OK, maybe you CAN mess with an Ork pirate...
Though the campaign co-op is always a hoot, my go-to mode in Dawn of War 2 is The Last Stand, and it returns in all its glory. For those unfamiliar, it’s a three-player survival mode where each player selects one of the Hero units from a race of their choice and faces off against twenty waves of enemies. Your ability to work together is put to the ultimate test, as selfish play is a great way to get slaughtered.
The five selectable Hero units from previous entries return and are complimented by the new Lord General from the Imperial Guard race, though the unlockables (wargear, commander items, etc.) remain the same as before. Several of the Hero units can spawn a secondary squad, or a turret, which are really helpful in making up for ability gaps caused by players picking the same hero.
A new, more challenging map, The Anvil of Khorne has been added as well, and man is it a doozy. While the previous map eased you in and gave you a chance to get situated and your towers captured, Anvil spawns a tough wave almost immediately after the players load. It caught me off guard at first, and you can almost always tell if someone hasn’t played it yet in a matchmaking round, which can either lead to comedy or drama in the chat channel, though the community surrounding this game is usually friendly and forgiving of lesser-skilled players.
Unfortunately, the latency problems that have plagued this series since the beginning make their return, and about one in every five matches is almost completely unplayable. I had much better luck with forming a party of friends than in matchmaking, so if you have friends, I suggest you use them. Additionally, the move to Steam split the player base, so there’s a smaller pool of players to draw from if you need to play with randoms.
Though the campaign may not be as stellar as the previous two entries, the co-op is just as good as it’s always been - The Last Stand is still fantastic, and anyone looking for a good co-op experience on the PC owes it to themselves to play this.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Play through any of the campaigns in 2 player co-op play. Each player controls a squad of units.Play 3 player co-op in the game's survival mode called The Last Stand.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.