5. Dawn of War: Dark Crusade (2006)

The most thoroughly satisfying game using the 40k license

Developer: Relic Entertainment

Genre:  Real-time strategy

The Emperor’s finest, demonstrating what they do best

Seven opposing factions face off against each other on the doomed world of Kronus, and there can be only one victor.

This game is the culmination of what Relic did well with Dawn of War. The game is fast, addictive, and full of insane fun. Every single force has their own focus, but can work with alternate strategies as well (for instance Chaos prefers melee, but can just as well mow you down with artillery and infiltrated marines). The Requisition gathering system is a constant battle for map control, and is an immensely superior alternative to the resource mining that we’re all used to.

What’s great about Dark Crusade is the fact that despite having a huge number of completely different factions, the game actually works. The balance isn’t completely perfect, though, but the game’s variety more than makes up for it.