Computer strategy game

Strategy Game of the Year (Real-Time): Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

2004 was a banner year for real-time strategy games. While each of our nominated titles was not necessarily created equal, each did make its own mark on a genre that has been largely stagnant since WarCraft III’s 2002 release. For us, one RTS game stood head and shoulders above all the others in this year’s crop: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

In our Holiday 2004 issue, reviewer Tom Chick called Dawn of War “a shot of pure-grade real-time strategy adrenaline straight into the veins—an absolutely dizzying rush.” We can’t possibly think of a better way to describe Relic’s latest RTS masterpiece. Dawn of War excels in its category—not necessarily in terms of innovation, but rather due to the razor-sharp level of refinement it exhibits. Relic has managed to capture nearly every single aspect of the RTS experience perfectly, while expertly neutralizing many of the genre’s traditional hurdles.

What’s more, every piece of the game feels like an integral part of a tight and cohesive whole. Whereas most RTS titles force you to split your time between resource management and combat, these components are effectively one and the same in Dawn of War. The fighting is fast, furious, and constant, with four of the most fundamentally diverse factions in any strategy game. Dawn of War also demonstrates an impressive level of graphical detail, even going so far as to let you “paint” your army—a clever nod to Warhammer’s tabletop gaming roots. It all adds up to an extraordinarily well-designed piece of work—making it not only our 2004 Real-Time Strategy Game of the Year, but also one of the best strategy games ever made.

Nominees

Rome: Total War

Kohan II: Kings of War

Armies of Exigo

PUBLISHER: THQ DEVELOPER: RELIC