Warhammer 40k: Space Marine

[Flabio]

So I've played a few hours of campaign and a few hours of MP, and I think the reviews are pretty much spot on here.

There are definite gameplay flaws that show up once you play it a bit more than you were able to in the demo.

Having to gain health by stunning enemies and doing a finishing move is a nice mechanic, but you still take damage during the (long) kill animations, which means it doesn't really work as a last gasp thing. You still have to back off, let the shield recharge, and *then* go in for a health gaining finish move. Just making you invulnerable during the finishers would be enough to fix it to be honest.

The MP is interesting, but I'm not sure I fully get the balance of it yet. I can't seem to get any decent number of kills unless I'm playing the base tactical marine class, but other people seem able to rack up the points in the other classes so I guess it's just practice. The weapon loadouts (and armour pieces for the customiser) roll out really slowly as well so it'll be a while before I can use anything really interesting. They do have a mechanic where you can copy the loadout of the person that just killed you for your next spawn, which means you will at least be able to play with the toys early in most matches.

If you're not much of a fan of 40k then this is going to feel like a fairly average game to you. Because the things it gets most right are it's treatment of the source material.

This is the closest any game I've played has ever got to the proper look and feel of the 40k universe. From the intro sequence onwards, it's pretty much spot on. The sheer weight of a marine in power armour comes across really well in the animations and sound effects, and the way other Imperial characters react to you with a mixture of fear and respect is nicely put across.

The customisation options for MP are ridiculously extensive, although most of the nicer customisation parts require you to complete objectives in MP. If you know your 40k, then knowing that you can eventually unlock the experimental mk 8 armour, and even the Heresy era mark 4 stuff is awesome. The colour picker is basically the citadel paints range, so you can pretty much match how you paint your own models if you want (and I can see some people using it to try out table top schemes before putting brush to plastic).

So yeah. I like it, but it has it's faults.

[Tobal]

I'm enjoying it to, didn't find the lack of invincibility during kill scenes a flaw, it definitly risk/reward mechanic but giving it that would make the game to easy as you could go some kill cs to kill cs over and over.

The only gameplay flaws i don't like so far is the age it takes to use mounted weapons, especially to stop using them which was a problem on the train level boss until i learn ripping off the mounted gun didn't produce a finite ammo limit like previous mounted guns, and the game could use a counter button to make the bigger orc fight more interested than spamming melee, melee, stun.

Anyway i love the art and weight to everything from the kill cutscenes to general movement and that planet defense gun at the start kicking up dust when it fires is stunning. Also love how the world treats the Space marines like total badasses, that when your there the puny legion have a chance.

[vanpeebles]

I had a quick go on this last night and really enjoyed it . Usually I don't like multiplayer versus but the the strict three class system seems to work well. Although some maps suit different classes better than others.

[Destrukticor]

I'm going against the grain here but i thought the game was very mediocre.
plod plod plod all the way through, the story was pish (well voiced pish, but pish nonetheless) the graphics have quite frankly been put through the brown filter one too many times, everything is brown. The last boss goes from super frustrating, to an absolute doddle in the space of 5 mins and the ending was bobbins.
Maybe i just dont get the source material and that's detracted a little from it, and the multiplayer is fairly fun, though anyone expecting people to play against after next tuesday might be sorely disappointed. By the time the co op stuff comes out this will be long forgotten and about ?15 everywhere.
fairly poor effort IMO.

[Jebus]

I agree, found it pretty dull and just felt as though it was aimed specifically at Warhammer fans.

Didn't play it for long, I'll admit - but it just did absolutely nothing for me.

[Flabio]

The ending is rather... abrupt isn't it? Definite sequel hook, never keen when games have endings which don't give decent closure.

Ultaimtely this is a pretty average action game with some fairly decent weighty combat mechanics (the bulk of which are in the second half of the game), and it needs you to be a fan of the IP to get the most out of it.

[briareos_kerensky]

Sadly all recent Relic WH40K games had endings clearly intended as sequel hooks.

[Family Fry]

I decided to rent this, all I can say is it's the biggest waste of ?5 I have ever spent.
Have had to literally stop playing on Act 3 which finds me having to storm up this mountain with waves of rocket waving orcs, after the next. I have been tearing my hair out at just how f***ing stupid it is to replenish enegry in this game, whoevers idea that was deserve to not have a job. Hey guys wouldn't it be cool if you had to do this EPIC execution to replenish energy? Look at that cool execution animation, yeah just look at the even better ragdoll death animation that ensues as my main character is set on by 20 orcs that have been beating the **** outta me, whilst I'm stuck doing this ultra cool death move.
Don't even get me started on these big massive armoured orcs that somehow beat the crap out of you whilst your doing 4 hit combo to stun them, only way to kill them is to do an execution whilst everyone around you tans your arse.
Pile of pish, god help anyone going through this on Hard.

[Tobal]

Harsh stuff there, seems mostly down you not working with the system. It should very, very clear that attempting to regain HP while swamped in enemies in not something you should be doing, the recharging shield is there for a reason.. back off while shooting with your guns/grenades and let the shield recharge go get HP kills when you down to 3 or 4 orcs.

And are you using the rage modes correctly, it regains HP for every kill made during it and recharges practicially every other wave of enemies making them perfect for nailing the Big Orcs if you having trouble with them (i'll dealt with them by snipering them inthe distance then, X,X,Y, roll away if not stunned or even easier meltagun them in 2 shots).

Typical break down of a fight is, sniper/machine bolter down range attackers especially rocket guys 1st, grenade/special crowd control weapon(grenade gun, metlagun, plasma gun) the 1st wave then melee down the rest till shields look to drop and back off machine gunning them.

[Flabio]

Shoulder charge, finishing move, shoulder charge, finishing move...

[Family Fry]

I'm not normally harsh but I can feel a special place for my built up emotion and rage for this, now is the best time to unleash it.
Of course I have come to terms that I am somehow playing it all wrong and love charging enemies when I have no health, I really do wish that was the case though.
Getting swamped by charging enemies happens a lot, good example of this would have been a section where I went up some stairs and saw some enemies across a bridge, I decided to back down the staris to a weapon cache and change to a distance weapon/explosive, when I was back the orcs where on the stairs in my face, once I was spoted they knew where to go. It's not really something you can avoid unless you take it inch by inch, which so far I hadn't been and it did me quite well upto this specific outdoor section on Act 3. I usually retreat to recharge any of my shield which is some kind of joke shield at that, I am normally greeted by still charging AI who have there eyes firmly set on me of course and they have to be dealt with.
I have been finding the game pretty much a cakewalk until Act 3 where it has all gone a bit wrong for me, it will have to sniping people from miles away and inching it towards the end of this section methinks.
Appreciate the advice given though.

[Silvergun X]

Thanks to OnLive and the free 3 month BT Playpack offer, I've scored this game for a lovely whopping 70p. (33% off ?1, bwahaha)

Currently on Chapter 2. As someone has already said, it REALLY does convey the atmosphere of the Space Marines being incredibly hardcore.

So far, I'm not seeing the major complaint about the health recharging. It's very situational but if you can get back, let your shield recharge, then jump in with a stun and melee, your shield so far is soaking up enough damage to make the heal worthwhile.

[JohnMcL7]

If you're not much of a fan of 40k then this is going to feel like a fairly average game to you. Because the things it gets most right are it's treatment of the source material.

This is the closest any game I've played has ever got to the proper look and feel of the 40k universe. From the intro sequence onwards, it's pretty much spot on. The sheer weight of a marine in power armour comes across really well in the animations and sound effects, and the way other Imperial characters react to you with a mixture of fear and respect is nicely put across.

Actually I'd say the opposite although I'm only going by reviews and the demo, the game seems to completely ignore most of the source material and just do whatever it feels like which makes the game just feel completely wrong to me. The main issue is the choice of Ultramarines which don't fit the role they play in the game at all, there's certainly plenty of chapters that revel in close combat and would go for the over the top brutal executions but the Ultramarines would be the last to do so. There's also very little feel of the environment being a forge world unless the Mechanicus forces take part in the game later on as they have their own separate forces to the Imperium to defend their Forge Worlds. The Ork Horde seems far too small although that may change later as well, I still think choosing the Deathwatch, a less numerous Xenos species and a standard world would have been a better idea.

The mechanics of the game seem clumsy as well as numerous times when trying to evade out of the way with a roll it's gone wrong and I've got stuck or rolled on the spot leaving me completely vulnerable rather than moving somewhere safe which is just irritating, my brother managed to roll clean through a layer of the scenery and get completely stuck.

Will probably give it a purchase when it's dropped in price.

John

[IainMcC]

Personally, I've really enjoyed Space Marine. Okay, it may be dumb, predictable and rather brainless (and the less said about characterisation the better), but as a time-pressed educator, it's been just the kind of thing I've wanted to play lately. It's easy to dip in and out of (actually, I'd suggest that it's best played in short bursts) and the combat is suitably crunchy and satisfying.

I also really liked the health recovery mechanic - the health/shield system reminds me of Halo in some ways. The recharging shield means that you've still got options if you're low on health, and while the combo system is a bit simplistic, there's still a fair bit of tactical depth to the melee combat. If you play with the chainsword you can do a lovely area of effect stun that allows you to top up your health without being beaten up too badly while you're gibbing orks or heretic guardsmen. I also liked the lack of a cover system - just fecking shoot the xenos. Who needs chest high walls? (That's not to say there isn't cover you can use to stay out of harm's way - it's just not so obtrusively obvious as designed-in cover)

It's definitely been developed conservatively, with the fans in mind, so that Relic can make enough money to justify a sequel. It's not a game that's pushing any boundaries (and, like John, I hit a rather interesting bug where I executed an 'ard Boy and ended up stuck inside a packing crate on the ork battering ram/train once the animation had finished) but at least it's sufficiently different to the morass of other third person shooters and polished enough to be worth playing.

[Neon Ignition]

Thanks to the PSN+ free PS3 games scheme I've started this up having never gotten around to picking it up despite its low price. Only very early so far and its okay if pretty brainless fun. The gun play seems to be less focused on than I expected with the hack n slash being used for the many generic trolls.