Such heretics in this thread, xeno scum!
Seriously though, I'm a sucker for Warhammer 40K material (not just games, but also for table tob, I'm just starting to get some unpainted Craftworld Eldar models recently) and I've played most of the games released for that universe so far, but I started playing the WH40K games and learned its universe thanks to the original game. Then I got to know more about the whole scheme of things of its grand universe later on, and reading the Horus Heresy was a fun kick-start too, I'll never forget it. With that said, my favorite game of the franchise is the original Dawn of War. And I really don't mind the expansion packs, I like them too, especially Dark Crusade, but I also like Soulstorm. Also, I needed Soulstorm specifically anyway since I'm using a third-party mod giving better A.I for skirmishes, namely Dawn of Skirmish (for which I had been a tester, as a side note). Then came DoW 2, and at first I refused to buy it, mostly (but not only) due to the lack of base-building, but also due to the scale of the game and the feel it imposes. Playing with small squads in my book just wouldn't cut it and be completely unfitting the standard from the original (bigger armies, smaller units size).
And later on during a sale I bought it, played the campaign and, to be honest, I thought it was enjoyable, but no, it certainly wasn't as good as the original's. Not to mention that the voice acting quality wasn't very good either in DoW II's campaign (generally speaking). But, the smaller squad sizes, and the lack of base building wasn't a problem for the campaign, after all, it really wasn't when I thought it would be, so I was pleasantly surprised by the result of the new game-play mechanics. Where it fails for me, however, is for the skirmishes. I'm just used to the big battles that I still wage in DoW with the DoS mod (Dawn of Skirmish) and I cannot for the life of me "get into" the feel and tactics required to play with the DoW II's mechanisms. So, when it comes to DoW II then I simply stick with The Last Stand, rare skirmishes against the A.I., and from time to time some extra action in the campaigns with increased difficulty is welcome. And sure, all of that applies to both expansions as well which of course I also own.
Really, knowing myself well enough, I could say anything I want due to uncertainty about future DoW games, but I'll end up buying Space Marines this October. And if Relic indeed develops Dawn of War 3 and they still end up with the same small squad sizes and no base building recipe then I'll buy it anyway. But, if they do not only make DoW 3 but on top of that (awesome news, if true, for me anyway) also come back to the original "roots" and ends up being comparable to DoW 1 (or even better) then I will be a very, very happy man. But there's one thing, I can't exactly say that I "miss" DoW 1 anyhow, since I play it regularly anyway, when I'm tired of the few skirmishes I do play in DoW 2 then of course nothing stops me from launching Soulstorm and enjoy skirmishes that often end up lasting up to two or three hours which I also often have to save and resume another time since they're so epic.
I say, long live to Dawn of War 1 and its expansions, and welcome to a DoW 3, if true.
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