Bottom Line: DoW3 is a game that tries to strive for a middle ground of its two often polarizing sister games but ultimately doesn't take any risks, going back to basics in a way that is ultimately uninteresting and unsatisfying. The game isn't bad but isn't anything to get excited about at the same time.

Dawn of War 3 greatest crime might be that it is different. And that's kind of the greatest sin it has. In ways it’s a step backwards from its predecessors in other ways it is a move forward from those predecessors. The idea for the designs is pretty clear; create a rapid fire back and forth for MP gaming. Is it worth getting? Eh... Maybe in a month or two?

The Good;
+ It is kind of a more faithful recreation of Tabletop in some ways.
+ Elites feel like the BAMF they are supposed to be in that all important canon.
+ Simple to learn, hard to master style of playing leads to some intense moments.
+ Armies are actually different enough from each other that they don't feel like re-skins of each other.
+ Army Painter is the best we have ever gotten, and while missing a lot things that would be nice, like changing Insignias, and color. Still allows you to create fun little armies.
+ Do you like Warhammer 40000 novels? Because the plot is actually pretty cool one in comparison to others.
+ Power Core is an interesting Idea.

The Bad:
- Such Content. Much lacking. Wow.
- TWO game mode.
- Games will blur together.
- Campaign is built to teach you how to MP, complete with rewards for playing it.
- Only Three races.
- No Camera rotation or tilt

The Weird:
= Its likely other armies will get added to the game as DLC.
= Unknown if the game will actually be worth the money of investment, depending on how the heat dies down and if the game picks up enough to warrant future development.
= Modding is "available" and underwelming.

The hot button issues:

THE CARTOON LOOK!
The art direction for Units is directly taken from the Tabletop Minis. YMMV but considering I was a fan of the war game this works for me. It can look a little cartoon, but then again depending on your feelings of Grim Dark it works or doesn't. DoW looks like it came out of that animation studio that did Spawn, DOW2 ditto, so not sure what the problem is. Some of the art is weird but again looks like it took cue from actual early art of the Franchise.

NO COVER, NO SUPPRESSION and NO MORAL!
I think the intent for this can be seen. It leads the game to playing more tactically fluid and moving units around in careful plans or being really good with your hot keys. It's not necessarily a bad thing it does mean you can't lock down a position with a unit and rain death down on them or hold an area quite in the same way. No Turtling, making playing the Imperial Fists pointless. There are ways to lock down areas of the map with units through heavy cover points. There is a stealth field that in theory could take advantage for sudden strike. However, it really doesn't help much. The game does feel like its missing something when you can't dig in to a point with a few units while you build up for the next big push.

Unpopular opinion time? The moral system of CoH and DoW1 was more clunky and a waste of time for everyone than an actually tactic changing mechanics, at least in my games. Some mods for the earlier games have a feature to force a retreat from the units who break but even then... The lack of Suppression does hurt the game and does limit some units’ abilities to be truly effective, it can lead to interesting moments but ultimately vast massive mobile armies crashing into each other for fun and profit is the name of the game.

Which is ultimately kind of old school but not in a way that is actually enjoyable after games like Company of Heroes and the First Dawn of War.

IT’S MOBA LIKE!
Yea, thing it is, it’s not a MOBA but it is defiantly MOBA LIKE. The one game mode is attack the special object which has two check points all the maps are built like lane gates to these objectives. There is no real ability to build up a defense that can defend these point because the game is built on being mobile and attacking your targets. Is this a game killer? Yes and No, firstly that Mobile armies build around Rock-paper-scissors means you can quickly build an army to counter an invading force and then smash them up with your "Heroes" for the most part it creates a back and forth that either results in some stale games or quick games depending on your match up.

NO SYNC KILLS!
They removed them in DoW2 – Retribution, and out of skirmish since Dark Crusade, so whining about it now seems a little too little too late. I can see why this kills the momentum and can turn some units into just meat shields to buy time for something else to just kill them outright. Honestly this does make the game feel less organic and kills some of the excitement.

THE LORE, THE CANON!

Shut the ♥♥♥♥ up.

CS Goto is Canon. Matt Ward is Canon, Rogue Trader First edition is Canon. The Space Marine Movie is Canon. The Fantasy Flight RPG line is canon. The Angry Marines are Canon. It is all canon, and nothing is canon. Welcome to the Girm, Dark future of the 41st Millennium, where canon doesn't matter and the Lore is made up anyway. I honestly hate this argument more than anything else because it’s like what canon are you talking about as the great set in stone CANON changes every edition.

Final Thoughts:
The game is not what I wanted from DoW and after giving it a shot, I went back played the first two and came to realize while DOW3 is a decent game, it’s not a game I really would recommend to my friends and gaming group. It isn't the crazy massive war of insanity that DoW1 brought to the table. It does not have that cool style and ease of play that I love about DoW2. It's not the tactical land mine that were the CoH. It's kind of its own thing. Which isn't bad just didn't really wow me, I have several games like that in my game list from the RTS genre that I haven't touch in years. And while it was fun to return to those roots in DoW3, all it did was remind me that "You can't go home again." Which is more than about a place it’s about the knowledge of different things, sometimes better. Sometimes worst but ultimately it just isn't the same after you had that different things. Especially after you realize you like the different thing better. The game is trying to go home and we are far too old for that sort of thing these days.

Bottom Line: DoW3 is a game that tries to strive for a middle ground of its two often polarizing sister games but ultimately doesn't take any risks, going back to basics in a way that is ultimately uninteresting and unsatisfying. The game isn't bad but isn't anything to get excited about at the same time. Dawn of War 3 greatest crime might be that it is different. And that's kind of the greatest sin it has. In ways it’s a step backwards from its predecessors in other ways it is a move forward from those predecessors. The idea for the designs is pretty clear; create a rapid fire back and forth for MP gaming. Is it worth getting? Eh... Maybe in a month or two? The Good; + It is kind of a more faithful recreation of Tabletop in some ways. + Elites feel like the BAMF they are supposed to be in that all important canon. + Simple to learn, hard to master style of playing leads to some intense moments. + Armies are actually different enough from each other that they don't feel like re-skins of each other. + Army Painter is the best we have ever gotten, and while missing a lot things that would be nice, like changing Insignias, and color. Still allows you to create fun little armies. + Do you like Warhammer 40000 novels? Because the plot is actually pretty cool one in comparison to others. + Power Core is an interesting Idea. The Bad: - Such Content. Much lacking. Wow. - TWO game mode. - Games will blur together. - Campaign is built to teach you how to MP, complete with rewards for playing it. - Only Three races. - No Camera rotation or tilt The Weird: = Its likely other armies will get added to the game as DLC. = Unknown if the game will actually be worth the money of investment, depending on how the heat dies down and if the game picks up enough to warrant future development. = Modding is "available" and underwelming. The hot button issues: THE CARTOON LOOK! The art direction for Units is directly taken from the Tabletop Minis. YMMV but considering I was a fan of the war game this works for me. It can look a little cartoon, but then again depending on your feelings of Grim Dark it works or doesn't. DoW looks like it came out of that animation studio that did Spawn, DOW2 ditto, so not sure what the problem is. Some of the art is weird but again looks like it took cue from actual early art of the Franchise. NO COVER, NO SUPPRESSION and NO MORAL! I think the intent for this can be seen. It leads the game to playing more tactically fluid and moving units around in careful plans or being really good with your hot keys. It's not necessarily a bad thing it does mean you can't lock down a position with a unit and rain death down on them or hold an area quite in the same way. No Turtling, making playing the Imperial Fists pointless. There are ways to lock down areas of the map with units through heavy cover points. There is a stealth field that in theory could take advantage for sudden strike. However, it really doesn't help much. The game does feel like its missing something when you can't dig in to a point with a few units while you build up for the next big push. Unpopular opinion time? The moral system of CoH and DoW1 was more clunky and a waste of time for everyone than an actually tactic changing mechanics, at least in my games. Some mods for the earlier games have a feature to force a retreat from the units who break but even then... The lack of Suppression does hurt the game and does limit some units’ abilities to be truly effective, it can lead to interesting moments but ultimately vast massive mobile armies crashing into each other for fun and profit is the name of the game. Which is ultimately kind of old school but not in a way that is actually enjoyable after games like Company of Heroes and the First Dawn of War. IT’S MOBA LIKE! Yea, thing it is, it’s not a MOBA but it is defiantly MOBA LIKE. The one game mode is attack the special object which has two check points all the maps are built like lane gates to these objectives. There is no real ability to build up a defense that can defend these point because the game is built on being mobile and attacking your targets. Is this a game killer? Yes and No, firstly that Mobile armies build around Rock-paper-scissors means you can quickly build an army to counter an invading force and then smash them up with your "Heroes" for the most part it creates a back and forth that either results in some stale games or quick games depending on your match up. NO SYNC KILLS! They removed them in DoW2 – Retribution, and out of skirmish since Dark Crusade, so whining about it now seems a little too little too late. I can see why this kills the momentum and can turn some units into just meat shields to buy time for something else to just kill them outright. Honestly this does make the game feel less organic and kills some of the excitement. THE LORE, THE CANON! Shut the fuck up. CS Goto is Canon. Matt Ward is Canon, Rogue Trader First edition is Canon. The Space Marine Movie is Canon. The Fantasy Flight RPG line is canon. The Angry Marines are Canon. It is all canon, and nothing is canon. Welcome to the Girm, Dark future of the 41st Millennium, where canon doesn't matter and the Lore is made up anyway. I honestly hate this argument more than anything else because it’s like what canon are you talking about as the great set in stone CANON changes every edition. Final Thoughts: The game is not what I wanted from DoW and after giving it a shot, I went back played the first two and came to realize while DOW3 is a decent game, it’s not a game I really would recommend to my friends and gaming group. It isn't the crazy massive war of insanity that DoW1 brought to the table. It does not have that cool style and ease of play that I love about DoW2. It's not the tactical land mine that were the CoH. It's kind of its own thing. Which isn't bad just didn't really wow me, I have several games like that in my game list from the RTS genre that I haven't touch in years. And while it was fun to return to those roots in DoW3, all it did was remind me that "You can't go home again." Which is more than about a place it’s about the knowledge of different things, sometimes better. Sometimes worst but ultimately it just isn't the same after you had that different things. Especially after you realize you like the different thing better. The game is trying to go home and we are far too old for that sort of thing these days.