WeвЂ™ll reserve ultimate judgement for the review of course, but we reckon that despite it being an easy to understand and pretty cool bonus feature, it may end up being a hurdle through which fans will be forced to jump if they want to get down with the nitty gritty. We suspect some gamers will love it and some hate it, since itвЂ™s effectively ended the cut scene-style single-player campaign story weвЂ™re used to from the series. Indeed we found it became quite an annoyance pretty quickly. The point to make about this campaign meta-game is that, while initially amusing, it quickly gets in the way of Dawn of WarвЂ™s traditional RTS combat.

Conquer an enemy race by capturing the territory which houses their stronghold and youвЂ™ll obliterate them completely and assimilate their racial powers. Each faction has a racial ability вЂ“ the Dark Eldar for example can travel across the Kaurava system via Ancient Gates, while others races can only move to nearby territories. Win the battle and youвЂ™ll take over the territory and gain requisition points, to be spent on buying buildings and units that guarantee a force of some description will be immediately available should an enemy force attack you and draw you into ground combat. During each turn you can move your forces to a nearby territory and attack (triggering a traditional, on the surface Dawn of War battle which you control). When you start the campaign your race already has a stronghold on one of the systemвЂ™s territories. SoulstormвЂ™s story revolves around a warp storm which has attracted the attention of the gameвЂ™s nine races, who all want the Kaurava system, and the secret behind the warp storm, to themselves. Built into SoulstormвЂ™s campaign, the meta-game focuses on requisition, taking control of some 31 territories across four planets and three moons, and fortifying strongholds as you bid to conquer the deep-lying Kaurava system. However, developer Iron Lore (Relic Entertainment shipped out development duties to the now defunct studio) has implemented a turn-based meta-game thatвЂ™s sure to divide fanatics straight down the middle. Now that weвЂ™ve pumped hours into the final version of Soulstorm we can safely say that thereвЂ™s nothing that fundamentally changes whatвЂ™s brilliant about Dawn of War. But donвЂ™t fret вЂ“ Soulstorm is out next Friday, so thereвЂ™s still time to pick up the first game and hone those leet RTS skillz in time for release. During multiplayer, where Dawn of War really shines, youвЂ™ll only have access to the two new races вЂ“ the Sisters of Battle and the Dark Eldar. If you havenвЂ™t got the original Dawn of War game the old races will only be playable in the extensive single-player campaign and in single-player skirmishes. If Soulstorm will be your first taste of the superb Warhammer 40K RTS, then youвЂ™ll have access to the two new races it brings, the Sisters of Battle and the Dark Eldar, as well as all the races from the previous games: Space Marines, Chaos Marines, Eldar, Orks, Necrons, Tau, and the Imperial Guard. ThatвЂ™s because, like the second expansion Dark Crusade, Soulstorm is a stand alone product вЂ“ unlike some expansions for other games itвЂ™ll work without the need for you to have the title proper. While thereвЂ™s little doubt that gamers who already own Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War will find Soulstorm of most interest, you donвЂ™t have to have the main game installed on your hard drive in order to play the upcoming expansion.

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