Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War Dark Crusades
If the Borg from Star Trek were split into a Light side and Dark side, it would probably form the two new races of Dark Crusade. Relic's latest offering expands its Warhammer game to bring the relentless Necron and "Greater Good" Tau. The Necrons are slow, evil and highly defensive. They are also immortal, as their robotic parts have a chance of returning to life even after being defeated. The Tau, on the other hand, are all about shooting things from far away for the "Greater Good". Their units excel at long-range combat, but also pack a punch with their Kroot alien allies shielding them in melee mode.

Gamers will be excited to know that Dark Crusade (DC) is a standalone expansion, and they need not own either the original game or its expansion in order to play. DC allows people to play as any of the seven races in campaign and skirmish mode, but limits multiplayer to the two new races, if players do not own the other two titles. The game eschews a linear level of progression prevalent in other real-time strategy (RTS) titles for a Risk-style world domination of the planet Kronus. Taking turns with the other races, players choose territories to attack or defend.

Each territory confers various bonuses and benefits, such as attacking twice in a turn. Defeating all six other races wins the game. Relic has scored a coup by creating persistent bases. If a previously conquered terriory is under attack, all of the player's previous buildings and defences will still be there, instead of disappearing. Other titles hve tried to build persistence, but have not done as good a job as Relic has done here. Players also take a war leader along in each mission, who grows stronger as the game progresses. Rewards granted as missions pass include war gear, items that eventually turn leaders into one-man killing machines, as well as an honour guard of units to accompany him in battle.

Detailed graphics were never Warhammer's strong point, but despite its plain looks, the action is frantic enough to ensure most players do not notice this shortcoming. Watching a battle take place as men fire from far away, then switch to melee weapons offers a level of realism and graphic violence few other games can match. While DC's artificial intelligence is also not as robust as Relic's previous offerings, Company Of Heroes, it still poses a challenge. First-time players will have to adapt to each race's vastly different styles of play, covering up for some of the weaknesses in the AI. As it is a standalone, the game serves as an excellent entry to the Warhammer series for its price and huge amount of options.