14 DAY TRIAL // That's sarcasm in the subtitle of this article. I spent the better part of my Sunday afternoon trying to play some Dawn of War II multiplayer and the biggest obstacle, apart from the time it took to download the beta content via Valve's Steam, was Games for Windows Live.
The first problem this service has is that it does not communicate with the user. When I tried to launch the Dawn of War II Beta, it crashed with an obscure message. No mention of GfWL. I dug through two forum threads to understand that having an offline account did not mean I had the service client installed. I then proceeded to get it from Microsoft only to have to go through a frustrating site to finally get the client and set up a new account to use for the beta.
Then it all went pretty well, for the most part. The beta crashed a few times, although I'm not sure whether my new ATI drivers or the game itself are to blame. There's also an instance where it froze my whole system up and didn't allow me to do anything but reboot. I still managed to get a few matches in and my initial impressions are quite positive. Relic has managed to create a familiar experience without feeling old and engaging without being overwhelming. And Space Marines, Tyranids and Orks never looked better (in my 20+ matches I have yet to see someone fielding an Eldar army). To my shame, I must admit I have only played the Space Marines until now, developing a special kind of love for the Apotechary.
If you plan to go into the beta, be prepared for quite a few losses as you get familiar with the interface and the upgrade system for the squads and for your hero. Always keep an eye on how much resources you have and remember to have a little in reserve for the special powers you can trigger, like the very useful Angels of Death, which give temporary invulnerability to your infantry (I used that one quite a lot, especially when facing Tyranid armies). Also, keep in mind that the Fall Back button might just be the biggest addition to Dawn of War II (Company of Heroes veterans really have an advantage because the “retreat” aspect has set in their mind like concrete).
I plan to play some more games tonight and I'll have more impressions to share with you as the week progresses.