SPACE MARINE (the computer game) – Review

[Angelus Mortifer]

If you're like me and an absolute nut for 40k then you will have picked up a copy of the latest Relic computer game. Having just completed the story mode I thought I'd give you chaps a quick review of it for those who are interested. I haven't hooked up to the Online Mode yet so this is just about the story and mechanics for now. There might be some spoilers in here too so watch out!

STORY
The story itself is pretty good and not overly complex because, after all, this is a hack-and-shoot game and not the 40k equivalent of Final Fantasy. It's set on a distant Forgeworld, the main production element being the construction of Warlord Class Titans. The world comes under attack from a vast Ork Waargh, and the Ultramarines are sent in to ensure the Titans don't fall into Ork hands, as well as generally driving them back and defeating them. You take control of Captain Titus, the main protagonist, and throughout the game you're "helped" by two members of the Chapter: Sgt Sidonus and Brother Leandros – though their involvement is AI driven and doesn't really effect, either way, what you're meant to be doing. You'll also fight alongside the beleaguered Imperial Guard forces, who take a hammering before your arrival, but again they're there to add weight to the setting and environment. Still good though.

That's your mission, but inevitably there is a hidden threat to the world that slowly becomes apparent as you progress – the Orks are not your only enemies. There are a couple of plot twists here and there, but if you're a 40k player who knows a reasonable amount of the overall fluff (and not just a console player), then it's fairly easy to work out what's going to happen. Your battle takes you through various sectors of a Mechanicum Forge, through ruined hab blocks, battle-scarred streets, top level facilities and the Titan hangers themselves, amongst other places, so there is some pretty good variation of the scene.

Much like any game of this style, the story is pretty much on rails, and so it doesn't offer a great deal in the way of straying from the path to go and investigate interesting areas – and you will spend several moments throughout wishing you could go over here and there to have a look at things that are just scenery at the end of the day. It's a shame but understandable.

FEEL
The 40k fluff has Space Marines as the pinnacle of the Emperor's knowledge, able to best a hundred normal men in combat and survive against the odds. Sadly the tabletop mechanic doesn't allow for these super humans to be, well, super human. Not so in this game however. Here, you actually feel, and have multiple moments where you demonstrate exactly what a Space Marine should be. There are many set-piece battles throughout the game, often where you face a massed Ork charge where there are literally 30-40 enemies coming towards you en masse, and it is very satisfying to shoot and wade through those numbers and emerge "relatively" unscathed at the end of it – awesome!! Furthermore, Cpt Titus feels like he weighs a couple of tons all dressed up in his Power Armour, and his heavy clanking and the damage he does when he jumps down onto something are very in-keeping to what most feel a Marine should be like.

Throughout the gameplay, you'll often here the "mechanical" female voice of the vox network, telling the inhabitants to go to the nearest relief station, or on the other hand mentioning that the Mechanicus expects workers to report for work despite the invasion.

The Orks sound great, although the voice patterns get a little repetitive. If some heavy built, growling, cockney with a scarred right eye decided to start on you in a pub, then you'll get the idea of how the Orks sound when they charge in. Equally, the IG that you come across fall between those close to defeat and despair, or those showing stoic defiance in the name of the Imperium. Your "other" enemy shouts out their own brand of defiance and challenges, and it very reassuring when they claim they will destroy you in some way, only for you say to the TV, "er, no you won't" after you take your Power Axe out of their dead skull – excellent!

Throughout your journey there is always the background noise of the ongoing conflict on a mass scale. Explosions, cries of battle and other sound effects help to realise your situation as being effectively one man against insurmountable odds, and also having your involvement as one element of a planet wide defence. Again, this is done very well and helps add to the feel of the setting.

GRAPHICS
These are really well done and they present the grim, war-torn universe in excellent detail. Shadow and lighting, as well as flame and weaponry are all conveyed brilliantly; from the searing flash of a Plasma Gun, the deadly glow of a Power Weapon, or the smokey and shadowy surroundings of the sewer network – all of it is very atmospheric and in-keeping with the 40k background.

As you get stuck into the close combat your armour very quickly becomes covered in the gore of your enemies, and the flying blood and chunks as you tear into them are satisfyingly visceral. The same goes for popping an Ork with a Boltgun at range, and though it's often hard to discern, they've actually got the "hit and secondary explosion" of the mass reactive rounds down as well... another nice touch. Also, the detail of your ornate armour, as well as the detail they've put into pretty much everything is really good. Orky stuff looks suitably Orky and ramshackle, and the environment is littered with remnants of Imperial equipment, big and small.

MECHANICS
This is a combo of shoot and hack n' slash in 3rd Person, and it works really well, better than it would in 1st person IMHO. The controls are very simple and dependent on weather you're using ranged or close combat weapons (and there is a good selection of toys to play with). Switching between ranged and combat when you're in the thick of it is almost seemless, so you can create some brilliant moments of despatching a foe with a Chainsword to then immediately pull out your bolter and pop a head from far away.

CC weapons have combo moves, much like in Beat 'Em Ups, but not overly complex. String more combos together to increase the damage of an ongoing attack, and certain combos allow you to stun opponents to enable FINISHING MOVES!! (More on those in a mo). As you progress through the story you get to unlock certain levels of "Fury", much like a rage meter that, when full, allows you to go on a major killing spree, causing higher levels of damage as you go, and enabling you to really go toe-to-toe with some of the harder enemies. There are 3 levels of Fury to collect, each of them upping the ante on your Furious Charge abilities.

Fury can also be used when handling ranged weaponry. Everything goes the 40k equivalent of "Bullet Time" and you get to pop heads and various body parts in extreme slow mo. Very satisfying and even better to see when using the scope that some weapons have built in. Once the meter runs out (on either), then gameplay returns to normal and you start to build up the meter once more.

As for the Finishing Moves, there are some really fun ones, and all of them are very satisfying. From despatching an Ork by stabbing him in the top of the head with your Combat Blade, to literally ripping the head off a large Ork Nob – all of them are great (some of my favourites are below).

WEAPON OPTIONS

Of the weapons there are some great little choices, and a couple of mild duds.

CC: Combat Knife, Chainsword, Power Axe... and THUNDER HAMMER (Very, very enjoyable)
BS: Bolt Pistol, Bolter (that can be upgraded to Sternguard types in terms of damage output, or the Stalker Pattern version, which acts like a sniper rifle), Meltagun (replaces the Shotgun equivalent standard), Plasma Pistol and Gun (both that can rapid fire, or be charged to unleash a bigger shot – could have done more with these), Lascannon (fun, and useful for taking out nasty enemies but I preferred using the smaller arms most of the time), plus some others...


THE 40K NOD WITH EXTRA SMILE
Despite the very obvious 40k feel and setting, there are a few things that just made me smile at the extra detail that's gone into the game.

New Weapons – Whilst ammo and options are littered around the battlefield in various Imperium crates, when you come across a new weapon or piece of equipment for the first time, these can be found in supply Drop Pods at various points on the battlefield. Nice touch.

Story Progression – Throughout the game you get snippets and hints as to what has really happened here by collecting Servo Skulls. These are hidden items that contain logs and reports, and either advance the plot or give you an overview of the invasion from the perspective of hab workers, guardsman and so on.

Ork charges – Having just had a Comp discussion about mass infantry builds, they've got the whole "huge numbers of angry Orks charging you" feel down to a tee. Whilst you are a super human Space Marine, it doesn't always pay to counter charge with weapons swinging, as the sheer weight of Orks against you can whittle your armour down in no time. Whilst this isn't an overly thought tasking kind of game, there are moments when you really have to pick your options. For example, unloading a full clip into a big group, maybe taking a few down to then even the odds when you charge in with a Chainsword. Sitting back and shooting all the time (silence Lee...! ) seldom works, as the set-piece battles are such that you can't bring them all down before they reach your lines. There's certainly no Comp in this game.

Vehicles – Whilst there are no driving sections, so no vehicles to get behind the wheel of, you still get to man the guns of a Valkyrie, and you will often come across Chimeras and other vehicles that again lend gravity to the whole conflict. Whilst it is just you against the odds, the AI world around you has still been putting up a resistance.

There are other moments like this that will definitely get 40k players smiling.


AWESOME MOMENTS
...and then there are points in the game that made me laugh like a child in a sweet shop.

Jump Pack! – Being a Blood Angel obviously, getting to actually use a Jump Pack in the game is very rewarding. It takes the battles to multiple levels, and there is a very cool "Diving Attack" option when you're airborne – great for taking out a thick concentration of enemies.

Storm Bolter! – Ever wondered what it really feels like to be a Terminator with one of these. Epic fun!! Chews through ammo like nobody's business but... hell yeah!!

Finishing Moves – There are a lot of finishing moves in the game, depending on your position to the enemy and the weapon you have to hand. A couple of personal favourites. For any of you who've watched 300, you'll appreciate these moves. When the Spartans break ranks early in the fight, and they do a lot of their chopping in slooooooooowwwwwwww mmmmmmmmmmoooooooooo, the combat system here is very similar in look, and it's just great watching it again and again:

- Nob Shield – You take down a Nob with a crude riot shield and axe, leaving him stunned. You then grab the shield, give him two very solid whacks with it and then stick it in his neck.
- Thunder Hammer Swing – Your opponent is stunned, so you give him one whack to get him on his knees, and then deliver the mother of all swings to send him flying in pieces. You will never tire of this!

Heavy Weaponry – As with many games like this, you'll come across some fixed weapon emplacements which you have to man in order to beat back a particularly determined enemy assault. Being a Space Marine you can rip the weapon from it's mounting and saunter around the battlefield laying down a truly withering amount of fire. Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons and Autocannons for all to use! Oh, and as another testimony to "getting it right", the sound of the weapons, particularly the Bolter round ones, is legendary (not so much for the Plasma though).

Gun Emplacements – One part of the story has you trying to reinstate the power supply to the automated weapons grid (...that's right, the actual Forgeworld Hvy Bolter kits you can get on their website). You have to do your fair share of close combat killing to get to the power source to reinstate it, but once you do the weapons go live, just in time for an even bigger Ork charge. I genuinely put my controller down for a good 2-3 minutes just to watch four of those emplacements gun down wave after wave of Orks. It's a shame there wasn't a button that lets you light a cigar at that point.

CONCLUSION
I may have missed a few things but to be honest I wouldn't want to ruin anything more. Would I suggest people buy this game... abso-****ing-lutely!! It's not a thinking man's game by any stretch, but it punishes anyone who thinks they have an aura of invincibility. Barring the literally miniscule pop-up, and occasionally getting stuck on a random bit of scenery, this game is visceral, engaging and a shed load of fun. Whether you like 40k or not, it will certainly appeal to those who like the genre... and if you love the fluff and setting, then so much the better.

Buy it! It's great!!

[fatolaf]

Nice review buddy, which console are you playing it on?

[Meals]

I'm getting it on Saturday, as it looks like silly amounts of fun.  Cheers for the confirmation, Seb.

[Angelus Mortifer]

Nice review buddy, which console are you playing it on?

Got the X-Box 360 version, and Jimbo... it really is a an exploding barrel of laughs (of which there are exploding barrels in the game too ).

[fatolaf]

Seb , when you have finished it, could I borrow it??

[Angelus Mortifer]

Seb , when you have finished it, could I borrow it??

Of course mate, no problem :)

[fatolaf]

Cheers Buddy

[Angelus Mortifer]

I've on purposely left out a big chunk of stuff from the review, so it's not a complete spoiler. Your "other" enemies are pretty cool, especially one type that have a very nice graphical touch to how they evade your attacks.

There are two main "bosses" to contend with, plus situational events on a relentless scale that mark the end of story chapters. The final boss encounter has a nice take on "fighting differently" - which also has your character giving an almighty head butt during the fight - another chuckle moment :)

[fatolaf]

I look fwd to it, last game I played (after being quite jaded with video games having sold them for 8 yeasr) was Arkham asylum which was awesome...

[Tom Hale]

i had a good play though most of it this weekend. Great fun. looks great (though grim and very 40k looking not too grimy, dark and dingy: nice colour put into the visuals). I personally just love wadining in with the thunderhammer. Also a thing to note the sound for this game is outstanding: great atmospheric music, when you walk powerarmour has a great stompy sound, genunely makes you feel the weight of the armour.

also had a few rounds of online multiplayer. not many maps in the selection we were on but good fun (devistators are broken however!)