VIDEO GAMES

June 20, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

VIDEO GAMES

DAWN OF WAR II: RETRIBUTION

Publisher: THQ

System: PC

Price: $29.99

Age: Mature

Rating: 3 stars

In “Dawn of War II,” a handful of brave Space Marine heroes saved subsector Aurelia from an invasion by the ravenous, all-consuming Tyranids. But no matter what the Blood Ravens chapter of the Space Marines tries to do for its home system, things only get worse.

The stand-alone “Dawn of War II: Retribution” takes place a decade later, and the entire system is still in the grip of war as the heroes of the first game and its expansion, “Chaos Rising,” fight a civil war against Blood Ravens led by a corrupted chapter master, and as conflicts with the rowdy Orks, secretive Eldar, bloodthirsty Chaos Space Marines and remaining Tyranids rage on.

But all these groups face an immediate new threat: A vast fleet of the ships is on its way to wipe out all life in the region on behalf of the Emperor of Mankind.

“Retribution” plays much like the previous “Dawn of War II” chapters, with players in charge of small groups of powerful hero units gifted with unique abilities.

But while most heroes were accompanied by a small squad of soldiers that could be replaced for free at certain points on a map, this time around players can summon separate squads by spending resources. The heroes remain at the core of things, though, and they can still be upgraded with new abilities and better equipment between missions.

Where the previous games focused solely on the Blood Ravens in their single-player campaigns, “Retribution” offers six different factions with which to play through the main campaign. The Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Eldar, Orks and Tyranids are joined by the Imperial Guard, a plentiful force that relies on massed fire over individual brute strength.

There’s really just one campaign to play through, but six different ways to do it. A mission for the Space Marines in which Chaos is the enemy will look much different to an Imperial Guard player, where the Tyranids will infest the same level. Each version of the campaign has its own set of heroes and units, each with a variety of powers and abilities to gain and master.

This level of variety is also present in the game’s returning multiplayer mode, in which players choose one of three hero units to lead their troops into battle for control of various points on the map. Each player has a base structure that can be upgraded to produce more advanced units, and units may also be upgraded with various features, such as better armor or specialized weaponry, at a cost.

Also returning is the Last Stand mode, in which players team up to fend off incoming waves of enemies for as long as they can.

Justin Hoeger, McClatchy Newspapers