You take the role of Captain Titus of The Ultramarines (the preeminent chapter of the Space Marines in 40k lore) as he is en route to a forge world (a planet devoted to the creation of the imperiums instruments of war) to quell an Ork invasion, and secure the most valuable strategic assets on the planet, the titans. The plot from there is a straight forward affair, and well it should be, Warhammer 40,000 is, and likely never will be about deep webs of intrigue. From a Space Marine's point of view, he exists to destroy the enemies of man. And that, is exactly what you do.
At first glance it's a standard over the shoulder shooter but without cover. You run around firing the many weapons at your disposal, the bolt pistol, plasma pistol, bolter, storm bolter, stalker bolter, vengeance launcher, lascannon, melta gun, and plasma gun, but only until you move into melee range, and that's where things get truly gruesome. There are several melee weapons in the game, but probably the most viscerally entertaining of them is the Chainsword. The Chainsword is exactly what it sounds like, a massive sword with a chainsaw in place of a blade. Other weapons include, the combat knife, the power axe, and the Thunder Hammer. In melee you have several attack options, standard swings, stunning blows, and horrifyingly brutal executions. You can chain swings and "kicks" as the game often refers to them for various effects. For example, 3 swings with the chain sword followed by a kick, causes the captain to slam his foot down with enough force to send everyone around him flying, and enough to stun the target directly in front of him, leaving the target vulnerable to an execution. Executions aren't just grizzly fun though, they serve a purpose as well, not only do they take an opponent quite definitively from the battle, but they also restore a portion of Titus' health, proportionate to the strength of the enemy. Executing an elite, for example, will restore Titus to full health, while executing a standard Ork Boy will reward you with about half of your health. You are vulnerable while performing these moves however, so often the health you gain from doing it, doesn't outweigh that which you gain. So your best course of action is often to save these for a last resort, or to keep one enemy alive to harvest once his friends are dead.
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| Yep, that's a chainsaw, through his mouth. |
There is a portion of the game, a little bit past the half way mark, where things get abruptly more difficult. For the first half of the game I was able to bull rush my way into melee and cut apart my enemies with nary a scratch on me in the end. But after the half way point I found myself getting killed left and right. Thankfully the checkpoint system is (usually) very good, and it's rare that you're set back more than 5 minutes or so after death.
And that brings us to graphics, which in this case are a bit of a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, nothing looks outright bad, this isn't another COD MW3 or Duke Nukem Forever. But the environments feel a little bit flat on occasion, they aren't all that well textured. Artistically they are accurate and true to the source material but in execution they came out somewhat wanting. Character models however are ridiculously well detailed. As you carve apart your Orkish and Daemonic enemies you will find yourself coated in their blood, even seeping into the recesses of your power armors ornate carvings. To be fair though, character models are all you're likely to take note of, combat simply moves too quickly to be able to stop and appreciate your surroundings. And the pace of the game itself is such that you are constantly fighting for your life. It's only on a few rare occasions that you actually walk, talk, and have a chance to look around. Most dialogue is given either in cutscenes or, shouted over the roar of chainswords and bolter fire.
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| Did I mention it's violent? |
Another thing that Relic and co got right once again is the personality of the separate factions in play. The bullheaded, stupid Orks, who really only want a good fight. The forces of Chaos, as pure an evil as exists, who want only to subjugate or kill every living thing. And the Space Marines, whose single purpose is to stop the marauding forces of evil, by any, and I do mean any, means necessary. Their greatest success with this game though, was probably the personality of the Orks. When the space marines arrive and begin tearing their friends into little christmas colored pieces, rather than screaming and running they simply shout things like "It's a fight now!" or "It's the space marines! Get em' boys!". Things like this are probably the only lighthearted moments in the game, which is fitting, because in 40k, the only team with any kind of a sense of humor, is the Ork's (I'm not spelling that wrong by the way, the Ork's are just stupid and have always spelled their own name wrong to the extent that it's now the right way to spell it.)
What story exists is typically quite simple, it does have one or two fairly solid twists that don't feel too contrived or forced. But it's a fairly straight forward save the world from evil type of romp. And I won't say more than I already have for fear of ruining the few high moments the story presents. I've heard many people actually complaining about the simple story, but I can only assume that these are people who have never had knowledge of the source material. And as usual I never gave the multiplayer a real try so you'll have to look elsewhere if you want to hear about it, sorry. But all in all Space Marine is exactly what a fan of the source material could want in a game, (unless you're a fan of the Ork's or Daemons) it's brutal bloody and unrelentingly violent from beginning to end, it's fun to play, and the story provides just enough of a vehicle to keep the bullets and chainswords flying. I give it an 8.75 out of 10. THPATHE MUREEEEEEEENS
Space Marine is property of Relic
All else is ©Alex Jenkins 2012
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