| Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Relic Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Designer(s) | Daniel Kading |
| Engine | Essence Engine 2.0 |
| Version | 3.17 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing game, Real-time tactics (Campaign, The Last Stand), Real-time strategy (Skirmish) |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Cooperative, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
ESRB : M
|
| Media/distribution | DVD, Download |
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II - Retribution is the stand-alone second expansion to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, part of the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series of real-time strategy computer games. Set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe, the single player campaign is playable with multiple races.
Imperial Guard is introduced as a new race, and all races including the races from the previous game, The Eldar, the Space Marines, Chaos, the Orks and the Tyranids are now playable in single-player.[2]
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On September 15, 2010 Relic announced that Retribution would be dropping the Games for Windows - LIVE Multiplayer Platform in favor of using Steamworks as its primary and only platform.[3] This will make the game entirely stand-alone with all the races included (unlike Chaos Rising which required the original Dawn Of War II for the original four races in Multiplayer) however two playable characters have been carried over(Cyrus and Tarkus) from the original two campaigns. New multiplayer match making systems have been made uniquely for Retribution. The addition of Steamworks will also allow the invitation of Steam friends to Multiplayer matches as well as free multiplayer weekends and a much faster patching process.
There were speculations that the new playable race would be Imperial Guard and/or the Inquisition, due to the Inquisition triple lined "I" used in the word "Retribution" in the game trailer;[4] in addition, the expansion's wishlist icon in the Steam system features a female Witch Hunter Inquisitor. On December 21, 2010, German PC gaming magazine Gamestar revealed the new race would be the Imperial Guard.
A multiplayer beta of the game was launched on Steam on February 1, 2011 and ended on February 25.
Dawn Of War II: Retribution offers a campaign for every race, including the Imperial Guard. The campaign takes place across different planets in Subsector Aurelia including the jungle world Typhon, the desert world Calderis, the arctic world Aurelia, the hive world Meridian, the derelict ship Judgement of Carrion and the dead world Cyrene.
Dawn Of War II: Retribution takes place ten years after events of Chaos Rising. The sub-sector Aurelia is now suffering from conflict between Ork pirates called the Freebooterz led by Kaptin Bluddflagg to pillage the sub-sector,[5] the arrival of the Eldar of the Craftworld Alaitoc led by Autarch Kayleth to seek about a prophecy and recovering an ancient artifact,[6] a Tyranid Hivelord restoring the remnants of the Hive Fleet Leviathan and to the link of the Hive Mind,[7] the Blood Ravens defending the sub-sector led by Captain Apollo Diomedes to hunt down Chaos as well as investigating their Chapter Master, Azariah Kyras, for being corrupted by Chaos,[8] the return of Chaos Space Marines of the Black Legion led by Eliphas the Inheritor to fulfill his promise to Abaddon the Despoiler to annihilate the Blood Ravens,[9] and the newly arriving Imperial Guard of the 8th Cadian Regiment led by Lord General Castor, performing an Exterminatus under Inquisitor Adrastia to investigate for corruption within the sub-sector Aurelia as well as the Blood Ravens' Chapter Master Azariah Kyras. These events may have been the cause from Gabriel Angelos' actions from the original dawn of war when he destroyed a stone with a hammer "God-Splitter" which held within it a daemon of Khorne .[10]
The player's character arrives on Typhon Primaris engaging and battling an opposing faction and defeating their leader. Later, the faction leader is given the objective to eliminate Azariah Kyras who intends to use the impending Exterminatus as a sacrifice to Khorne and ascend to daemonhood. The player quickly attempts to reach a means of transport off Typhon escaping a local cult along the way.
Arriving on Calderis, the player character fights against corrupted Blood Ravens Space Marines operating under orders to purge the planet. After destroying a warp portal on Aurelia, the faction learns of an attack on Meridian ordered by Kyras and arrives there killing the traitor guardsmen and uncovering a transmission from Kyras revealing his location on Typhon.
The player character returns to Typhon Primaris to confront Kyras himself, only to be ambushed by Eldar from Craftworld Biel-tan. Wary of a ritual they are undergoing, the player's character kills the Eldar there. Following this , Kyras reveals that the Eldar ritual was preventing the Imperial Inquisition fleet from arriving at the sub-sector. The Inquisition fleet arrives, beginning Exterminatus on Typhon Primaris. The player escapes Typhon before the Exterminatus finishes. Typhon is reduced to ash.
Finding themselves on the Judgment of Carrion, the player's characters recover and determine to stop Kyras. It is deduced that he is hiding on Cyrene as the planet underwent Exterminatus decades ago and the inquisition will not travel there. On Cyrene, the player characters launch an attack against a joint alliance of Chaos Space Marines, corrupt Imperial Guardsmen and traitor Blood Ravens by using their most powerful unit against them. Kyras begins to ascend into daemonhood. Gabriel and his 3rd Company launch an attack on Kyras but are quickly wounded or killed. The players faction then launches their own attack killing Kyras.
After Kyras' death, the ending of the game will depend on which race the players character chose:
The Imperial Lord General will be added to the current selection of The Last Stand heroes as well as new environment and new waves of enemies. It can also update all the previous heroes from Dawn of War II and Chaos Rising by importing the Games for Windows account to the Steam Account.
The Last Stand is a stand-alone version of the Retribution version of The Last Stand. The Last Stand was released on April 20, 2011 as a separate Steam purchase for $9.99 (€6.99). Owners of The Last Stand receive a discount on the full version of Retribution.[11]
Multiplayer will introduce base building to a small degree, as well as every race getting a Global Ability Advance Unit. Retribution is a stand-alone title and does not require ownership of earlier games in the series to use any of the factions in multiplayer.[12]
Specific race packs were released for each of the six races within the campaign, containing special items for that race in the campaign of Retribution, such as armour, weapons and accessories. The Ork race pack is a Steam exclusive[2] and Tyranid pack a THQ online store exclusive,[13] although all were made available as DLC after release, and all come in the Dawn of War II: Retribution Collector's Edition retail box.[14]
Wargear packs were also released for The Last Stand multiplayer mode. Each pack added new wargear to a specific hero class.[15]
There were also two DLC packs released adding new sub-races to use in multiplayer game with unique models and color schemes for units: Dark Angels Space Marine chapter[16] and Eldar Craftworld Ulthwe.[17] Similar DLC pack adding the Ultramarines Space Marine chapter was released on August 16, 2011.[18][19]
Relic has revealed that work has begun on a sequel, which will allow the player to create customised armies.
Reception for Dawn of War II: Retribution has been extremely positive. With one review calling it; 'the best Warhammer 40,000' game ever made. Reviewers cite the fast paced and tactically engaging gameplay as strong points of the game and for finally allowing a multi-race campaign which allows players to experience the Retribution story from whatever perspective they wish. The main criticism levied however is the lack of variety in the campaign, with all campaigns sharing the same missions, though this is often described as a minor negativity.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 81.65%[20] |
| Metacritic | 82%[21] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 8/10[22] |
| GamePro | [23] |
| GameSpot | 8.5/10[24] |
| GameSpy | 4/5[25] |
| GameTrailers | 8.7/10[26] |
| GameZone | 9/10[27] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[28] |
| PC Gamer US | 88%[29] |
| Cheat Code Central | 4.5/5[30] |
| Destructoid | 8.5/10[31] |
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