I seldom give perfect scores, but Dark Crusade deserves one. It's campaign replayability value is incredible (the dialogues between army commanders shine) and there are good times to be had playing this game online with mates. A standalone expansion with 7 playable, pretty balanced races and it should be cheap as dirt right now. If you don't own it, just get it. I'm serious. All-around, it's the best DoW to date.… Expand

Poor story, poor movement, poor game.

The best RTS to come out since Starcraft. Each race is different and VERY unique which makes it interesting to play because race can be chosen by the style in which you play. I heard good things about it, got it, LOVED it.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade; such a long title, accompanied by such a great game. With seven races to play, who all play in a unique way, there's a little something for everyone in this game. Already a great RTS, Dawn of War has solidified its position at the head of the pack by delivering solid game play with massive armies trading savage blows using everything from pistol wielding Commisars to bombardment from outer space. With very little resource micromanagement (you simply take a strategic point or build a power supply building, then solidify it's fortifications with pretty straightforward upgrades) it's a game that is very easy to pick up and play, or to embark on a world-spanning conquest of the six other races that inhabit the world of Kronus. For owners of the original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, this expansion pack is a MUST HAVE, and for anybody else... well this expansion pack is still a MUST HAVE, you won't be bored anytime soon with so much to do.… Expand

I bought Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War + Winter Assault almost three years ago, and it was a pretty cool game back then. My friend and I would play it online and have a good time. However with Relic releasing these expansions I thought I'd put my thoughts down here. I bought Dark Crusade last year. My criticisms about this game are agitated by the fact that Relic keeps releasing more and more races into the online mix, (Nine total with the next expansion), and its become just silly. You cannot take this game seriously anymore, and while it's cartoonistic humour and style used to suit it well. It's become to the point where Relic dirtied the bath water with a bunch of filthy pointless races that don't complement the others at all. Every race has become foreign around the next, and it doesn't play smoothly like it used to when there were only four races. When it was the first game, vehicles like the dreadnought were immensely powerful and exciting to watch as they threw around squads and ripped through them. With every 'balance' patch relic has released, their sole idea was to NERF other units down to balance the gameplay instead of bump the other units up. After almost four years of patching in this fashion, Warhammer's battles are now painfully slow, the units take an incredibly long time to die, not helped by the instant reinforcement feature. I find that the excitement and the fast-paced gameplay is no-more because of Relic's constant balance nerfs. Secondly, the end result of having NINE races into the Warhammer mix is that this game is now IMPOSSIBLE to properly balance. And any attempt by Relic's traditional nerfing will simply cause slower and slower-paced fighting. I am positive that this game's future is dead. My four is given to this game mainly because of the way it's been handled over the years. It's just been terribly poor and the original depth to it has been filled in with poor design. The original pace and character of the series is utterly gone with the arrival of these new expansions. It seems like they just churn out their ideas constantly. And some of these ideas are just disturbing, they have three races revolving around Death, one based on Feminists, another two on technology worship, and the last on religious fanaticism. The Orks main theme is stupidity, seriously, the developers spell everything wrong in the Ork descriptions. ??? In conclusion, this game used to be really something, but Relic's deadening patches and un-inspired expansions have proven to be more like a cancer. There is not a chance in hell they can ever straighten out this gameplay as far as I can see, and the game is just no longer fun. It's just silly.… Expand

I bought Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War + Winter Assault almost three years ago, and it was a pretty cool game back then. My friend and I would play it online and have a good time. However with Relic releasing these expansions I thought I'd put my thoughts down here. I bought Dark Crusade last year. My criticisms about this game are agitated by the fact that Relic keeps releasing more and more races into the online mix, (Nine total with the next expansion), and its become just silly. You cannot take this game seriously anymore, and while it's cartoonistic humour and style used to suit it well. It's become to the point where Relic dirtied the bath water with a bunch of filthy pointless races that don't complement the others at all. Every race has become foreign around the next, and it doesn't play smoothly like it used to when there were only four races. When it was the first game, vehicles like the dreadnought were immensely powerful and exciting to watch as they threw around squads and ripped through them. With every 'balance' patch relic has released, their sole idea was to NERF other units down to balance the gameplay instead of bump the other units up. After almost four years of patching in this fashion, Warhammer's battles are now painfully slow, the units take an incredibly long time to die, not helped by the instant reinforcement feature. I find that the excitement and the fast-paced gameplay is no-more because of Relic's constant balance nerfs. Secondly, the end result of having NINE races into the Warhammer mix is that this game is now IMPOSSIBLE to properly balance. And any attempt by Relic's traditional nerfing will simply cause slower and slower-paced battles. I am positive that this game's future is dead. My four is given to this game mainly because of the way it's been handled over the years. It's just been terribly poor and the original depth to it has been filled in with short-sighted design. The original pace and character of the series is utterly gone with the arrival of these new expansions. It seems like they just churn out their ideas constantly. And some of these ideas are just disturbing, they have three races revolving around Death, one based on Feminists, another two on technology worship, and the last on religious fanaticism. The Orks main theme is stupidity, seriously, the developers spell everything wrong in the Ork descriptions. ??? In conclusion, this game used to be really something, but Relic's deadening patches and un-inspired expansions have proven to be more like a cancer. There is not a chance they can ever straighten out this gameplay as far as I can see, and the game is just no longer fun. It's just silly.… Expand

Grat Game! Very funny and easy to lear. The multy is more difficult but it is fun! Only the video aspect is not perfect, all the other it is!

A fantastic expansion to an already fantastic game. A bargain at twice the price, it's a steal at $29.99. The addition of two complete new races and new units for the existing races is great on it's own, but the new campaign mode is superb! Plenty of variety to be had here, with seven completely different races, plenty of maps to play on, and plenty of customization. There's a lot of game to be had here.… Expand

The best RTS game hands down! Go out and get your copy too!

have to say that this third game is perfect. i love how the necrons seem invicable and the fighting units are unable to capture stratagy points, this is much more a tactical game with plenty to offer.

I wonder the one who said this game is poor. I need reason because I don't see it at all. By the way,this game is awesome.

I just love this game, the addition of the Necron is just plain good.

If you don't like this game, go play Desperate Houswives.

I've never been much of an RTS fan, but this game is starting to win me over. The SP campaign lets me choose my own path, and I really dig the commander upgrades. IDidn't even have to buy the original game to play it. Best 30 dollars I ever spent.

One of the best games out there right now! The tau stronghold is something born from my most pleasent of dreams!

I will say that I really enjoyed the original DOW. This is also a good game, but the difficulty ramps up too quickly. Instead of using intelligent strategies, the AI just spawns more units. As a result the game bogs down from time to time with the computer just pumping out tons of units. From there it turns into a clicking match. In my experience, this seems to be a particular issue with the Chaos faction. Still, the game is very enjoyable.… Expand

This game is great fun with lots of races. although you cant play online with original races without buying the previous games, be happy that you can actually own the game without needing to but the old ones. at least this isnt an expansion pack right?also necron arent rigged just get anything good against heavy infantry. notice that necron dont have any normal infantry at all?

Absolutely amazing game, the combat is intense and the races are so different from each other despite how many races there are (I am using this game as an expansion to the first two). This game is a lot of fun but it can get a little repetative and that's the only reason I didn't give it a ten. If it expanded a bit more into the units and tech trees so that by the end of the battle I hadn't done everything I could it would be better.… Expand

Kind of dissapointed .... in the originall dow a god of darkness escaped but they never continued that storie too bad... oh well dow dark crusade is super cool i hope they piece together some of the stories in the versions . Cheers mates.

A nice expansion to a nice game.. The two additional teams are very unique and all, (as are the other teams) and so are the new maps and units each team aquires. Unfortunately, as with the other DoW games, I have found it to get extremely repitious with time. So, I find myself turning the game away for months at a time, and upon playing it again, find it extremely enjoyable. I only wish it were so enjoyable for extended periods of time.… Expand

Fantastic game. If you like Real Time Strategy games, I have no doubt that you will love this game.

One of the Best RTS since Starcraft, a must have title.

The game is very good as the other WH40k ones. Good graphic, excellent music and sounds, wonderful settings and animations. The two added races (Necron and Tau) are very well designed. The campaign mode is a good RISIKO type territory conquest. Unfortunatly for THQ I do not appreciate the purely commercial initiative with the multiplayer mode: if you want to play with the old races you have to install (buy) "Dawn of War". dark Crusade is a 4.4GB big game, it allows you to play all races in single player, WHY I HAVE TO PAY MORE TO PLAY ONLINE WITH SOMETHING I ALREADY HAVE? I am not pleased, I expect the gamers' community will not be pleased too.… Expand

I love this game! Relic/THQ did an awesome job on the new single player "RISK" style campaign, the graphics are wicked, and it only costs $29.99 for an entirely new game! I can't get enough!

It's hard to see how the subject matter could possibly have been brought to life any better. The new races on offer here offer interesting scope and a great new angle on things while staying true to the Dawn of War formula. The single player has been taken to the next level, the multiplayer is even closer to perfection. My only real gripes are with the fairly uninteresting vehicles and the ease with which Necrons can crush weaker opponents.… Expand

This is an amazing expasnsion pack! So much stuff for so few of my hard earned dollars, and it still works even without the previous games - Genius!

I picked this up based on reading many comments that Company of Heroes borrowed heavily from Dawn of War for the game play. I bought this as well as the gold edition of Dawn of War (which includes the Winter Assault expansion) so that I could, if I wished, play all factions online. Although this is an expansion pack, it does not require you to own the original game. The only limitation, is that all of the factions which are available in the single player campaign and skirmishs are not availble for online play. For that you must own and install the original game and use those CD keys to vaildate in the Dark Crusades expansion. This is an excellent game from an outstanding company. The graphics are very good considering the date of the original, and widescreen resolutions are available natively. Having the DVD in your drive is not required for play, which is something I wish all game makers would consider implementing.… Expand

This game is serious Pwnsaur for sure! I cant believe how much content they added for a expansion. Anyone who cries about needing more look at expansions from the past! Nothing even close to this!

This game is a must for any fan of any RTS... seriously buy it right now... It combines simplisity with complex mechanics to make a game anyone can enjoy but that you may also master... what are you still reading this for?! Buy it right now!

This game is really sweet! The first game was great and was probably the RTS with the most new features the ideas are really good. This is a great expansion pack. I was waiting for some new races and its briliant the way they have made the new necrons since they cant really be killed, witch would make them kind of imba, but they found a great solusion to that, but beware since its quite hard to learn these new races. Expecially the Tau... They are the only reason for im not giving this a 10 beacourse they are funny to play but the really lack firepower since they suck at meele. But everything else about this game is great, so if you have the first one, i deffenetly can recommend this expansion.… Expand

This is an excellent game that is challenging at first but once you get the hang of taking cover and such, giving dark crusade a 9 because of how over powered the Necrons are.

Awesome RTS! I have bought the gold pack wich icludes winter assault/gold and dark cruisade. This is probably the best RTS i have played so far, i especialy like the necron race to play the campain with. The only reason why i did not give a 10 is because in the skirmish mode the easy , notrmal, hard settings are not well balanced. especialy the normal mode is pretty hard already (harder then normal campain mode). Other then that, plain awesome game!… Expand

Excellent game on all accounts. The SP concept is awesome which includes a feature for you to build up your commander with extra gear that gives them abilities and change their appearance to something more FEARSOME. or in comparison with other games, "level-up". and add a new range of dynamics to gameplay, the new features are enough to be split into two separate expansion and the Necrons add a whole new strategy of playing an army. The game feels very well developed, and thoroughly tested before release, not to mention the relatively short duration of it's development after Winter Assault. Honestly, I don't do user ratings like this one, but I really feel this game is very, very well done, and the developers deserve many slaps on the back, probably till they vomit blood, but they deserve it for the excellent work. I hope they keep this level of creativity and quality up for the next release! FOR THE GREATER GOOD!… Expand

I think this expansion pack gave much needed upgrades to each race and gave it more life.

I'm a huge fan of the first two games, this third edition is absolutely horrible. They've taken away the ability to play the factions in unique methods which differ from what the computer does in replay by way of unit restrictions which affect each and every existing faction so severely as to essentially make the game actually different from the first two. Unfortunately, this difference is not an improvement in my personal opinion. The risk-like campaign mode is new and interesting, but after two turns at it you begin to spot glaringly obvious balancing issues. It promises a sequel after completing the campaign, but I've already quit playing this one. There seems to be a movement in the game development industry as of late to restrict options of gamers, this saddens me greatly, this isn't the first good game I've seen destroyed by that mentality. I don't think it will be the last either, the first two are excellent and I highly recommend them, however, this latest edition is a complete waste.… Expand

I am just starting this game but so far it is awesome! I am a casual gamer and was generally a FPS fan until this series converted me. The new turn based strategic level is very nice. It is great to be able to play through the campaign as any one of the seven races. I think if you enjoyed the first game , you'll enjoy this new addition as well. It looks great and plays very well thus far. It's great that it is "stand alone" and the price is quite reasonable for what you are getting ! I recommend it !… Collapse

I didn't play the two games before this (DOW and WA) but I have to say that as a stand alone title this game has captivated my attention more then any other RTS to date (including Relic's new huge success Company of Heroe's). The single player campaign can be played several times before you will lose any interest in it and then there is the multiplayer which is both fast paced and action packed which will keep anyones attention for a long time to come!… Expand

My most played RTS ever! With 7 races, simple controls, easy learning curve and ADDICTIVE online play DC is worth every cent you throw in!

Great RTS. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the genre or a fan of Warhammer 40k, I started with this game having missed the first two installments and it inspired me to go out and purchase them.

Top of the line as far as strategy games go. It works like risk where you attack once a turn, but instead of rolling dice you battle rts style. The game focuses on proper squad management over infrastructure, and you really get rewarded for great tactics instead of memorizing hotkeys. You can spend points on various upgrades like elite units or boosts similar to what you'd find in risk, and while the campaign doesn't really have much story since the other factions can win or lose at any time, its certainly a fresh look at the genre.… Expand

Excellent strategy game for those who are bored with StarCraft. This is the best Dawn of War game in my opinion and exceeds Soulstorm and the Dawn of War II series. The gameplay is unique and refreshing to say the least and the graphics are pretty damn good for a 2006 title I recommend this game to anyone that enjoys the 40k universe or RTS in general.

When I got Dawn of War, I was instantly hooked. I then Proceeded to get Winter Assault. Even better! But failing to find Dark Crusade, I turned to Soul Storm, which is the let down of the series. A year later I get Dark Crusade. From the second I picked it up, I noticed something. This was much better than Soul Storm, an alleged improvement. Nowadays, with Dawn of War already up to the second expansion of Dawn of War 2, I STILL prefer Dark Crusade. It has a terrible balance, however, because most races are better at fighting than others, and some are just weak until WAY down the research chain (I'm looking at you IG, with your strong as paper infantry, and crazy strong tanks). Still, Dark crusade forced you to sometimes lose a province to destroy a stronghold, which has always made me double-check every move I made. In my opinion, this could never be as tedious as Retribution (It's the same map and enemies 7 times, woo hoo?).… Expand

An excellent expansion, and a great standalone game in its own right. Dark Crusade provides a tremendous amount of content at a stellar price. The game gives one the choice of any of seven distinctive, well-balanced factions for use in a campaign on a Risk-style map. No two factions play alike; this, coupled with the fact that each faction's individual campaign is tailored to its back story, makes successive playthroughs of the game feel like new experiences rather than stale repetitions. This gives the game immense replayability. Needless to say, the gameplay is a lot of fun as well, and the campaigns are structured such that the battles fought therein do not feel repetitive.

Fans of Warhammer 40K will love this game. I suggest to anyone that they buy Platinum Edition (the original Dawn of War plus Winter Assault and Dark Crusade) so as to get the entire experience, but if you must choose only one of the series, Dark Crusade is your best bet. 10/10… Expand

Dark Crusade is a rare triumph in PC strategy gaming. The 7 races are rich both in character and in fighting style, each with a substantial variety of different infantry and vehicular units, as well as an epic pantheon of heroes. The story mode is interesting and varied, and can be played through multiple times with different races and outcomes. Probably the most impressive element of this epic game, however, is the shockingly versatile camera, allowing for stunning cinematic battle scenes completely in real-time. The only downsides (and there are few) are the terrible difficulty customization, which changes enemy unit strength instead of their strategy, and the limited multiplayer options for those who don't own the core game. Overall, though, these really don't even put a dent in the overall experience. Buy this game and bring the grim darkness of the far future straight to your PC!… Expand

After playing DoW: Retribution and loving it a friend told me this game was also pretty good, and quite frankly, this game exceeds Retribution, True, last stand is a great and fun game mode, but this game is so much more. While retribution's campaign is lackluster and feels like all you do is build a deathstar, this game rewards ingenuity, and each match feels like multiplayer. Another great addition to campaign is AI's that fight back, something that was so lacking in retribution I was only able to complete a paltry 3 campaigns.
In review: great game, good replay value, still has O.K. graphics despite being 6 years old… Expand

This Expansion is really perfect. Adds 2 races, interesting changes in gameplay, massive campaign with good replay value and new units for old races. This addon is definitely worth a try for every RTS fan. For fans of DoW a must buy.

This game ruined what could have been the best RTS game series ever, and is the single most driving reason why I have never bought another THQ/Relic game at full price when it was first released since that time. Having played the original DOW and Winter Assault, I was a die hard DOW fan and supporter; but the play and deviation from the original first person story line of the first two took so much joy out of the game that I never bothered to finish it.… Expand

This is, by far, one of the most fun RTS games on the PC. The gameplay isn't balanced for competitive play, and the graphics are getting dated, but the great 40k lore and loads of interesting units more than make up for its shortcomings. If you can find a used copy somewhere, or it happens to be on sale on steam, grab this game ASAP.

Benjamin S: Your review, I think, was logical up till the point that you reiterated that nine races was obscene and that the themes taken by the writers for some races were questionable. This made me realize you probably have never rolled a dice nor played the tabletop game of this wonderful game. There are in fact more races than nine in the tabletop form of the game, and the "balance" is made by making each individual really good at something, but lacking in something else. For example, Eldar had tons of specialist troops that were really good at what they do (Dire Avengers absolutely pouring out shots like it was nothing),but were extremely fragile and somewhat expensive as far as points. If there were a universal "balance" of power, then I agree, gameplay would become pretty boring as the races seem to be intertwined. That's why the developers at the former company of THQ added more races with different attributes, which can clearly be seen in the Tau's overall godliness at shooting, the space marines being expensive but good at everything, the Eldar's speed, the Necron's toughness, and the imperial guard and ork's strength in numbers. Your criticism of the themes that the people at THQ had for their races also rings hollow when you dig into some of the tabletop game's lore. Orks are meant to be stupid, they're fungi made into a humanoid form. Necrons and Tau basically worship technology but their lore says why. Necrons made a pact with a god who appears as a metallic figure to immortalize their race as they were facing extinction, but the god turned them into soulless machines to do his bidding to pretty much annihilate anything. The Tau worship technology because they were deprived of it. Think of going to a third world country with an iphone, or even better think of Hernan Cortez being worshipped as a god by the Incas for his appearances, ships, and horses. I'm assuming the death theme has to do with the Chaos faction. That should really be a no brainer, there has to be a villainous character, so why not exemplify it into an entire race who, in the lore, attempted to kill the Imperial Guard's/Space Marine's god? Feminist's? The only feministic race I could think of in Dark Crusade would be Eldar, and yeah that's just because the founders of the table top game just made like that to fit their attributes of sneakiness and deception. So really, all your problems with the dev's as far as themes are honestly unfounded because they took most of the content from the tabletop game. Warhammer 40k deserved a game and got it, to go astray from the game now would just be utter stupidity.… Expand