Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm
Developer | Iron Lore Entertainment, Relic Entertainment |
Publisher | THQ |
Series | Dawn of War |
Released | 2008 |
Genre | Real-time strategy |
Plattform | PC |
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm is the third expansion of the RTS Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and was launched in 2008. Whereas the campaign of Dark Crusade was conquering a single planet, Soulstorm's campaign is the conquest of several planets and moons, basically a single star system, Kaurava. While there were four planets and three moons to capture, the total number of sectors to actually take was not much greater than that of Dark Crusade, where a sector took up about the size of a country, in Soulstorm they're about the same size as continents. Soulstorm also introduced the Sisters of Battle and Dark Eldar as playable factions.
Storyline
The four planets of the Kaurava system are colonized Imperial worlds. A warp storm appears near Kaurava IV, drawing the forces of Chaos to the worlds ripe for slaughter. On Kaurava III, Necrons begin to awaken, drawing their ancient enemies to them, the Eldar. The 252nd Conservator Regiment, an Imperial Guard regiment assigned to defend the system, is hard-pressed by the arrival of these enemies, as well as a Dark Eldar incursion overseen by Archon Tahril.
Along with these armies come the Blood Ravens Space Marines, pursuing the lost knowledge of their chapter. The Sacred Rose Sisters of Battle arrive as well, to cleanse the system of heresy and xenos. The Ork Warlord Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, arrives in the Kaurava system, adding the local Orks of Kaurava II to his Waaagh! and determined to kill for the sake of killing. On one of Kaurava II's moons, Orridune, a Tau force is preparing a base to support their attempted conquest of the system.
Notable Characters
Commanders
- Brother-Captain Indrick Boreale, the commander of five Blood Ravens companies sent to Kaurava.
- Firaeveus Carron, Chaos Lord of the Alpha Legion forces.
- Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, the infamous Ork warboss.
- Farseer Caerys, commanding the Ulthwé forces.
- General Vance Stubbs, commander of the 252nd Conservator Regiment.
- Shas'O Or'es'Ka, commander of the Tau forces.
- Necron Lord of All Kaurava, leader of the Necron army on Kaurava.
- Canoness Selena Agna of the Order of the Sacred Rose and commander of the Sisters of Battle.
- Archon Tahril of the Kabal of the Black Heart, commander of the Dark Eldar forces.
Other Notable Characters
- Ethereal Aun'Ro'Yr, the Ethereal accompanying Or'es'Ka.
- Asdrubael Vect, the Supreme Lord of the Kabal of the Black Heart. Note that he is not the actual commander of the Dark Eldar forces, and is only present on his Dais of Destruction.
Air Units
There was also the addition of air units. These units did not actually fly, but hovered a certain distance off the ground, granting them the ability to pass over impassable terrain and immunity from melee attacks. Air units serve a variety of purposes - some are designed for anti-infantry roles, while others are configured to take out vehicles or enemy aircraft.
The air units added are:
- Space Marines: Land Speeder Tempest
- Imperial Guard: Marauder Bomber
- Orks: Fighta-Bommer
- Eldar: Nightwing
- Chaos: Hell Talon
- Tau Empire: Barracuda
- Necron: Scarab
- Dark Eldar: Raven
- Sisters of Battle: Lightning
Note: The Necrons did not receive a new air unit like the other races; instead they are now able to summon a manifestation of one of the C'tan gods, the Deceiver, and the Attack Scarabs were converted into a melee anti-air unit.
Reception
Many players are unhappy with the latest expansion due to a large number of bugs and general lack of polish, something which is especially evident in the campaign. In particular, a game-breaking resource exploit existed for the Sisters of Battle, and the promised hotfix to address this and other issues was released on the 21st of October 2008.
External links
- Official Dawn of War website (Accessed 2010.03.18)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm at THQ (Accessed 2010.03.18)