Space Marine

 

Since 1987, Warhammer Forty Thousand models have adjured to fill table tops of battle thanks to Rick Priestly and The Games Workshop. In 2011, this dice fantasy was turned into a controller journey of battles and mass-slaughter, gun ‘n’ run, fun. Developed by Relic Entertainment and published by deceased THQ, this 3^rd person shooter implores you to rampage amongst Orks and other non-human targets – smashing their skulls to replenish health.

 Space Marines is all about the fun factor – so much that you can even forget about the story line. There is very little strategy to the game, other than grabbing a nearby enemy and stomping on them to replenish health. This health replenish system keeps the flow steady and doesn’t require you to hide around a corner for 2 minutes or tip-toe around the map until you find a pick-up – a mechanic which can kill the fun out of most games. At long range you have a barrage of fire-power with very little hiccup. Getting up close and personal is just as fluid as you grab, stab and finish enemies like a Soul Calibur tribute. However, after a while this does all become routine and I feel the game loses its edge … and then the jump jets appear. Only for little moments, but the jumps jets really open up the map, giving the player to the ability to smash players into the floor in a way Crysis 2 wouldn’t.

The graphics are good, not fantastic, but good. I would have liked to see a few less flat textures but the game is desirable considering it runs on the Xbox 360. The only things the game was missing was a few paint runs or over-spray on the characters to give that authentic Warhammer look. The sound, I found, was sufficient, though the characters sounded like heavy cigar smokers – perhaps it’s just a side-effect of gene modification.

The levels of the game did annoy me in the title. I found the maps rich of layers and detail, except all the nice details were on a plain different to our own. While enemies were firing down at us from vistas of surrounding sections, we were stranded on the lower levels as if playing Space Invaders. This was rectified by the jump jets, hence opening the map up, but still the majority of the travel was bland and served no purpose except to deliver the feeling of progression.

All-in-all, a very fun game to escape to and a game which actually tries to just be a game instead of an interactive movie.

 7.1/10