One of the greatest RTS titles of all time just got better. With the release of Dark Crusade, The Dawn of War series has been changed forever.

Veterens to the Dawn of War series will find that Dark Crusade has a lot to offer by way of balancing, new maps, and great new unit addtions. For the new commer to the series, they will find fantastic graphics and great gameplay with the unprecedented 7 playable races.

The 2 new races in the game really increase the value of the title. The Necrons, Regenerative metal warriors. Seeking to destroy all souls in the universe. The necrons are a powerful and ancient race. I reccomend new players to the series start with the necrons as they are unique in that they require only power to operate. Each of the other races require requisition as well as power. The Necrons start weak, but quickly become very powerful as more of your HQ systems are brought online. After the Necrons are completely upgraded, your HQ becomes a mobile wrecking crew in the form of a giant Monolith. The firepower and range of the monolith are high. Used in combinations with your ground units, the Necrons are hard to stop.

The other new Race are the TAU. The TAU are impressive with their very advanced technology and ranged weapons. The only downfall is for all their ranged prowess, the TAU have very littel to offer for melee combat. This is offset somewhat by the TAU'S Kroot allies, but is still no match for most other races in melee fighting. The TAU are very good at ranged attack. Utilizing battlesuits and hovertanks, the overall firepower of a TAU squad is not to be overlooked. Players playing against a TAU opponent will find a tough contest indeed.

The all new single player, turn style campaign was a great idea. Linear campaigns really limit replayability, but with the new single player campaign, the player can use any of the 7 races from start to finish in what looks almost like a RISK environment. Each time a player takes control of a territory, the buildings and equipment that were constructed during the battle are persistent. This helps out a lot when defending your territory as with all your building constructed, you can start the defensive action immediately. The single player campaign is narrated as if being in a future history lesson for whatever faction the player controls. This has been a great surprise for me and makes the gameplay that much more enjoyable. During your conquests on the planet your Commander will earn Wargear. This differs greatly from faction to faction and includes defensive, offensive, and regeneratvie upgrades for your commander and your units.

The multiplayer maps are rather ordinary, which is probably my only dissapointment with the multiplayer aspect of this game. New players to the series will have to purchase the previous titles to use the other races in multiplayer mode. I thought that to be a bit misleading after being advertised as a stand alone game.

The graphics are exceptional. The only complait I could find was I would have like to see a more destructable environment. Craters in the groud after a tank strike is great, but I'm looking for a bit more.

Overall this is a great title that should not be missed by anyone. Whether you are new to the series, or are a seasoned veteran, this title will find a way to make you keep playing over and over again.