This expansion acted as a springboard for THQ to try out Steamworks games, and as such, couldn't be set up to continue using the GFWL saves from the previous campaigns. With that in mind, the campaign here sees a lot of changes, mostly taking the gameplay backwards in design to the first DoW games where blobs of units were king. Though you can play as any race in the campaign, it's clear that a lack of focus on one race makes the game feel as if it's trying to be too many things to too many people.

The multiplayer sees a few changes, mostly for the better, but the real star of the game remains the Last Stand mode, where character building stays intriguing thanks to 2 new heroes and achievement equipment that can be unlocked. It's essentially the perfect survival mode for people who like to tweak skills and see what the outcome is.

Shoot-em-up fans can rest easy with this dynamic game that uses music on your hard drive to fuel waves of enemies.( Bosses, too!)

What started as a pretty simplistic game that created a lot of its challenge in overwhelming the player with bright lights has turned into a constantly challenging, customizable beast of a game. (Yes, you can turn down the visual intensity now, for a direct percentage drop in points) Thanks to a lot of great game and patch support from the creator, Beat Hazard is now less of a niche or gimmick game and more of a fun experience.

Try it, and the first time you hear the Boss alarm as your favorite song comes to a head, you'll catch the Beat Hazard bug.

This game is spectacular enough to make me buy it twice, despite my objection to Ubisoft's always-on DRM. It's accessible enough that it will please action fans. But it has enough depth in its combat system that stealth always remains viable, and almost always satisfying. Fans of games that offer many paths to reach the same goal should definitely check this game out.

Also, taking down a room full of mooks without so much as a "Fisher!" makes you feel extremely badass.