More visceral and strategic than the original with a decent story and varied factions.
I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy the sequel after they announced the removal of base building and far smaller armies - after all, most other RTS games are trying to cram more and more units onto the battlefield, not less.
Thankfully I got into the multiplayer beta and was really impressed by the changes to combat. Each fight is brutal and because your army is smaller, you can zoom in closer on the action without missing much. Excellent!
So I finally got my retail copy of the game a couple of days ago and started working through the campaign. It doesn't pull any punches and quickly drops you right into the thick of the action. The first missions aren't tough, but they do force you to use the skills you'll need for the entire story. You only get 4 or 5 squads (depending on the mission) and the leaders are automatically assigned to number shortcuts, but you can redefine those if you really want. The characters are all persistent the way the commander was in Dark Crusade, and while they're not deep enough that you care about the on a personal level, you appreciate the available skills more, so you want to keep them alive. Very clever.
It's not quite as freeform as Dark Crusade or Soulstorm, but the mission branches at various points and lets you forge your own path that way. There are optional missions you can complete for equipment and score bonuses. There's only really two mission types though - either kill a boss/destroy a structure or protect an asset. The protect missions are like shorter versions of Horde mode in Gears of War or the zombie mode in World at War. You're charged with protecting a building and enemies rush at you. If you survive, you win. Those tend to be the optional missions and time out after a few game days.
But the combat is really what this is all about. Each race requires a different strategy, since Orks/Tyranids will charge you while Eldar will keep their distance. You have a decent selection of squads available so that each mission can be completed a number of ways. The sync-kills are still in, splattering blood around the screen like water, although there doesn't seem to be as many of them this time round.
Basically, if you enjoyed the original you'll enjoy this. Some will like it more, some less. I love the added strategy that comes from needing to protect your units and use cover as much as possible.