'Dawn of War 2' provides hours of strategic fun

"Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2" is fun. Is it the real-time strategy game you want to play? That depends - do you play a lot of real-time strategy games? Do you like building 40 Death Carrierlisks and clicking "attack target?" Do you like arranging all your little turrets into an impenetrable defense grid that spells out "BUTT?"

If you like doing these things, you will probably not be interested in "Dawn of War 2." But if you like fun, instead - form one line, please, and no pushing.

"Dawn of War 2" takes place among the nightmare cities and planet-sized craters of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. If you're not familiar with the towering library on the subject, know merely this: everyone in this game is evil as hell, and you can therefore feel good about killing them. The single-player campaign focuses on the Blood Ravens chapter of the Space Marines, the "Emperor's Finest," a force of super-human soldiers each able to outrun a cheetah, spit acid and bench a school bus. Unfortunately, in earlier Warhammer 40,000 games, Space Marines were suckers; they had maybe twice as much health as a regular schmuck, yet still died like fools if you got a few Orks in their face. And due to the meat-grinder nature of most real-time strategy games, you tended to go through about a million of them in the process of capturing a futuristic strip joint or whatever.

The campaign in "Dawn of War 2" fixes that perplexing problem: your Space Marines are tanks, and you only get a few of them. As a fresh-faced Force Commander, you order at most four squads of supermen through jungles, deserts and oily urban landscapes - all rendered beautifully, although they'll tax an older rig. Better yet, your men hang around after each mission, and they get bigger, they get better and they get more loot. Yes, loot can be acquired during missions, along with experience; Relic seems intent on delivering a title that's as much role-playing game as it is RTS. With a compelling - if somewhat simplistic - turn-based strategic component involving planetary targets with persistent benefits, sporadic alien invasions and a few tough choices for Mr. Commander-guy, Relic has created a powerful framework for an enthralling single-player experience. Especially notable are the "bonus deployments" - you're essentially rewarded for the amount of panache with which you complete each mission, giving veterans an extra incentive to flex their skills.

Series fans will remember the intense, cinematic action on the ground; you'll be glad to know that none of the adrenaline has gone away, despite the lack of hundred-man masses. Each unit has become exponentially more awesome: flashy lightning blasts, special grenades, explosive charges and flaming aerial assaults adorn even the humblest Scouts, and there aren't any simpering "builder" units to dull the action. Even the resource management is about kicking ass - by capturing Battlefield-esque "control points," you gain more cash. Aside from constructing the occasional turret, itself accomplished through a Techmarine special ability, there's no finicky base management here.

While the single-player campaign features only allows for playing as the Space Marines, all four races are playable online, adding to the fray the elf-like Eldar, the brutish Orks and, in a first for the series, the insectoid Tyranids. Each race is distinct enough to give you some thrill of novelty, but they're all intuitive; none of the races have bizarre, extraneous resource bars or confusing tech trees.

Online, the game's constant action is a good thing; even in the most one-sided game, a sneaky maneuver or a daring, last-ditch assault can flip the tide of battle. It's a far cry from most RTS games, where the loss of your initial scouting party generally merits an immediate concession. As of writing this, I've pushed my way to victory from more than a few apparent defeats. Unburdened by the total terror of hearing, "they're killing my peasants," the field of battle is a much more back-and-forth, tactically oriented creature.

Whatever your tastes, it's hard not to recommend "Dawn of War 2." The misanthropic recluse can take long, savory bites of the single-player campaign, while the casual online player won't be destroyed by insane "build orders" or tank rushes. And if you're sporting the most elite micromanagement skills, you'll certainly find a deep, compelling tactical challenge here. Series veterans and newcomers alike will get more than their money's worth - if they're interested in having fun, that is.