior. I wouldn't even dignify it with a response frankly.
The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night.
DoW2 more faithfully recreates the tabletop experience of W40k while DoW1 is still strong with it's RTS roots... but then again, it won't really matter unless you've played tabletop. In any case, you may want to jump straight into DoW2 because it's faster paced, action oriented and you may enjoy the RPG-ish elements in SP (equiping gear to your squad, managing stats, etc). And it's MP is going strong, of course.
I'm wondering if when Starcraft 2 comes out if a lot of people will want the base building experience again. I already do and I miss the tech trees of the original DoW I miss playing my Necrons and slowly crawling over the battlefield like a plague.
DoW2 gets old very fast. Its played on the same 6 or so maps and it revolves around moving your squad from the bottom of the map to the top to kill a boss monster... repeat... repeat... repeat ... I hear theres a story or some such but It never revealed it's self to me in the 1990 style talking faces in the mission breifings.
I played about 10 missions and stopped.
I say skip DoW2 and go for Company of heroes... DoW2 is nothing but a reskin of CoH, also if your into multiplayer CoH does not use Games for windows instead it uses Relics own battle.net style system, there are currently 7,000 playing online and loads of cool mods and maps.
So in closing please please dont buy DoW2... also dont buy Supcom 2... but do buy CoH its only about $15 on steam.
This guy doesn't know what he is talking about. DoW2 is great, and the expansion especially provides some of the best RTS co-op action of any game out there. The MP is fun, and last stand mode is good fun too. DoW2 is one of my favorite RTS's and i'm an old school SC player.
I think with the release of Star2 the base building RTS will make a come back, there have been several games released in the last few years that took the focus away from resources such as SupCom,CnC4,CoH,DoW2,BattleForge and so on.
Things always come back around and Star2 is in the right place.
Yes StarCraft2 is exactly the same as StarCraft1 with a few minor tweaks. Only so many games can come out with the exact same formula and few changes. I think StarCraft2 will be the best, and last of it's kind that sells well.
Well we both have opinions and the critics on the whole disagree with me and agree with you but DoW2 was not an RTS in my eyes. It Felt like those missions you would get in CnC and SC1 where your given a few units and you only have those to complete the mission. And the objective was always the same, travel from bottom to top and kill boss to collect some DNA or some such. arggg!
That is because you have defined RTS as the old school formula that every RTS game copied whorishly over and over. That does not define an RTS. An RTS is any strategy game that is in real time. There are a huge array of styles that are out and much more creativity left in the genre. The worn out base building formula is perfected in SC2. It can't go any farther or get any better in my eyes which means evolution of the genre is needed, and is slowly happening.
Maybe you are right, maybe I am stuck in my ways kinda like the old MMO vets who long for UO and EQ1 MMO's. But I like the base building RTS. Thankfully CoH has sustained me for a few years and with SC2 a few months out It's looking good for me.
But back to the OP, my opinion of DoW2 is its trash that gets old fast but I do recommend CoH (company of hereo's), oh and DoW1 also gets Expresso's seal of opproval.
Expresso top 5 RTS (in no perticular order)
Starcraft
Homeworld
CnC tibrian sun
DoW1 erm... CoH... no DoW1.. no
metal fatigue (a little known game that didn't get the recognition is deserved)
Thanks for the info everybody. I already have played COH to death and i bought DoW II and am loving it for now and it is cheap enough that i am also going to buy volume I to keep me occupied. And again thanks for the great info.
Thanks for starting this thread betaboo, it gave me the push I needed to finally get DOW I (+ the first two expansions) from Steam. I left RTS games before this game was released to dabble in MMORPGs.
It's a bloody great game! Thanks again.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
I prefered DOW1. Played the snot out of it, but barely even played 2.
I agree with this entirely. DoW2 feels much cleaner and is constantly being supported and balanced. Bascially to help you decide, if you prefer having to build buildings and pump units and protect/oranize a base, you might want to check out DoW1.
If you like more focus on units and manipulating around strategic points on a map, I would go with DoW2. I have both, but never got into DoW1 like I got into DoW2. Great campaigns for single-player as well and the company really does its best to balance units out (not sure if DoW1 is receiving similar kinds of support).
Well i am almost through the first installment of DoW II after that on to the expansion to it and then i am going to buy the gold pak I and play that.
And i am having a blast
Has the repetitiveness kicked in yet? you know start at the bottom right with a squad.. move to the top left passed the same enemies on the same maps to kill the same boss only this time the boss has slightly different attacks?
Ok I'll leave now.. hey! get your hands off me.. stop man-handling me.. why are you doing this.. oh two of you, call ya''self men?.. you bunch of wussies.. OUCH!.. hey thay hurt.. oh! a penny.. Win!.. SLAM!
dow series is one of few games that keep good level these days. They arent wanna be <insert game> clones made just for profit.
i really liked the multiplayer part of the first dawn of war. the single player campaign i thought was limited and weak compared to say starcraft or warcraft 3. but multiplayer was very good and obviously what the developer focused on. i suppose balance was an issue with that many races but i mostly played with friends rather than on the ladder so i didn't feel this issue.
dawn of war 2 i didn't like as much. the single player was better in many ways but i didn't like the lack of base building. some like the lack of base building so it's a matter of taste i guess.
If you enjoy base-building and a more traditional RTS similar to, say, Age of Empires, play the first DoW.
If you're interested in a more engaging storyline and an RTS/RPG hybrid that focuses on strategy in combat rather than strategy in micromanaging, play DoW2.
Of course, you could get both if you really wanted to.