Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

The Warhammer 40,000 universe has had many a game over the years, with earlier titles being turn-based strategy games that weren’t widely known. Though the popularity of the table top game itself has never diminished, the video games had – and it took until the release of Relic Entertainment’s real-time strategy Dawn of War series for people to take notice once again. As competent a strategy game they were, I did always feel a need to see the action up close and the 2003 release of Kuju Entertainment’s Fire Warrior really didn’t cut it. For something that was based in the grim darkness of the far future in which there is only war, we still hadn’t seen any of that as the combatants themselves would see it. If it was real. Relic Entertainment seem to have noticed this desire among table top and video gamers alike, perhaps even in themselves, and took upon the mantle of creating a third-person action game which puts you in the power armour of a Space Marine, gives you a Chainsword, and throws you into the fray.

In Space Marine, you play as Captain Titus of the Ultramines chapter who is tasked with holding a forge world until the main reinforcements arrive. With hordes of Orks giving the Imperial Guard some trouble, and with the threat of them stealing a world-destroying Titan, Space Marines certainly seem necessary. I don’t consider this spoiler material (thanks to THQ showing them off in trailers) – the Chaos do make an appearance later on which turns the game into some sort of battle royale, which is only to the games credit. The Imperial Guard forces have been severely thinned out by the Ork horde and despite their low morale, the second the three Ultramarines show up, all is well. The amount of sighs of relief and “Thank the Emperor…Space Marines!” you hear is actually quite amusing, and also helps you feel incredibly bad ass, something that Space Marine continues to do well.

To be fair, I'm not really surprised that the Imperial Guard get so psyched about these guys.

The amount of times you’ll read the words ‘Space Marine’ in this review will probably be numerous, but bare with me here- there’s only so long I can go without saying it. You play as a Space Marine, the game is called Space Marine, and you fight against Chaos Space Marines. Now that’s out of the way. As addressed earlier, seeing the Warhammer 40,000 universe up close was something I’d always wanted to see. Seeing everything on ground level is a real treat. Sure, the environments aren’t the most interesting thanks to all the ‘boltgun metal’, ‘tin bitz’, and ‘catachan green’- but that’s the Warhammer universe the Ultramines live in. Dark, desolate, war torn. Relic Entertainment does a damn good job with what they have available to them, though. Particularly when it comes to bringing the original Space Marine to life and giving you control from a third-person perspective.

Being something around eight feet tall and bound in monumental power armour, playing as a Space Marine should probably feel moderately sluggish. Though Relic certainly does give you the experience of what it’s like to be a colossal tank on legs, you’re in no danger of ever thinking that you’re anything other than a gargantuan battle-hardened god. Sprinting feels especially fantastic, especially when you follow it up with a quick shoulder barge. Seeing blood pour out of an Ork’s face from experiencing your spaulders might is quite spectacular. All of this heft does have its uses, though. Weapons like the Bolter are impressive enough, but when you’re wielding something like a Plasma Cannon- you really feel it. Ranged combat is simple enough, with four ranged weapons available to you at any one time (unless you’re using a two-handed melee weapon) and it’s the usual trigger to aim, trigger to shoot deal. In addition, this is no Gears of War- Relic’s design philosophy was that Space Marines are so bad ass that they don’t need to sit behind cover. They are the cover.

Not much has to be said here. Space Marines.

With close combat, the sheer might you put behind your X and Y bound melee attacks is phenomenal, especially when a particular combo sends your chainsword swiping from side to side leaving behind nothing but red mist. Said combos aren’t ever difficult- this is no Devil May Cry. Usually (for me, at least) it boiled down to hitting my main attack on the X button until the combo ended with a large sweeping attack. I’d often changed my final button press to Y, which is your stun attack, to immobilise everyone around me with good purpose. See, though Titus does have a regenerative shield, his health does not recharge. Instead, he has to stun opponents or wait until they have low enough health for a B button prompt to appear above their head alongside a purple aura. Once he does so, he murders them in what can only be described as a staggering display of…well, murder. Once the ensanguined affair is over and done with, Titus has regained some of his health. Though you do have to be careful at times, as he can still take damage while the killing goes on.

As thick as the game is with its gratuitous murder and abundance of Warhammer 40,000 lore, the story is particularly unbefitting when put alongside Space Marine’s successes. Though it certainly isn’t the worst, it’s not exactly engaging thanks to a couple of stereotypes that the game rests its story upon. There’s an Ultramarine who is all too keen to play by the book. That book being The Codex Astartes, of course. There’s also the grizzled veteran, villain who typically wants nothing more than some sort of ascension and to eradicate all life, and a character who will blatantly betray you. You might think that the last character I mentioned is a huge spoiler, but really, I could tell right away what was going to happen with that guy- and so did others. Though 40k does have a lot of rich lore around it, it’s also bogged down with nothing but war. I get that this is the whole point of Warhammer, but it’s also doing itself a disservice for that exact reason. A shame, really- though the campaign is of decent length, lasting around eight hours or so.

Take a guess at who is who. It isn't hard. (Note: Screenshot taken from the PC version)

Luckily, the game has a adversarial multiplayer component that may appear tacked on, but is in fact a fully-fledged Call of Duty-esque suite. Oh, and yes, there is an army painter as well as armour customisation to make your Space Marine and Chaos Space Marine avatar any chapter you like. You can even make your own, but my personal preference is to stick with pre-existing chapters like Space Wolves, Black Templars, and Dark Angels. By Call of Duty-esque, I mean that the game essentially has what are unlockable perks, and weapons. Things are a little different here, though, thanks to Space Marine’s class-based gameplay. Unlocks are class specific, so whether you play as a standard Tactical Marine, soaring Assault Marine or Devastator Marine, there’s a fair bit to do in the multiplayer. The modes are a little thin, however, with the Annihilation gametype (team deathmatch) and a mode called Seize Ground (territory control). The maps aren’t too plentiful either, though the game will soon have a completely new mode added to it via DLC called Exterminatus, a wave-based four player cooperative horde mode. It’ll be free to anyone who purchased the game in early October, and the price for this DLC is unknown at the time of writing.

Those Chaos are blissfully unaware that they're about to have a pretty rough day.

If multiplayer is your thing, then you’ll definitely get some life out of Space Marine. Don’t take this to mean that the single-player isn’t worth your time, because it certainly is. Space Marine is simply a blast to play, and though the campaign is bogged down by a few less than ideal stereotypes, it’s brilliant to live and breathe the Warhammer 40,000 universe instead of controlling it with the hand of the omniscient and omnipotent. It’s certainly worth another playthrough for me sometime, and it will be for you too particularly if you’re a fan of Warhammer 40k.

Joe Marsden

Visit My Website / View My Other Posts

Creator of this fine mess you see before you, as well as all around swell guy. Probably seems like a total PC elitist, but honestly, he's not - really.