Retribution [RePack by Spieler].iso

e Dawn of War 2 series has long been a story about the Space Marines, but Retribution gives your a choice between Space Marines, Tyrannids, Chaos, Orks, Eldar, and the new Imperial Guard. After selecting an army, you play through 16 missions that are written just vaguely enough that they can work for any force. It's a clever way of giving you a lot of choice, but it also results in a weaker narrative than the previous Dawn of War 2 games. None of the characters stand out like the previous entries in Space Marines, and Retribution lacks that same sense of attachment that built up during the many, many hours I spent with the campaigns of both the original Dawn of War and the first expansion, Chaos Rising.

Even if the story isn't as engrossing, the gameplay is as addictive as ever. Retribution, like the Dawn of War 2 franchise in general, is a unique real-time strategy game, forcing the player to focus more on things like cover, unit facing, and general terrain layout more than just manufacturing an overwhelming force. And unlike so many other RTS games, Retribution pushes physics into the mix, making combat a wildly chaotic, violent experience compared to the predictability of something like StarCraft. It's not uncommon for explosions to blast craters in the ground and enemies to crash from the sky, knocking back your infantry. All the while your machine guns lay down suppressing fire while you micromanage small forces to overcome the odds.

The best part of having a campaign playable by multiple races is that it gives you a good reason to play things over and over again. Each army plays just differently enough that the stages don't feel too repetitive, and Warhammer nerds like me definitely appreciate the chance to play as their favorite army. In this case it's the newly added Imperial Guard that I love, who are just the right mix of squishy humans and tough-ass armored vehicles Other armies specialize in some field like ranged or melee combat, but the Imperial Guard have a little bit of everything – albeit of lesser quality. It makes them somewhat less heroic, and easier to identify with.

Like the previous Dawn of War games, Retribution still gets a lot of its mileage from its role-playing aspects. After each mission, you gain experience for hero units as well as equippable wargear. The result is a system that increases player choice and tactics even further, allowing you to customize your heroes to your play style, and better tailor your forces to the missions ahead. For instance you might love to have a hero that compliments your ranged troops with buffs or a powerful gun, or have a heavy hitter that can soak up damage and rush into the fray, inspiring those around them. It keeps the hero units interesting, and serves as a reason to look forward to the briefing screen in-between missions.