A great game to start with, but it eventually get's a bit repetitive.
I pre-ordered the game, and when I got it, after a bit of faffing about with Steam and Games for Windows Live, I managed to get on the campaign. For the first few hours it was brilliant, and I was enjoying every minute of it. From leading valiant charges into the heart of the enemy with my Force Commander with assault marines landing in beside them, to luring enemies into the cross-fire of my Devastator and Tactical squad I was deeply engrossed in the idea that I was leading these few men against such a large amount of enemies. At first I was slightly sceptical about the role-playing style element, where you would level squads and equip weapons, but I warmed to it in due course, looking forward to the next level so I could unlock special abilities to get my units to just that, MY units.
The game itself handles well enough, by using only a small amount of squads it is easy to keep track of who is getting hurt and who should use what abilities at what point. The Cover system works really well, but can be quite a nuisance when trying to set up a devastator squad so they set up the perfect fire lane. But one of the main problems I had with the game is one I have seen most people complaining about. It gets repetitive very quickly. Once you do the first ten or so defence missions, or killing a certain enemy it becomes a bit of a difficult trek to get through the mission with the same zeal you started with at the beginning. Every mission feels the same as one you did just a few missions ago, and eventually it starts getting a bit tiresome.
The multiplayer would be Dawn of War 2's saving grace, if it didn't suffer from the same problem. The multiplayer is very repetitive, with only two game types and four armies. Sure they have tried to spruce it up by adding different commanders for different tactics, but some of them you can eliminate right out unless you invest lots of time learning how best to use them.
All in all, Dawn of War 2 did certainly break the trend of the first set of games, but it didn't revolutionise the games. It has a strong campaign if you don't mind doing the same mission again and again, and the multiplayer will keep you happy while comp-stomping with friends.