Co-operative play in real-time strategy games seems to be an idea gaining traction. Last year's Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 featured co-op play throughout its campaign, and now THQ and Relic have built co-op play into the campaign for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. In Red Alert 3, co-op play was possible because the campaign was built around the idea of each mission having two commanders. If you were playing by yourself, the computer would control the second commander. Dawn of War II takes a slightly different approach, as we discovered recently.According to Ebert, some users were in "a state of shock," as they expected a pure sequel to Dawn of War or a Warhammer-themed version of Company of Heroes. Others were excited by the newness of the sequel, while others were uncertain of what to think. There was a final group that absolutely loved the changes. The big question that remains unanswered though is how big is each of these constituencies? It's something that can't be determined until the sales figures come in for the game.

The big idea to wrap your head around in Dawn of War II is that the campaign missions feel like tactical warfare. You don't control huge armies, and you don't have a base that pumps out new units constantly. Instead, you control a handful of Space Marine squads in battle. By eliminating quantity, the designers focus on quality; you have to carefully maneuver each squad, as well as effectively use their powers and abilities to maximize results. An example is that you might have a scout squad cloak and explore ahead, then use their sniper ability to pick off a particularly tough foe.