18th September 2011 - Warhammer 40k:Space Marine gives you third person melee and shoot-em-up action where you fight against nasty and war hungry enemies named Orcs. Its bloody, its fast and they keep on coming! So strap in for our review to see if Space Marine will satisfy your alien killing itch!
GAMEPLAY:
Expect gore, gore and some more gore as Space Marine puts you in the shoes of Captain Titus, leader of the space marines, he sounds cool and well he is, big too. This ultramarine is sent to a world that those damn green Orcs have invaded. Now you and a few brothers in arms have been sent to try and neutralize the current situation and that’s being real brief with the story. Obviously this is enough to get Captain Titus and his crew blowing and cutting up some Orcs that get in his way and also there’s betrayals, twists and epic boss battles. Space Marine doesn’t make it hard for those who have no idea about the franchise like myself as anyone can figure it out as its straight forward and enjoyable too. You will have a few cinematics here and there but nothing real dramatic, you know the drill, people talking about blah blah blah you got to do this blah blah blah I think you get the point.
Well you have a rough idea of the story and how it travels. Onto the controls, they are pretty sweet by saying that I mean easy to use as shooting your gun is like every other third person shooter, throwing a grenade the same. You swing your mass melee weapon with one button and press another to change it up to a different combo. It sounds easy right well it is but it isn’t, you need to put both in action while being swarmed or about to be swarmed. Space Marine makes you use all weapons that are given to you which changes things up a little and at times when I died I had to change strategy knowing what those damn Orcs had install for me. I must say one of my favourite things and annoying things is finishing an Orc to regain health. Helpful, yes, but also annoying because you lose health while finishing the suckers off and it is at times a liability and necessity (strange I know). You might ask why are you losing health? Well its because the other Orcs are attacking you while you rip the sucker apart and might I add it looks cool as there’s a few variations of it too.
MULTIPLAYER:
Online offers you a heap of customization that you unlock as you try dominate the other team and you also get 3 fighting classes to choose from which changes how you fight dramatically (jump pack dude , heavy weapon dude, tactical dude). There’s perks like the Call of Duty franchise which you unlock while you level up and complete tasks. This also goes for armoury customisation. Perks are sweet as they help so much because you will get owned. The lack of game modes concerned me but they keep you stimulated with the 2 you have on offer. Online is very fluent hardly any lag and seems to connect to matches relatively quickly. Your might be wondering if it is Orks vs. Space Marines? Well no but its Space Marines vs. Chaos. I did some research and Chaos are the Dead Space Marines long ago that have been taken over by a demon spirit and they are nasty looking.
GRAPHICS:
The game looks really good, everything is clear to the eye. Surroundings are basically the same destroyed building with dead body’s lying around. So no real ground breaking graphics but its real solid and does the job.
SOUND:
As you play you will hear Orcs, gunfire and explosions. This is done well, nothing out of this world but very passable. The voices of the space marines are sharp and very understandable, no music what so ever unless you stare at the start screen. Overall good job nothing earth shattering.
VALUE:
The game is definitely worth the cash as the campaign is hard and you get three levels of difficulty which is ok but the hardest level is a joke(meaning real hard). The story can’t be altered so no real replay ability unless you change the difficulty. Online is very addictive with three fighting classes, two game types for now, lots of customization options, perks and a limited amount of maps but more is coming and the general experience is really fun.
OVERALL:
I really enjoyed Space Marine as its got a bit of Gears of War and Halo too it, now I am not saying it is as good as those games but its got a cool feel to it. Online is addictive and really fun and how the other team plays really changes how you play for instance I will be jet packing my way around dropping my hammer then I have been gunned out of the sky, so I sniper them gunners hence we have a ground battle. There’s only two game types, but there is a horde mode coming out in October and its free. So I must advise to get Space Marine as its definitely worth the price tag.
SCORE: 8/10
Pros:
+ Smooth gameplay
+ Addictive online multiplayer
+ Cool perks and customisation
+ Good variety of attacking options, campaign and online
Cons:
- Lack of maps and online types
- Finishing Orks can save you or be your downfall
Reviewed and Written By James Cascini