The Dawn of War RTS series has been the premier Warhammer 40k video game presence for a long time, but I'm happy to say that Space Marine takes a decent stab (pun intended) at giving video gamers a more action oriented view into Warhammer 40k and the life of a Space Marine.
Simply put this game is a gory Ork snuff fest with the main Space Marine character slicing through thousands of Orks with his trusty chainsword, power axe or thunder hammer. The way you regain lost health is even by doing bloody "execution" finishing moves on your hapless and stunned opponents, which includes timeless classics such as lifting up your victim by the tip of your sword and revving it gleefully or throwing him to the ground and curb stomping his head with your heavily armored foot (and who said video games were full of meaningless violence?)
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| If you look at this picture and go "Awesome!" then Space Marine is for you |
There is a plot in Space Marine but it basically serves as little more than an excuse for why you have to move from the now Ork free point A to the Ork rich point B, carving your way through low IQ entities that rush your way, like Justin Bieber getting to his limo after a concert, complete with high pitched screaming.
What Space Marine does really well is give you a sense of the power that these super soldiers of man wield and give you a sense of the giant scale of slaughter that is war in the 41st millennium.
When running around you really feel like there is a lot of inertia and weight to your movement and the ranged weapons have a satisfying chunky feeling to them, so firing a bolter feels as violent as you would expect when you are shooting out small self propelled warheads from a machine gun.
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| I love the smell of burning Ork in the morning... Smell like victory. Also bacon |
The game manages to balance ranged and close combat fairly well, with probably 60-70% of the fighting being done at range, which then shifts as either you are rushed by a large wave of enemies or you need to close in and regain some lost health.
Despite your immense strength and ability to cut through Orks like a blowtorch through butter, close combat never feels risk free as the great number of enemies can quickly swarm you and overwhelm you if you get careless, so there is always tension even while you feel like a complete badass (much like Justin Bieber trying to make his way to his limo after a concert).
The campaign is not extremely long, but I think it has a fitting length as this sort of game could easily outstay its welcome if it ran on for too long.
If you like the Warhammer 40k universe or like these sort of 3rd person shooters then I highly recommend Warhammer 40k: Space Marine. However I will also be the first to agree that this is in no way of the same quality as something like Gears of War or Uncharted 2.
For that it is just a bit too simple and one dimensional, but give it a few hours of your life and it is sure to entertain you and leave you with a gleeful smile on your lips. Unlike Justin Bieber
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