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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
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Graphics & Sound:
Would you believe that the roots of this modern game go back to the late '80s? That's when the lore of Warhammer 40,000 began to form. The payoff for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine in 2011 is that it draws effortlessly from decades of creative input and refinement. Lush visuals and a rich storyline for each character make even newcomers to the franchise feel at home. The voice-acting is a notch above most in the genre, putting Space Marine on par with some of the best games on this platform, including the one it most closely resembles, Gears of War. Music ranging from moody, regal, to stirring, is used to great effect in combination with the graphics. What Space Marine offers that feels unique is to depict these future battles exactly as we would image them. Carnage, unchecked by kludgy mechanics or the need to juggle weapons, is your tableau. Your character is capable of effortlessly wading into a cluster of enemies for melee action, then rolling out and blasting them into oblivion with some futuristic gun. By the same token, super-actions are triggered easily and transform the battlefield in a way that far exceed what we've seen with bullet-time and other quaint devices. This is a game we'd compare to the film technique of Zack Snyder, where action looks so incredibly over the top and yet perfectly suitable for expressing a larger-than-life scale. Much like our first exposure to God of War, the visuals in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine capture everything we saw in our mind's eye when we imagined the raw power of a Space Marine.
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Gameplay:
The storyline, much like that of any dystopian drama, doesn't waste much time retelling the past. You do have some opportunity to bone up on these characters through the game, but interested players will find there is a ton of background narrative online, about even the smallest piece of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. The opener shows perfectly well how the Space Marine is a different kind of combatant. Part Iron Man, part Master Chief, and something strangely reminiscent of a role-playing Paladin, the trio of Marines you control are designed for a world in a constant state of war. They are more than human, and at the top of a royal pyramid that resembles a Feudal structure, leading most humans around them to address them as "Lord" and view them with quasi-religious reverence. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the Orks, not to be confused with Blizzard's somewhat similarly named opponents... The backstory of the Ork race is a rich one, if you care to research it.
The battle has finally come down to a high-stakes engagement against odds that would cause any normal fighter to retreat, but which pretty much amount to a normal day for a Space Marine. Rather than take the hub-and-spoke approach that was standard for mission-based action games of the past, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine leads you naturally through the story with no interruptions. Sure, compared to open-world games, it can feel somewhat linear, but the corollary is that you get a very cinematic presentation that holds together nicely from a narrative perspective. Replay value for single players suffers a bit, but there are a few incentives to play again, at least to pick up hidden items or master the game at higher difficulty levels. Where replay really blossoms is in a variety of multiplayer modes available, inspired by any classic LAN-party example you can think of from the last decade, but still engaging. You can pick from a mix of special characters - think Space Marine variations - and jump into play with up to 16 combatants. The multiplayer objectives are rather simple variations on Capture The Flag and elimination of all other enemies, but there's richness in the character customization that will keep you coming back. |
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Difficulty:
The three challenge-levels you can set for your campaign suggest Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is accessible to most players. This holds up for the most part, but there are a few basics you'll have to understand even at the Easy level. In recent action games that incorporate a "bullet-time" effect, the norm is to make your player invincible for the time that it takes to exhaust his or her special ability. In Space Marine, triggering special attacks or Fury Mode still leaves your character exposed to Ork attacks. In a nod to BloodRayne perhaps, Space Marine features an Execute move that drains health from enemies and replenishes your own reserve. The combination of a shield that recharges automatically over time, and a health meter seems designed to encourage a cover mechanic, but a Space Marine running away or hiding just doesn't feel right. You do have to think about balancing offense and defense, such as standing at a distance from the action and blasting enemies while your shield recharges. These are just tactics, that will work equally well on Easy or Hard difficulty. The more noticeable change is how enemies behave when you dial up the level of challenge. When set to "Normal" you'll find that enemies scatter as you attack, gang up on you for melee attacks, send fleet-footed creatures packed with explosives running at you in close spaces, and snipe with fair accuracy from remote spots. Combine all of these, and you can picture the typical battle during Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. It's a heaping spoonful of mayhem, and maybe an acquired taste if you're used to more controlled one-on-one battles in other action/shooting games. We relished the challenge and the change of pace; if unchecked devastation is your thing, expect Space Marine to deliver.
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Game Mechanics:
We found that Space Marine had more in common with side-scrolling 2D brawlers than a typical third-person shooter. Probably because of the focus on melee action, there are lots of attack combinations to memorize and use. Each weapon you unlock for use in the game will respond differently to even the same mix of light and heavy attack commands, and you'll need to learn which attacks work best when faced with specific enemies. Each Ork unit does have some predictable patterns, but as they begin to come in hordes, you'll have to constantly improvise and try new attack combinations. The basic combos are keyed to face buttons, but you aim and fire your ranged weapons with the triggers. Front buttons also play a role, and special attacks are launched by clicking the analog sticks. Did we mention that evasive maneuvers are also matched to face buttons? You get the picture. It's a lot to manage, nothing that a veteran fighting-game fan will balk from, but a control scheme that may feel daunting for those of you used to one- or two-button action games. The concept of assigning unique combos to each weapon is particularly effective in adding depth to the game.
There's depth and then there's Depth...Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine has enough variety in the small details to make things entertaining during the main single-player more, and fans of online multiplayer will enjoy tearing up the available maps with friends. Levelling up your characters during online play provides additional incentive, and there's always the option to replay the Campaign at a higher difficulty level. That said, Space Marine ultimately lacks enough truly unique content to compel players beyond the ending credits. After a few rounds of multiplayer, most core gamers will be yearning for more variety in mission objectives and in play modes. The lack of side missions and pick-ups also stands out in comparison to some other action/fighting games in this space. Don't get us wrong, this is only a bit of tarnish on what otherwise feels like gaming gold. Coming from our experience with titles like Halo, God of War, and Gears of War, we'd say Space Marine is absolutely in the same league. The key difference is likely to be the amount of time that Space Marine stays on your shelf. |
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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