What I'm Playing - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (incl. Winter Assault & Dark Crusade)

I know I'm a bit late on this one, but I've been playing other games, and never quite got around to picking up Warhammer - I never was a fan of the tabletop game, aside from their very, very cool character designs.  So I know just barely enough about the factions to understand the basic setup.  I have to say, from the time I installed this puppy, I've been kicking myself for not getting it sooner.  This is, by far, the best RTS game that I've played in recent years (okay, SECOND best only to World in Conflict).  Relic really knew what they were doing when they put this game together.

The first thing that they did right was to do away with resource gathering...yes, I know, that technically makes this more of a RTT (Real-Time Tactics) than RTS game, but the resulting efficiencies in gameplay are huge.  I've only just started playing, but even early in the campaign, it's by far the second best RTS game I've ever played.  The units are very nicely animated, varied in their capabilities, powers, and effectiveness, and overall creative from the word go.  Use of each unit and their upgradeable abilities is essential to success in each campaign mission.

I will say, however, that this isn't really a "pick it up and play" type of game - in fact, the tutorial alone is a good 20-30 minute run-through, and most of the campaign missions can easily take an hour or more to complete.  But, if you're willing to invest the time to dive into the details of the game, it's definitely worth the effort!