14 DAY TRIAL // I admit to not finishing Dawn of War II yet. In my most advanced campaign, relying on the Scouts, leaving out the Devastator squad and playing on Captain, I have collected the toxin samples, secured Angel Forge and the array. I am now waiting for the Litany of Fury to get into the system. In my other campaign, with more Devastator support, I am only getting the Angel Force. But what I haven't seen yet in the game is a last stand type situation that really plays to the strengths of both the protagonist, the Space Marines, and to those of the powerful antagonist, the Tyranid Hive Fleet.
Think about it. The Tyranids are a wholly biological army that has come from beyond the galactic rim. They are true aliens. There's no communication between them and the other sentient races, there's no negotiating with them, they just sweep down from the skies, destroy all resistance and then devour the entire planet. There's a lot of them and only a gigantic effort from the Space Marines, the almost annihilated Ultramarines, managed to stop one of the Hive fleets, leading to it splintering into smaller parts.
The Space Marines are the tough crusaders of the 41st Millenium. They are genetically enhanced for super human strength, quick reflexes, tactical thinking and they wear power armor while using a wide variety of weaponry. The single player campaign of Dawn of War II details how they fight on three planets, facing off against the Orks, Eldar and Tyranids. And there are some defend missions where you need to hold off a certain structure against four waves of enemies that come close to a “last stand” type of download. But Relic could have done more.
For one, they should get rid of all the structures. A last stand is about making it out alive, not about holding on to a Shrine or Factory. They should also offer the player a clearly defensible position, where they can profit from heavy cover while the Tyranid horde is marching out in the open. Then, you only need to make the objective “Last as long as you can, killing as many enemies as possible,” and you've got a new game mode for single player and co operative play in Dawn of War II that would rival the Horde mode of Gears of War 2 in intensity.