Developer Relic Entertainment is working on its second expansion pack for its 2004 strategy game Dawn of War. Dark Crusade will add new playable factions, plus new units to the existing factions. This time around, we'll take a look at the flash gitz--a new addition to the brutish ork armies.

Flash Gitz

　　The violent and brutish orks of the Warhammer 40,000 are so rough, so tough, and so eager to get into some kind of fight that they don't care about trifling things like personal safety, thoroughly testing their new weapon technology, or proper spelling. While civilized, educated factions research giant robot walkers, orks scrape together parts for "meks," and while other factions research next-generation guns, some orks are busy building "kustom shootas."

　　The flash gitz will essentially be a cross between the faction's "shoota boyz" and "mek bozy" units. While most orks prefer to engage in hand-to-hand, melee combat, there are some who are obsessed with guns--the flash gitz carry some of the heaviest guns they can find into battle.

　　Combat Abilities

　　The flash gitz will fill in a major gap in the ork armies, which have, until now, focused on heavy-duty, close-quarters brawling. Orks love a good fight with their fists and their axes, but they've had trouble against enemies with powerful ranged units that can pick them off from a distance.

　　The flash gitz units can deal tremendous ranged damage, but they themselves wear only very light armor, so these crazed gun nuts can take very little punishment before they're killed off in battle. But they're also very expensive to commission for your armies, so they'll be best used when put behind front lines of tougher ork units, like a squad or two of "slugga boyz" grunts.