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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

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9.1 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 34 critic reviews
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Based on 73 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Relic

Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy

Players: 8

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: October 9, 2006

Summary

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade is set in Games Workshop's world of Warhammer 40,000 - a dark, futuristic, fantasy universe where armies of technologically advanced warriors, fighting machines and hordes of implacable aliens wage constant war - and is traveled by millions worldwide. As a hybrid expansion, the game offers a complete standalone experience, allowing gamers to play as all seven races, including the all-new, mysterious Tau and the chilling Necron. Fans who own the entire Dawn of War series can look forward to new units across each of the five original races, expansive bonus content and the ability to play as any of the seven races in multiplayer. [THQ]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

My Gamer

Even though this reviewer has played every title in the Dawn of War catalog, Dark Crusade still manages the trick of pulling me back into its world of epic conflict and frenetic combat... with a vengeance.

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Worth Playing

There's so much more to do, and it sounds, looks, and plays so well (even better than before), I may never need another RTS. Relic, keep the expansions coming.

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PALGN

Dawn of War was, and still is, a superb real-time strategy experience, and Dark Crusade only adds to what is probably one of the best sci-fi RTS series to date.

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GamingTrend

Dark Crusade provides a very balanced game to the world. Relic has a firm hand on what they want a Warhammer 40K themed RTS to be, and they have succeeded.

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Computer Games Magazine

Dark Crusade is another real-time feather in Relic's cap, even without the Tyranids. [Jan. 2007, p.56]

Games Radar (in-house)

An enormous amount of top-drawer content for $29.99, and newcomers may rightly mistake it for a full blown sequel. Highly recommended.

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Yahoo! Games

By adding more stuff for you to admire and kill, and more places and ways to do it, Dark Crusade gives the already lively Warhammer RTS universe even more life, personality, blood, and meat. It's a gory, giddy delight, with more depth and gameplay than ever.

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GamePro

New races and units aside, the unexpectedly impressive campaign mode is perhaps the best surprise put forward by Relic. Distancing themselves from the linear structure of the previous campaigns, Relic has instead outdone itself once again, putting together a turn-based strategic level campaign that brings to mind the dynamic feel of Rise of Legends.

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GameSpy

The new races and game balance changes have revitalized the multiplayer game, and the new campaign gives plenty of gameplay for single-player fans to sink their teeth into.

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GameDaily

A fast-paced game that will keep you glued to your screen as you purge the planet of alien invaders.

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Next Level Gaming

The difficulty settings are well balanced to allow both the novice and veteran to get a good challenge every time they play.

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Computer Games Online RO

The unit AI is a mess, especially that of the vehicles. If they’re attacked by long range artillery for instance, they’ll usually just stay were they are, not moving an inch to get out of firing range.

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Games Master UK

The pinnacle of sci-fi strategy gaming and better than its parent game. [Christmas 2006, p.98]

AtomicGamer

Dark Crusade, in the end, makes a worthy addition to the Dawn of War franchise.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

Widely available for about fifteen quid, Dark Crusade is a ridiculously attractive prospect for RTS gamers.

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GameZone

Dark Crusade is a great entry point into the Dawn of War series for newcomers. It has an incredibly robust single-player experience and you also get a good taste of the online play.

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PC Zone UK

The maps are still a bit bland. But by god, holy war's never been so much fun. [Christmas 2006, p.80]

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GameSpot

This terrific update to one of the best sci-fi real-time strategy games in years packs in a great strategic campaign and a grand total of seven different interesting, powerful armies.

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Game Informer

Dark Crusade can be enjoyed by new and experienced players alike, regardless of whether you own the earlier installments – even if the hefty challenge makes it more appropriate for veterans.

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IGN

The campaign mode is absolutely interesting and fits wonderfully within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It's a great beginning to something that we're sure will be bigger and better in the future and provides a ton of gameplay hours and exciting moments.

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Gaming Nexus

A solid entry into the fast-paced, gritty and darkly-humorous Dawn of War series.

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GamerNode

Hands down, Dark Crusade is a hell of an expansion. It adds even more longevity to the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War franchise, and really opens up the creativity behind all 7 factions.

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Pelit (Finland)

Two new ok races and a new ok-ish campaign. As with BfME’s War of the Rings, War of Kronus feels like a series of random battles rather than actual war. WH40K is still one of the few excellent RTS’s. [Dec 2006]

PC Format

An ace expansion to an already ace RTS. Essential for fans. [Christmas 2006, p.102]

Game Over Online

If you only touched the campaigns in DoW and Winter Assault, you may not find much to latch onto here. The open structure of the Dark Crusade campaign is not far removed from multiplayer or Skrimishes. Naturally, people who’ve been playing those modes constantly should be ecstatic with the new material.

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1UP

An outstanding RTS in its own right, and Relic is currently making the best RTS games in the business. For those already addicted to Dawn of War, this a must-have.

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GamingExcellence

The new single player experience is a big change, but the lack of a good story might irk some people who’d like to see more of the world fleshed out beyond battle after battle. It’s the same tried and true Dawn of War game, but with enough new content to have a good time with.

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Game Revolution

The sheer amount of content alone in Dawn of War: Dark Crusade is worthy of respect. This is the kind of rampant generosity that we love, and it’s worth going to war with robot zombies over.

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AceGamez

Dark Crusade isn't just another collection of random missions and some new units; it's an expansion so crammed with new stuff that it's almost an entirely a new game -and not something that Dawn of War fans will want to be without.

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G4 TV

There's more than enough meat to the single-player component in Dark Crusade to justify a purchase.

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PC Gamer UK

Repetitive, but well worth repeating. [Dec 2006, p.78]

Total Video Games

With a change in design, Dark Crusade captures the emphasis on strategy and combat that the Dawn of War series provides. Admittedly it's beginning to look a little rough around the edges, which isn't helped by the awkward path finding and dated visuals; but it is easily the most expansive, balanced and entertaining offering in the series to date.

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PC Gamer

I would have zero reserverations recommending Dark Crusasde if it wasn't so unbalanced in favor of the Necrons. [Holiday 2006, p.76]

Eurogamer

It's only masquerading as its own game - really, coming straight to this without having played its predecessors will be frustrating and bewildering, and the inability to play as Space Marines, Orks et al online a real slap in the face.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 73 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Arshad S gave it a10:
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!

bootsy gave it a9:
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!

John V gave it a10:
Fantastic game. If you like Real Time Strategy games, I have no doubt that you will love this game.

Paolo D C gave it a9:
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!

Joel S gave it an8:
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.

Benjamin S gave it a4:
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.

Richard gave it a4:
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.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

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