Last Gen Lost Gems: Warhammer 40k: Space Marine

Developer: Relic Entertainment
Publisher: THQ
Released: September 2011
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Microsoft Windows, Cloud (OnLive)
Genre: Third Person, Action-Adventure
Modes: Single-player, Multi-player (online)
Distribution: Physical CD, Download (via Steam), Cloud Computing
Ratings: ESRB: M, PEGI: 18
Content Warning: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mild Adult Language

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To Walk Amongst Mere Mortals

“They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me.
Like clay I shall mold them and in the furnace of war I shall forge them.
They will be of iron will and steely muscle.
In great armor shall I clad them and with the mightiest gun shall they be armed.
They will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness will blight them.
They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe will best them in battle.
They are my bulwark against the terror.
They are my defenders of Humanity.

“They are my Space Marines.

“And they shall know no fear.” ~ The Emperor of Mankind

He glides down through the evening sky a creature of metal and muscle and steely resolve; as broken bits of steel and iron chaff ignite in oily fire around him as he falls. He ignites the jetpack strapped to his back, sailing through black plumes of smoke blooming in the blood reddening sky. As the world below grows to greet his arrival, a long, black ship crawling with green skinned monsters suddenly parts through dread clouds. Slowing his decent, he decides to visit upon the attacking Ork battleship a retribution. A just and brutal reckoning for defiling a world that belongs to the Empire of Men.

He lands hard enough to dent iron, to splinter wood; yet he feels nothing. For this man of metal and muscle, this giant among men, duty, honor, and pride forsake the fragile skin of humanity for the armored heart of war. A nigh indestructible force of nature. A force that can take on a whole legion of Orkan greenskins single-handedly with barely a scratch to show for it. Life is war. War is life. Death is the only release.

And as the green horde march to meet him, he simply smiles, draws his chain-sword, and goes to meet them.

One man. Over a hundred Ork warriors. Heh.

The Orks never stood a chance.

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In this recent entry to the venerable Warhammer 40,000 RPG series, you play as Captain Titus, sent to the Forge World of Graia in an attempt to stave off a massive Orkan invasion. But what should have been a by-the-book expulsion of greenskins quickly takes a turn for the worst.

“If your life is given in service to the Emperor, your death shall not be in vain.”

You got to hand it to Warhammer 40,000. This is a series that has spanned twenty five years of continuity, and was simply content, for the most part, to let others borrow liberally from its precedents. Both WarCraft and StarCraft probably wouldn’t exist in the capacity that they do without this series’ inspiration backing them up. Or, for that matter, neither would games like Gears of War or even Halo. Yes, I went there. This isn’t simply the father of the gruff space marine with the give-em-all-hell attitude who walks softly and carries a big gun, and takes on an army of bad guys before breakfast, it is the mold by which many that have come after have been made from. And in Warhammer 40k: Space Marine, it’s time to show all the kids what daddy can do.

If you’re looking for a robust backstory, a deeper look into what makes your Space Marine, Captain Titus, tick however, you’re going to be a little disappointed. There’s not much to it. You’re simply given the briefest of introductions; you’re a Space Marine, you’re on a Forge World vital for the continuing survival of the Empire, and you’re told to simply start killing Orks. Lots and lots of Orks. And I mean a LOT of Orks. Normally, even a Space Marine such as yourself would have difficulty traveling through this mess of war and death; but thankfully you’re not alone (for the most part).

Backing you up are two of your Battle Brothers, men who are more than just simple bullet sponges for the encroaching greenskins that launch pretty much everything they have at you in an attempt to try and stop you from advancing. These men watch each others backs, dive in headfirst into the fray, and can take just as much as they can give. And make no mistake, Space Marines don’t hide, they don’t seek cover, they don’t cower in the dark. They have been born and bred and trained to do one thing: to kill.

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Which is why I find the game rather inventive when it comes to regaining lost health. It reinforces this “Space Marines don’t hide” rule that Relic and THQ wanted to emphasize before the game’s release. In order to regain health you have to do one of two things. One is stun an enemy then grab it and perform an execution move. The other is to allow your Rage meter to fill up, pop it off and watch your health slowly regenerate during this time (with your speed and damage also going up from 10 to 11 on the hurt-o-meter). I like this mechanic because it keeps you active in battle, you’re not ducking behind cover waiting for your health and shields to regenerate or running around the battlefield looking for a damn health pack or something. The action is fairly constant, almost overwhelming at times, and crucial for your survival.

“We are the Ultramarines, the Sons of Guilliman. Whilst we draw breath, we stand. Whilst we stand, we fight. Whilst we fight, we prevail. Nothing shall stay our wrath.”

The one drawback to this idea, however, is that it can be quite hectic at times to pull off, especially when you’re in the all-alone periods, surrounded on all sides by enemies who still pick off your already-low health bar and trying to get in close enough to stun and down a target to regain that much needed boost can get a little…….frustrating. But as a squad? With both your Battle Brothers watching your flank and taking their fair share of the masses while you trample and tackle yours? Cakewalk stuff.

Combat is fluid and fast-paced, allowing you to switch on the fly between melee (your primary fighting style) and ranged. And while most of your combat is melee-based, there are opportunities for sniping and shooting to help you thin out the herd, so to speak. There are even points in the game that allow you to jetpack around the area wherein, when you land, you scatter enemies with thunderous aplomb (but no lightning sadly enough).

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As previously stated, the backstory is minimal. There are various floating “Servo Skulls” that you can find scattered across the various chapters that kind of give you a historical peek to the world and people of Graia before the attack. Unfortunately none of this history is about your own character. Because although Captain Titus (who, at least to me, sounds an awful lot like Clive Owen. It’s the accent.) comes across as an intelligent sounding, tactical man of war, it would have been nice to know more about the man you’re controlling. It’s a small, personal nuance on my part, but it would have been nice to just know the man a little bit more really.

On the multi-player, however, it isn’t quite as strong as the single-player campaign. Multi-player classes are limited to essentially two types of Marines; Imperial and Chaos. And beyond the visual difference, that’s pretty much it. True, there are three classes you can choose from and there is a rather extensive perk and customization system in place that invites people to want to try the rather thin-sided modes to level up, but it would have helped to offer more variety between the standard Team Deathmatch and Domination.

“Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.”

Everything has this sort of sepia/muted color palette to it, that gives the setting this well-worn look to the environments. You get this feeling that, pre-war and destruction, this planet and its environments once stood testament to being there for centuries. It all casts as a slightly dark, gritty looking world that varies in design and form throughout the various chapters. It would have all looked quite beautiful in fact (well, most of it anyway, some of it is rather….bland), had it continued to stand untouched by the harsh juxtaposition of the patchwork and piecemeal metal of Orkan battlements, strongholds and towers that now violate its once tranquil design. If there was a game that could hold the same title of “destroyed beauty” (ala Gear of War), then this would be it. Though not visually pulsating as other titles, it still hold its own quite well.

Gameplay is fluid and responsive. Going from ranged to melee is super-easy, and since you don’t have to worry about micro-managing your squad, the battles are fierce, fast and fun. There are a fairly robust selection of weapons; even one that fills that “I-feel-like-a-certain-demi-god” moment when you’re wielding a Hammer that’s spitting lightning (!) and launching yourself high up into the air to come crashing down to send a dozen or more Ork warriors scattering from the impact. But for the most part, your standard chainsaw-sword is your best friend. The sheer number of foes, however, can get a little intimidating. But they are fairly varied enough not to give the game too much of that “oh man not these guys again” that might weigh down the fun factor too much.

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The audio/voice-over is quite good. From the bombastic drums during combat, to the more quieter, somber pacing of the in-between periods, it’s all very good. Not exceptional or overly-dramatic, but it does a splendid job nonetheless of setting the mood and rhythm of the game. Various weapons all give off that high-tech pitch, be it the electrical thrum of a warhammer as it pounds Orkan nobs to green mush, to the reverb of a bolter rifle as it punches through an Orkan sniper and sends bits and pieces of the creature’s head scattering like a burst melon. Of course, these sounds can all be drowned out a bit by all the yelling and screaming of the Orkan hordes that more often than not attempt to literally swarm you and your Battle Brothers in a wave of blade and bullet death.

Which I should note that the Orks are, well, oddly sounding. Not in a bad kind of way. I mean, I was expecting Orks to come at me with this usual fantasy-filled grunts and howls. “Me big green Ork! Me kill!” in other words. I wasn’t expecting them to sound like a bunch of west side rough necks looking for a good fight. It’s somewhat comical, sure, as most Orks in the Warhammer setting usually are portrayed as. I just never expected them to sound somewhat…… intelligent.

“My colors I wear openly, they proclaim louder than any words, ‘I am proud to live – I am proud to die.'”

From a storytelling aspect, well, it’s not a horrible yarn. I mean, the campaign does have its emotional points and twists, but the backstory is somewhat lacking. If you’re new to the Warhammer series, it really doesn’t do anything to bring in new people to the series, beyond finding those aforementioned Servo Skulls, which flesh out the game’s narrative. As a self-contained story, sure, it’s adequate. But given the extensive history of the Warhammer franchise, it would have been nice to really give gamers an opportunity to introduce the setting and history of the Warhammer universe. A deeper look under its hood, in other words. Sadly, Space Marine doesn’t do that.

Despite the beefy mutli-player customizations, a few new maps, and some additional skins, and the skills/perks leveling system, there hasn’t been one new piece of single-player DLC for the game. And, given the demise of THQ, it’s doubtful there ever will be. In fact, now that I think about it, I doubt multi-player is still viable at all considering THQ is defunct. I’ve not played the game for some time, but I’m fairly sure the servers would probably be defunct by now.

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“There is no enemy. The foe on the battlefield is merely the manifestation of that which we must overcome. He is doubt, and fear, and despair. Every battle is fought within. Conquer the battlefield that lies inside you, and the enemy disappears like the illusion he is.”

Final Thoughts: Despite very little backstory, especially in getting to know your own character, some early bland-looking set pieces, and the somewhat-vapid mutli-player selection, overall Warhammer 40k: Space Marine is still big, dumb bloody fun. If you never had the chance to feel like a God amongst mere mortals, this is the game that gives you that chance. Some people might be a little intimidated by the just sheer number of foes coming at you. But don’t worry, once you get the hang of it all, even the most fearsome looking Ork or Chaos-touched foe simply becomes another notch on your chainsword as you disembowel and cut them down like big, blood-spurting trees.

And that is a lot of fun to do.

One Response to Last Gen Lost Gems: Warhammer 40k: Space Marine

  1. […] Fellow contributor Marcus Lawshe recently wrote an article about this game. You can read it here. […]

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