14 DAY TRIAL // Retribution is the third expansion for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, the strategy game from developer Relic and publisher THQ that gave a hugely needed shot in the arm to the strategy genre way back in 2009.
The big addition coming in the standalone release is the fact that six whole races (Space Marines, Chaos, Imperial Guard, Eldar, Orks and Tyranids) get their own campaign and new multiplayer units, while a new hero and a new map are included for The Last Stand wave killing mode.
The campaign has seen significant changes when compared to the core game and to Chaos Rising and they will certainly prove decisive among long time fans of the Dawn of War II experience.
In some ways the single player is now an experience that feels much more closer than before the multiplayer, essentially allowing unit building with little restrictions for those who are interested in it, but also delivering a set of heroes for those that were more enthralled by the Last Stand mode.
For one there seems to be much less loot to pick up and all the containers in a level now drop resources instead of actual replenishment kits for powers.
I don't yet know how different the six campaigns will be, but the races themselves should offer the variety needed to keep players interested.
My initial play time has been spent with the all new Imperial Guard and the game feels pretty easy so far, even on Hard, and there is some decent and sometimes funny dialog between the main characters.
Underneath it all, Retribution is all about knowing what abilities to deploy in quick succession to take out enemies or severely limit their ability to deal damage to your own troops and a puzzle like element is still very much present in the most recent Dawn of War II game.
Here's a look at the Imperial Guard in action: