The game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 will be released on April 27, but gamers will be able to play it as soon as Saturday, thanks to the open beta. The game features all the important things that a player would expect from a real-time strategy game, such as requisite resources and base and unit building.
What you need to know about the open beta
The free beta, which will run between April 21 and April 24, will pit large armies of Space Marines, Eldar and Orks against each other in very chaotic and over-the -top fights, probably something all the gamers are looking for. The open beta begins on April 21 at 10 a.m. Pacific /1 p.m. Eastern /6 p.m. British and will end at the same time on April 24.
Along with access to all three factions in the game, the beta also offers a limited selection of elite heroes for each. The trial is just for multiplayer, and gamers will have access to all three match sizes — 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 — and all three maps. Any progress made in the beta will not carry over to the final game, however, warns developer Relic Entertainment.
What makes Dawn of War 3 special?
The extremely ambitious campaign of Dawn of War 2 was a little like a multi-character Diablo with branching and loot missions, says Ars Technica. But in the most recent iteration, that plan has completely disappeared. In place is the Wandering Planet, the linear story of Acheron, and the three factions.
“Dawn of War 3 is a pretty obvious callback to the original Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, the game that first interpreted the grim darkness of the far future through real-time strategy,” says Ars.
What makes Dawn of War 3 different is its plot, as the gamer does not just play the Space Marines. The “campaign alternates, level to level, between the three central species,” says the website.
They are also represented by returning faces from past games, including Gorgutz ‘Ead ‘Unter and Farseer Macha.
Gamers will be able to try out six doctrines per faction as well. The doctrines allow a player to give their army several abilities, like health regeneration, alterations in the way their army fights, etc. Also, according to game director Philippe Boulle, the game’s Power Core multiplayer mode is the mode for the launch, and more modes will be explored post-launch, notes PC Gamer.
Impressive reviews so far
Critics have been positive on the game so far. According to Gamespot, the real-time strategy game “builds and maintains an organic tension that yields huge pay-offs … there’s nothing else quite like it.”
PC Gamer’s Tom Senior gave a hands-on preview of the multiplayer component. Senior wrote that the game is a complex strategy game with “lots to master, but when the game’s colossal walkers lead two huge armies into a clash for an important point I get the same kick I got from such encounters in Dawn of War 1.”
People who want to try out the open beta game can sign up here or view a full match of gameplay here.
