Even a year after its initial release, Warhammer 40K's visuals still hold up amazingly well when compared to more recent PC games. As a big Warhammer fan when I was young, it was great to see just how closely all of the game's models looked on the screen. Watching large battalions of troops battle their way across scarred landscapes looks incredible and almost makes me want to get back into miniature gaming (a notion that is quickly dispelled after I remember how much the hobby costs). Fire fights are still among some of the best seen in an RTS, especially once you start unleashing missiles and bombs.
The new Imperial Faction looks a little drab compared to the game's other factions, though they still feature the same attention to detail. Winter Assault also adds a few new effects like snow and bodies that remain on the ground after dying (instead of disappearing). These effects don't come cheap though, so if your system chugged through Dawn of War, there's a slight chance it may have a harder time with Winter Assault. Audio really ramps up the game's intensity. The voice acting fits the wartime atmosphere and adds to the pressures of battle that the ambient sounds of war create around you. Yes, some of the battlecries can be a tad on the cheesy side, but I'm sure even the country's greatest military men have screamed out some crazy things during battle. Music is on par with Dawn of War, so if you liked it, you'll like Winter Assault as well. If not, well there's always the volume control on your speakers.
