Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Armed with a Combat Knife and Bolt Pistol, and adorned to the neck in sexy blue Power Armour, our hero of the day is Captain Titus, alongside his brave squad of one pessimist and one gung-ho. This motley trio must brave peril—which happens to be an Ork invasion—and save the world (or the universe, even) from unspeakable destruction and possible extinction. This plot and its variants have been done to death in all their glory and stagnation in a dime-a-dozen games, so much so that the mere whisper of "invasion" or "tough heroes" is enough to elicit a series of frustrated moans from gamers and critics alike. Though many have taken different approaches to this gaming trope—ranging from subtle to not-so-subtle—few have actually succeeded in making their creations unique or different.
For example, a developer might introduce an unprecedented game mechanic, or perhaps downsize or blow up an already existing feature, culminating in an experience worthy of going through at least once. Relic Entertainment did exactly that; they blew up the one quality of hack 'n' slash games that matters most—a copious amount of gore and creative death executions—amped it up to 11, and presented a devastatingly entertaining, masochistic, and challenging game. While it bears a strong resemblance to other shooters in terms of story, it is strictly Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine in terms of intense violence, bad-assery, and robust controls. Simply put: Space Marine is the God of War experience I've always wanted on the PC!
Space Marine starts off in a very typical manner: you are responding to a threat because, apparently, the last line of defense and everyone's hope is you. With your armory and squad's status in check, you bravely plunge into the eye of the storm, putting your foot so far up your enemies' asses that they not only become numb, but cease to be asses. While you start armed with relatively weak weapons and the initial enemies are easy one-shot kills, jaded players know that in games like this, everything gets progressively buffed up. What they aren't able to predict, however, is how fast or slow it takes for that to happen. Needless to say, in Space Marine, the transition happens rather quickly, and you go from a general waste-layer to a crater-maker in a matter of minutes.
As soon as you get off the spaceship and reunite with your squad members, a weapon portal (a recurring object in the game) grants you a chainsword. This melee weapon is exactly what the name implies and is easily one of the coolest, bloodiest weapons you get in the game due to its carnage effectiveness and combos. Just as the game hands you a shiny new toy to lay waste with, it conjures a Slugga Nob into the tiny battlefield, perfectly balancing out the two ends of the spectrum. A Slugga Nob is a huge barbarian akin to the greenskin seen on the cover of Cyanide's 2009 fantasy football game, Blood Bowl (which just happens to be a Warhammer spin-off). If you are a newbie, your first few rounds with this new bad boy won't be easy, but after a few tries, you will get the hang of it.
If this generic approach to battling larger specimens is starting to turn you off, do yourself a favor and don't let it. The enemy A.I. is surprisingly smart; they will evade your attacks and take cover if things get too hot. Granted, the smaller greenskins brainlessly sprint in your general direction like pigs excited to get slaughtered, but the bigger ones act almost as a mirror to you and your squad—so taking them out, for the most part, won't be a cinch. I found this welcoming as it gave me a reason to frequently change my weapon to better suit the mannerisms of the enemy. The game also features a loosely executed interactive environment, in the sense that you can shoot flammable canisters (red barrels, basically) and pipe systems to trigger explosions. I hesitate to use the term "destructible environment" because you don't get the option to turn the battlefield layout to your favor, which, in a game like this, could have been an awesome mechanic.
The battles themselves, although starting off nicely and with hints of something new, more or less transition into generic, everyday fights. The purpose of the battles varies slightly, as does the buildup of the momentum, but the premise thoroughly remains the same: a handful of guys against a massive army of greenskins. Sometimes you're left to venture alone for a while while your squad members escort a side character, leaving you more vulnerable and sensitive to greenskin attacks. It is in these "el solo lobo" moments that I found the perfect opportunity to test out my latest acquired purity seal or melee weapon.
Speaking of purity seals and weapons, they aren't exactly original or unlike anything you've ever seen before. But they are, however, executed much better than most. Take the main weapons for example—after a few missions into the game, you get to carry four weapons in your inventory. The first one will be a relatively weak and small weapon with minimal damage power, but it has the advantage of infinite ammo. The second weapon from the primary group was perhaps the most ridiculously overpowered gun of the bunch, and it often emerged as the best choice throughout the campaign mode. At least for me it did. The third and fourth secondary weapons will mostly consist of one-shot-kill weapons that are heavy on damage but low on reload speed and ammo capacity.
In fact, the Meltagun (arguably one of the most devastating guns acquired in the game) may have the awesome power to stun a Slugga Nob in just one hit and obliterate it in three, but it has severely limited ammo and a lengthy recharge time. This makes it ineffective amid a greenskin horde or when many Shoota Nobz or Rokkit Boyz are around. In the melee weapons department, you get your standard hack 'n' slash paraphernalia specifically designed for head-chopping and gut-slicing. Though they get replaced rather infrequently, your lengthy outings with each of them means you will eventually get to know them, caress them, and love them equally. Parting with one will make you feel as if you're waving goodbye to a loyal subject. It's emotional stuff, and there's nothing we can do about it.
Purity seals are a bit curious, and interesting to boot. Curious in the sense of how eerily identical they operate to the power-ups you get in the God of War games. I guess there should be no surprises there, as some of the crew behind this game had also worked on God of War and apparently Gears of War as well. I just wish the logic and implementation of the purity seals had some originality or distinctive features to them; every time Captain Titus bellowed to the heavens while getting covered in a dark goldenrod aura, the image of Kratos preparing to cook up a violent storm always appeared in my head. Also disappointingly, they only last for a few seconds. Lastly, they are interesting in regard to how out of place they look. Fine, science fiction with a touch of fantasy (alien or not) is always appreciated, but fusing Harry Potter with The Terminator leaves one in confusion, with a "WTF" exclamation hovering above their head. Although it's a minor issue and one that quickly gets forgotten in a short passage of time, it remains a worrisome reminder of the faults of the game.
Which is what, you may ask? For starters, originality in this game is about as long as the word itself, and only goes so far. As mentioned before, several of the crew behind Space Marine were also behind the creation of other (more successful) hack 'n' slash and shooter games, but this shouldn't have been an excuse for getting lazy and stealing from their own previous works. When the legendary team behind the first-person Ultima games (which included Warren Spector and Doug Church) shifted to the making of the original System Shock and Thief, they indeed borrowed several elements from the Ultima games they had worked on, but they also radically changed everything from top to toe so that no two games were alike. And while even a toddler could easily distinguish between Space Marine and, say, God of War, the micro and subtle features mutual to both stick out like a sore thumb! Chief among the other faults are the at-times repetition and the seriously non-existent A.I. of your squad members. When you're up against a horde, try to count how many greenskins your buddies manage to kill. Rarely will it go beyond two, as they take the same amount of time to kill a simple greenskin as it would take you to kill a boss Nob!
The voice-overs are decent enough, with Mark Strong—who portrays Captain Titus—understandably emerging as the clear standout. Strong brings a good sense of a weathered warrior feel to the role, instead of opting to choose the readily available "rough hero" or "always complaining badass" cliché. Titus's loyalty to his code and mission, his seemingly incorruptible nature, and the fact that he doesn't bitch and moan about every negative activity that takes place all made for a character I found more accessible and likable than his snarling, realistic, gear-head counterpart, Marcus Fenix. The latter always whines about the minutiae of things and almost never steps down from being the guy who screams "I didn't sign up for this shit!" whenever faced with something 20 times bigger than him. However, Captain Titus is not a fully developed character and isn't given much of a personality to work with. The little that he is programmed with indeed makes him likable, but also monotonous and slightly one-sided. The rest of the cast, unfortunately, exists only to populate the in-game world with stereotypical characters.
Before gearing up for a relatively dangerous mission or meeting up with a person of interest, a cutscene occurs. While I was expecting them to be average at best, they actually surprised me with their weight and animations. In fact, the animation and facial movement of the character models reminded me of those in Half-Life 2—and I believe this is the best compliment I can give regarding the cutscenes. Where Gears of War emphasized cinematic explosions and slow motion, Space Marine uses its brief cinematic moments to further the story at a steady, brisk pace. While they may be brief and very few and far between, they are well done.
In conclusion, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine is one of the more impressive third-person shooters on the PC. A combination of gory gameplay and rewarding progression, Space Marine is a good example of how maxing out one element of a game can make for a great experience. While it may have its faults and may come off as repetitive for the most part, Space Marine is nevertheless a fun, energetic, on-your-toes hack 'n' slasher that you may perhaps want to revisit!
Note: Screenshots from all platforms that were available at the time can be found here at Moby Games.
