D a wn o f Wa r I I I

The bigger they are, the harder they bawl when a laser eats them

ne of the Eldar faction’s biggest war machines is a wraithknight piloted by twins—one dead, one alive. The living twin pilots the walker using its psychic connection with the dead twin. As I sucked the knight off its feet using an orbital space laser and slowly roasted it to death, I wondered if this counts as one kill or two.

OThe wraithknight requires overwhelming force. Once it gets set and unleashes its mega-laser, everything it touches gets melted. It can also create a searing maelstrom that can damage even the lumbering dreadnought mechs of the Space Marines—the Eldar love a good maelstrom. I encountered this at the end of DawnofWarIII’s first playable mission, which will be set well into the campaign. Commanding the Space Marines, led by their dutiful captain Gabriel Angelos, I had to destroy a series of Eldar portals on the glaciers of planet Acheron.

Angelos started out alone in this mission, but was soon joined by the imperial knight, the Space Marine counterpart to the wraithknight. After batting aside a few Eldar vanguard units I was able to call down a base. The buildings dropped in from orbit, crunched into the ice and unfolded with swift, intricate motions. One of the factories released a huge drill that burrowed into the planet’s crust to create the impression of a large underground factory. Another dropped hunk of metal turned into a landing platform. New units are dropped off there by Thunderhawk gunships. For 40K fans, it’s a thrill to see the $560 tabletop model zoom across the screen. For fans of sci-fi races doing cool war things, it’s equally neat. The Space Marines are genetically and technologically engineered for battle, and even their logistical side is terrifying.