The main reasons I have been attracted to Dawn of War 2 is the premise of no base building, small squad, a hero and micro-management. I am really good at Warcraft 3 and have been playing the game since 2002. The focus on a smaller army and penalties for turtling have been refreshing from back then. After trying out the beta a few weeks ago, I enjoy the game very much and I have finally bought a copy last Saturday.
Merging RPG and RTS to create the SP is quite fun, it reminds me a lot of Frozen Throne Orc's SP(the one you have to download). The loot factor keeps you busy at the end of each mission and makes the different heroes more important to you. There seems to be some kind of template that each mission follows which can make the game quite boring after a couple of hours. Nethertheless, the story is pretty good at depicting the motivation of each race in the 4 way conflict. I still do not understand the role of the Orks.
Gory cinematics for the intro and between every few missions keep you in the Warhammer universe, you can feel how viceral the war is. The music fits the atmosphere and gameplay really well. Clicking on Focus Fire on Avitus brings the sound of the machine gun to life, you can hear it roar much louder when the skill is activated and the change in volume engages you further in the combat.
Multiplayer is the main reason I have the game, the SP has not played a factor at all during my purchasing decision. The beta was lagging pretty bad a couple of weeks ago. There seems to have been a slight improvement in the game's performance but the constant lagging is still lingering every now and then. This can be very frustrating in the heat of the battle. Match-making is another issue where I see a team newbies against at least 2 experienced players on the other side. There also seems to be a lack of documentation on the different units counter. Space Marine is the most familiar to me because I have played them during single player. Regardless of those issues, the online play is the bread and butter of Dawn of War 2.
Relic has taken a risk changing the RTS scene that drastically and for that, I have become a fan of the game, the Warhammer universe and the people behind it. If Dawn of War 2 had been another base building RTS with a large army, I would most likely have ignored it . I have played Company of Heroes in the past but the World War 2 setting has not grip my attention as much as Warhammer 40k. Moreover, nothing beats merging the fantasy and sci-fi universe. If you like Warcraft 3 and you are tired of the old school RTS out there, the game will satisfy you very much, brother.