DoW II multiplayer beta impressions.

When at looking at videos of multiplayer, and hearing that there is building in multiplayer, one would logically think that DoW II's multiplayer would play somewhat similar to DoW's. Well, it doesn't. Not even close. In fact, this game completely breaks the traditional idea of RTS and throws it a curve ball.

Gone is the entire notion of base building. There's still tech-trees, to an extent, but they are highly streamlined. There's still resource gathering, but it works in a very different dynamic. There is still "building" in DoW II, but the only building you'll ever do is creating generators around power nodes and having your hero deploy turrets. Even then, you can only deploy turrets with certain commanders.

Basically, the game works like this: You have one base, and only one base. You cannot move this base nor can you build another. There are no builder units for you to use. There are, however, still resource points you need to capture. There are power nodes, which give you power, and requisition nodes, which give you requisition. Captured power nodes can build generators (at the cost of requisition) which will drastically increase the amount of energy created. You cannot build anything on requisition nodes. This makes requisition the harder resource to maintain and the real focal point of the game. Combat will constantly erupt on the battlefield around requisition rather than energy. When a unit from a squad dies, they must either be near a base or be near a vehicle that can allow them to reinforce. It's an odd system at first, but it increases the strategy of the battles a lot more since you will probably have to retreat units occasionally to reinforce, giving up ground, or subject your reinforcement vehicle to potential damage and loss.

One of the more interesting dynamics of the game is that your units level up. This grants you higher health and, I presume, other bonuses. That is why the notion of retreating, using cover, and properly reinforcing your units is so important. Without it, you will have to constantly spend exorbitant amounts of requisition on units, which simply isn't feasible unless you control most of the req nodes on the map. I haven't really played with the other races, but the Space Marine units are pretty expensive. (though, they do pack one hell of a punch) This means that keeping those units alive and letting them level up is the key winning strategy. It's an interesting dynamic and is so drastically different from how old-school RTSes (like Warcraft) worked. The idea of building up an army and sending wave after wave to the slaughter, whittling down your enemy, just isn't reasonable in DoW II. Instead, combat is touch-and-go with a series of skirmishes erupting out on the field. You can have big stand-down battles, but you will be left very vulnerable.

Initially, DoW II reminds me of a mash-up of Warhammer: Mark of Chaos and Relic's previous title, Company of Heroes. The former was a massive let-down and the later a wonderful title that breathed fresh air into the RTS genre. I don't quite yet know if I can say that I like DoW II or don't like it. The one thing I will say about DoW II: I am greatly intrigued and look forward to trying some more multiplayer. It's not exactly an endorsement, but the gameplay is good enough to make me want to try it more. At first I thought the gameplay was slow, too simplistic, and just underwhelming. I'm now realizing that it is much more complex than it seems and that even 1v1 games can get to be pretty insanely hectic.

"At last, back to war."