When I first played Dawn Of War (the first one), I was drawn into its story. The story about war, mystery and betrayal really got me wrapped up and pushing forward to see how it unfolds.

Although the Space Marine's story is short (about 11 missions), it was totally satisfying. The characters that are involved in the story also participate in the battles. This makes the game even more interesting. What's even better is that each character really stands out with his/her own personality. The voice of each of them is very well done. The personalities were so well done that I even cared for the bad guys. This shows that great character development is also possible in RTS games.

So, the great story and the interesting characters make this RTS game really enjoyable from the beginning to the end. If any of you want to try an RTS with personality, this is the game.

I CAN NOT say the same for the successor of this game, which is DOW: Dark Crusade. Dark Crusade (DC) has more factions, more units and an entire planet that you must conquer (consists of a bunch of regions that are shown in a map), BUT NO story. There is some background that a narrator tells you, some in-game text about each region and some cutscenes when you conquer an opposing faction's headquarter, but nothing more. An annoying element that surprised me was that the Space Marine Commander sounded like an office manager, not comparable to the great Cap. Gabriel Angelos.

Maybe it's just me, but I think I got too used to linear RTS games where there is a story, that I can't seem to enjoy DC. What's probably even more disappointing is that the next DOW game, DOW: Soulstorm might go down the same path as DC. More factions, more units and now 4 planets + 3 moons. But I DOUBT there will be a story that develops during the game.

This LOSS of story in the DOW series is regrettable and will probably steer me away from buying Soulstorm. But tell you what, I'm going to re-install the first DOW and play it again (for the 5th time) just to experience the story and hear the characters engage in conflict that will seal their destiny for survival or damnation.

Chaos does not teach, it misleads and betrays.

Cap. Gabriel Angelos (DOW)