Warhammer 40K: Soulstorm
Preview
Yet another Dawn is here
by Chris Davis
previewed on PC
'Slaughter' Doesn't Even Begin to Describe It
It seems that good old fashioned real-time strategy games are starting to go the way of the dinosaur these days. Titles such as World in Conflict and Supreme Commander bring new innovation to a genre of games that have not seen a truly revolutionary title since it was launched by Dune 2 well over a decade ago. Relic Entertainment is well known for finding an intriguingly fun formula and running with it. Ranging from the popular Homeworld series up to the critically acclaimed Company of Heroes, they certainly have an excellent track record.
This time Relic is returning to one of their earlier games in a move that is not unwelcome. Teaming up with Iron Lore, developers of 2006's popular Titan Quest, the two studios are co-developing the latest stand alone expansion in the Warhammer 40k series. This particular one has been given the subtitle Soulstorm.
A History of Violence
The Warhammer series, whether being a board, role playing, or video game, has always had a strong following with many successful titles across the board. Dawn of War alone is responsible for numerous awards. Soulstorm looks to keep that tradition.
The entire Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War series centers around an endless war waged by the Imperium, a dystopian future human civilization led by a god-like emperor. The saga of Soulstorm takes place after the events of the Tarturus campaign that occurred during Dawn of War and its original expansion Winter Assault. After another warp storm envelops a planet, the various races of the cosmos descend upon it to investigate and the inevitable conflict between the various factions begins. Like the previous expansions in the series, Soulstorm introduces us to two new factions, bringing the count to an astounding nine.
Embrace the Darkness
The first of the two new races are the Dark Eldar, a variation of the Eldar with a serious attitude problem. In the mythos of the Warhammer 40k series the Dark Eldar are a split religious faction from the main Eldar race that revels in piracy and the torture and enslavement of the various races. Rather than occupying various planets like the other races, the Dark Eldar choose to occupy a single city, operating out of it and choosing to lead raids and assaults upon the various unsuspecting worlds of the galaxy.
Within the realm of Soulstorm, the Dark Eldar are a speed-based race. Their forces are best utilized in small groups and raiding parties. Going up against large armies, especially mechanized ones, is a big no-no as the Dark Eldar are not designed for open warfare. The population cap for the Dark Eldar is a small one, but since the race is based around enslavement and torture they can increase their cap by introducing slave pits onto the map.
Much like the other races in the game, the Dark Eldar are able to call upon global powers that can turn the tide of the battle in one fell swoop. The powers for the Dark Eldar can be summoned by the gathering of a new resource that is unique to this race: souls. When a unit, friend or foe, dies on the battlefield a purpose mist will shroud the corpse and last for just a few minutes before dissipating. These souls can be gathered by the Tortured Slave (the Dark Eldar's base construction unit). Once a sufficient amount of souls is gathered the player can activate one of six different powers such as ‘Screams of the Damned’ which lowers the morale of all enemy units on the battlefield and the titular ‘Soulstorm’ which summons a massive cloud of doom that will pretty much kill everything in touches.
