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!
Sympozium
Buy it, for the chapter and the Emperor!
job
if you play this before darksiders then it feels mildly enjoyable. once you play darksiders though its an instant delete for all us plussers.
MadBoJangles
Utter tripe.
I thought the demo was okay for a blast em up, turns out the full game is basically the demo over and over and over again.
Repetitive is an understatement.
I can’t even be arsed to whore it for the trophies.
AVOID IT.
Tuffcub
I rented this a while back and it is very repetitive, I got bored of wiping out waves of Orcs so sent it back before completing it. Avoid.
parryman
im enjoying it, got it on + for gratis.
would i pay for it?
maybe if i can get it for less than a fiver.
I guess [b]Bargain Bin It[/b]
Ericldn
Picked this as a PS+ member and I must admit it’s been strangely quite entertaining from beginning to (almost) end. Yes, it’s pretty much hacking (more than shooting, for me anyway) your way from room to room but it’s pretty seamless in a ‘riding a wave’ kind of way and, I find, quite hypnotic. The story’s not too bad, the graphics, whilst not really ‘next gen’, good enough when all that you see -most often- is blood-splattered enemies after enemies, all of which are pretty much in your face and, finally, good voice acting considering everyone wants to be a bad-ass in this game. I mean, all of the above, “free”? What’s not to like?
Ericldn
Oh, and super fast load times! :-)
Ericldn
Free if you a PS+ subscriber, if you’re not, I’d say Rent It.
Pritchie101
Space Marine is a mess. The controls feel unfinished, and don’t feel…how can I put it? They don’t feel right for this game. Plus, the game is very repetitive, the same enemies, puzzles and scenarios. It’s a big fat AVOID IT from me.
Jim Hargreaves
From a reviewer’s perspective, I’d easily give this game a high rental or firm bargain bin. It’s good in parts though falls into repetition way too often. The melee combat is great fun to start off with but five minutes in and it already feels somewhat shallow. The narrative is also incredibly thin on the ground, with any 40K fan being able to spot the small cluster of twists a mile off. It’s disappointing, especially straight off the back of Black Library’s showcase of masterfully-written 40K novels.
For me the redeeming aspect was multiplayer. Sure, it didn’t do much exciting, but the game modes were solid, the gameplay itself balanced.
Jim Hargreaves
To clarify, it’s a bargain bin for me.
mugsybalone
Somehow, the developers have achieved the impossible. They’ve managed to make being an ass-kicking, armed-to-the-teeth, hard-as-nails space marine, dull and repetitive. Take a bow, chaps.
Avoid.
An-dz
The game isnt terrible, it is very repetative like everyone will say, you probally wouldnt want to hang onto it but if you are a long time fan of 40K ( I.e. you have the table top models, read the books etc ) you will probally enjoy this, worth renting so il give it s Rent it