RTS gamers repent! Soulstorm is here!

Game: Dawn of War Soulstorm
Platform : PC
Publisher : THQ
Age Rating : 16+

Yes ladies and gents, the latest expansion to the 2004 hit game, Dawn of War developed by company Relic has teamed up with Iron Lore to release yet another anticipated expansion to the series. Like the previous title - Dark Crusade - Soulstorm can be used as a stand-alone expansion.

The game is set in the Kauriva system, a set of planets in deep space where all of the 9 armies duke it out to become the ultimate ruler of the Kauriva system.

The two major updates this has the the series have got to be the two new races - the Sisters of Battle (fanatical loyalists to their Emperor) and the Dark Eldar (as I like to call them the "Space Gimps" - they aren't bad, I just like to poke fun at them :) ). The other is the addition of Air units for every race adapting to each style of play the armies adopt.

But despite the praise I may give it, there are a few issues. Firstly, the Campaign doesn't differ much from Dark Crusade where you have turn-based movement phases when attacking parts of the system but on a slightly larger scale than DC. Also it needs at least 512MB RAM which is double the RAM needed to run the last version and if you have a med-low spec PC - like mine! - you may experience loading issues.

To summarise, it may be a more updated take on Dark Crusade and may take up a bit more system resources, but having more armies and hardware to play with is rather satisfying for online gamers or those that like to play Skirmishes against AI players - like me! Also the game itself is worth around £20 GBP, which is not much to grumble about.

Whether you are an newbie wanting to buy into RTS games or a seasoned DOW veteran, this game will not disappoint!

Score : 8/10

PS: RIP Iron Lore! Unfortunately, shortly after this game was developed, Iron Lore Entertainment on 19 Feb 2008 went out of business due to money shortages. LINK