Games similar to Dawn of War 2?

[pakoito]

We'll I finally met with my gaming rig for one month full of passion and weird stuff. I've played a lot of stuff (Portal 2, Dominions 3 <33, Bad Bulletstorm, Witcher 2, Zelda on emulator...) but the one I liked the most is Dawn of War 2. The mix of hero defense sub-genre with rts squad tactics was just perfect and what I longed for a long time. Played through the hole Chaos Rising campaign in two afternoons full of waaaargh and loot, and now I'm back to the olde netbook so...closest substitute game, mod or map?

LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE

[Nalano]

I dunno if anybody makes a THQ-style RTS other than THQ.

To me, the closest thing to CoH/DoW is Men of War, but it doesn't have that "hero" character. Warcraft 3 comes after, but it doesn't have the squad tactics.

[Hensler]

World in Conflict, but again no heroes.

[jquinn914]

Warcraft 3 but it has a lot of traditional RTS stuff as well, still comes down to more micro than anything and heroes.

[BathroomCitizen]

Ok, I just know what's good for you.

Dawn of War 2: Retribution.

No, don't thank me.

[Land Squid]

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/soldi...f_world_war_ii

This maybe? Haven't played it, so no idea if it's any good.

[pakoito]

Ok, I just know what's good for you.

Dawn of War 2: Retribution.

No, don't thank me.

My netbook can't play it, if only...

[BathroomCitizen]

Ah, sorry, I did miss the last part in your opening post.

edit: Land Squid's post made me check GoG.com if there were some cool strategic hero-based games that I recall. One of my favourites is Warlords Battlecry 3, which it has even a nice inventory system for the heroes. But it's not a tactical game. It's an RTS with classic base-building mechanics.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/warlords_battlecry_3

[pakoito]

Warcraft 3 but it has a lot of traditional RTS stuff as well, still comes down to more micro than anything and heroes.

Which maps?

[simonp]

You're aware that DOW2 is heavily influenced by Company of heroes right (and COH in turn was influenced by DOW1)? You really should give the COH games & expansions a shot if you liked DOW.
The setting may be different but the core mechanics are the same although you don't have as influential hero units. There are some missions with tank aces and such but otherwise it's squad focused and a lot more importance is placed on using cover and general unit positioning.

[Althea]

I'm going to tentatively suggest the Spellforce games. They have an RPG-esque progression for your heroes, inventory included, but there's some RTS elements involved, too. I'd say it plays closer to DoW2 multiplayer than DoW2 itself, but it's still worth a look.

Just don't buy it from Steam, or even Gog. If you're in the UK, you can get the Spellforce Universe boxset (Which is complete, at least for now) for about £5-10 if you look, and it has Spellforce Platinum and Spellforce 2 Gold in it.

[Vandelay]

How about Sacrifice? Okay, it's a completely different game, but it has the hero units and control point type of gameplay. It is also ace.

Company of Heroes is a good call if you like Dawn of War, but remember it is a very different game. I personally think there is much more going on with it.

[CMaster]

Yeah, the obvious first point of call is the previous game by Relic, Company of Heroes. Probably not netbook friendly though.

Err, how about the old Freedom Force games?

[arathain]

Yeah, if you haven't tried Company of Heroes you should. It's compulsory for all RTS fans, especially if you already have a fondness for Relic's stuff. I play DoW2 multi, but I always do so with the knowledge that I'm there for the fluff and colour, and that really CoH is the better game.

How about Universe at War? That has tons of colour and variety and some really great unit design. The alien invaders race in particular- their building are customisable screen filling walkers loaded down with really big guns, and their harvester units stomp around disintegrating cars and cows and people. It's not the best RTS in the world, but it is a lot if fun.

[Fumarole]

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/soldi...f_world_war_ii

This maybe? Haven't played it, so no idea if it's any good.

It absolutely is.