It's all too easy to label someone who has a slightly unhealthy obsession with gaming as a geek. And as for those who enjoy the whole Warhammer thing, well, the majority see them as the ultimate geeky set. But the original Dawn of War title from THQ proved that a real time strategy game set in the Warhammer universe was a sure fire hit. Offering some truly delightful aesthetics, astonishingly deep tactical gameplay and a wonderful online experience, the original became a bit of a cult hit. So to find an add-on released, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault, is no big surprise.

What is a big surprise, however, is to see just how much has actually been crammed into this addition to the series. First of all, there's a brand new race to stir things up a bit, The Imperial Guard. A totally unseen faction in the original, these guys are skilled at long-range combat. Using strength in numbers (showing off the wonderful game engine, which keeps things moving at a stunning pace) this race's main strategy is to hold off attacks as best as they can and use their wide abundance of tank based units at the rear to push their attackers even further back.

With this reliance on huge numbers of men and the fact that they're manly a defensive unit, morale plays a big part in success. Just like the original, where you can use morale to your advantage and swing battles in your favour with a beautifully timed war cry, the Imperial Guard's leader units play an essential part in ultimate victory. A well set out defensive line of Imperial Guard units, combined with the right number of leaders, can prove practically impregnable.

Even Imperial Guard structures have defensive capabilities in mind, with each structure covered with fire slits to allow Guardsman inside to fire out while staying under cover. Again this can prove invaluable at fending off attacks, with your fortified units proving way too strong for the oncoming hordes, leaving you ready to regroup and fight another day. Each structure is even linked by tunnels below ground with trenches, allowing Guardsmen to travel between structures, easily, quickly and safely, providing ample cover to all corners of their base.

The existing races don't find themselves lacking however, as each has a brand new unit to add to their armoury. The Chaplain unit is added to the Space Marines for example, a new Commander unit who not only packs a powerful punch from long range but also increases the regeneration rate of surrounding squads, proving quite invaluable in battles that seem stuck in stalemate.

Of course there's also a brand new campaign to play through to introduce and familiarise yourself with this new race. In fact, there are two brand new single player campaigns to busy yourself with, one taking on the role of the Imperial Guard as they struggle to protect the Imperium of Man and the Disorder Campaign, where you take on the roles of the Orks and Chaos Space Marines in their efforts to crush all who oppose them. Each acts as a pleasant diversion and both are certainly as impressive as the single player action found in the original.

As the title of this expansion suggests, there's a whole new environment to fight in too, with snow covered plains being the order of the day, adding to the already wide variety of backdrops and environments from the original. Neither requires too much playtime to fully complete however, so it's the multiplayer side of things where you'll spend most of your time. Just like the original, which served up some of the best online RTS action since the Command & Conquer games, Winter Assault tweaks things to keep it all feeling fresh and easy to play. With the quicker times it takes to create the more powerful characters, it's particularly difficult to use that old favourite rushing technique, where you create as many of the cheapest units as you can and overpower the enemy with sheer numbers.

The graphics engine itself continues to offer some dazzling thrills, with some stunning explosions, viewable with the same continuously tweakable camera position, combined with some quite ridiculous levels of zoom. The snowy settings help to really show off the garish colours that the Warhammer 40k games are famed for quite wonderfully indeed.

Warhammer 4,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault is the perfect example of just what an expansion pack should be. Not only does it add a completely new race to the game (one which is admittedly perhaps a touch less interesting than the original set) but a pair of brand new single player campaigns, new units to the existing factions and an abundance of other tweaks to the gameplay to keep Dawn of War fans happy. For fans of the original this is an essential purchase. And for those who have even a passing interest in strategy titles, the Double Pack that features both the original and add-on really should find its way into your shopping basket sooner rather than later. Just like AceGamez' review of the original said, a few extra races and single player campaigns and THQ are onto a sure fire winner; they certainly covered both of those points when they drew up plans for Winter Assault.

Reviewed by AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).