Ah the space marine. They seem to come in just behind “generic military grunt” in this generations list of overused characters, but they keep cropping up regardless.
Whilst the success of Halo and Starcraft certainly helped to spark off the increasing numbers of hulking marines in heavy armour, the Space Marines of Warhammer 40,000 have been battling away since way back in 1987, a year I can only assume was dominated by Warhammer and the news of my birth in equal measure.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, released by THQ last year, sought to bring the often overlooked marines back to the forefront of gaming, and to do it in style. As Dan said in our review of the game, it’s immediately clear that “the protagonist, Captain Titus, is a total badass.”
It’s always a good idea to make a character’s badass nature obvious from the start, you don’t want people getting confused when they start gunning down enemies at a rapid pace. After getting his man crush for Titus out of the way, Dan actually managed to play the game and found it to be “a pleasant surprise”, scoring it at 8/10.
He seems particularly fond of the game’s melee gameplay, almost worryingly so, although it seems the guns were hardly disappointing. To be fair if you have a choice between using a gun or attacking someone with something called a Chainsword, you’re going to pick the latter every time.
The biggest problem he had with the game was a lack of variety; endlessly clearing room after room of enemies doesn’t make for great gameplay any more. That lack of variety was one of the issues he highlighted in his concluding remarks on the game:
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine has been a pleasant surprise. It provides a good story wrapped in some very enjoyable gameplay mechanics. Whilst it does have a few niggles, there’s no denying that it’s a hoot to play through as you hack, slash and blast your way to the Spire.
The key issue though is the lack of variety, which may put a few people off. If Relic can make a sequel with a bit more meat to it, that game could be something very special indeed. Until then though, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is well worth your attention.
So whilst Dan seemed to enjoy the game, it’s time to see what you thought of it.
Fortunately it’s one of the inaugural offerings for the revamped PlayStation Plus, so I hope those of you who subscribe have grabbed yourself a digital copy and have played enough to form an opinion of the game. Of course, you’re by no means discounted from taking part if you grabbed a copy when it hit the physical shelves originally, rather than the digital ones.
If you feel like sharing your opinion on the game, all you need to do is drop a comment below. Once you’ve worked out what you want to say, remember to add a rating to your comment from the Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It, Avoid It scale.
You’ve got until Sunday evening to get all of that done, so get writing!
Narayan11
I really like it. Im midway and i played and hated the demo which was disappointing as i was looking forward to it, being a fan of Gamesworkshop. I got it for free on Plus (which is a brilliant service!) and funny enough i am really enjoying it. Storyline is good, commands are good and responsive, health system is new and exciting and it brings the whole Space Marine vibe that you live for the Emperor, and all that Orc blood splattered on your armor looks great. The big industrial visuals i think they are a plus and a great addition to the whole visual of Warhammer 40k, very big, gothic, industrial feel and wondering through debris of what was a world at war, was very well achieved in my opinion. If it wasnt for Plus i would have never bought it, so Id say Rent it.
jaberwocky_eidas
For this was the game of last year for both he epic campaign and addictive multiplayer. Criticism that the game is repetetive don’t hold for me, as shooting hordes of enemies is what you do in pretty much every action game since Space Invaders. The graphics aren’t spectacular in the technical sense, although they are solid, but the art design is great with great character models and impressive vistas.
Multi player is where it shines, as the three classes are highly different and fit the lore of 40k quite well. The satisfaction of unloading a melta to someones face is unmatched! Get it on Plus, it’s only 5 gig!
allan_treebeard
The multiplayer really saves this game.
Whilst I enjoyed the single player campaign, there isnt really much depth to it, especially towards the end. Not worth multiple playthroughs unless your going for trophy collection. The actual story is decent enough though, with good voice acting and a plot that while interesting, could have been better considering the wealth of material the Warhammer universe can draw upon.
The multiplayer is where Space Marine really redeems itself though. The class based system of tactical/devastator/assault marine really appeals to the 40k universe and offers up a wealth of different options. The level advancement doesnt favour the high level players too much and the different unlockables provide plenty of incentives to carry on using certain weapons. I have been thoroughly addicted since I started playing it on PS+ a couple of weeks ago.
I would definetly reccomend as a Bargain Bit, unless you dont play online in which case this is a rent it.
LTG Davey
Generic and repetitive. Worth a rental for Warhammer fans, otherwise I wouldn’t bother.
Unterred
I agree with most of the other weviewers. The game is repetitive and unfortunately can be quite clunky in places. Moving around slowly from area to area can be a bit of a drag. It’s good points are extremely satisfying though. Who can fail to like ripping into huge orc hoards with a chain sword while blasting others with a machine gun. It’s brilliant fun and some of the best action to be had on a next gen console. The jet pack section is also brilliant and handled better than Red Faction: Guerilla. All in all it’s a BARGAIN BIN rating for me. I picked it up new for £10 new and it wad well worth it. At £40 I might of been a bit disappointed as there isn’t enough variety in the single player and the multiplayer on it is a bit boring as you can only play as either marines or chaos marines and not orcs which means both sides are too simelar when facing each other in death matches and other battles.