Beginning Reform is Beginning Revolution

38,000 years from now, far longer than many think our species will survive, humanity has prospered and taken to the stars, conquering countless planets and systems in the Milky Way galaxy.  It is not a time of peace though: the Imperium of Man, lead by the Emperor and his Lords of Terra, find themselves locked a great war for survival against the Orks, an alien species that seeks only to pillage and plunder whatever world they come across.  At the frontlines of this war, humanity’s champions, the Space Marines, have charged into battle for hundreds of years without restraint or mercy and it is their shoes we find ourselves in.

As Captain Titus of the Ultramarines, both the most honored and the founding chapter of the Space Marines, you bring your more than 150 years of combat experience to the field of battle.  A distress call has brought you to a Forge World, a planet-wide weapons factory that has been invaded by an army of Orks.  The secrets weapons being developed there are too crucial to the war effort to be destroyed or, worse, captured by the Orks and so Titus and his chapter have been sent as an advance force to prevent such an event from becoming reality.

Space Marines’ story is one that is told on the fly as Titus and his squadmates Sidonus and Leandros combat the hordes of Orks.  Initially, Titus and crew are sent in to prevent the capture of a Titan, a mech that stands several hundred meters tall and is loaded down with as much ordinance as it can muster.  Space Marine continues on long after this in a narrative that’s entertaining though not entirely unpredictable in its direction and shifts thereof.

What it does do and, for that matter, does quite well is throw you headlong into the Warhammer 40k universe.  High fantasy in space is something that sounds great on the board but also bears that worry of too much depth for an average fan or a newcomer to understand, let alone enjoy.  Space Marine seems to take note of this and keeps the background of the 40k universe bottled up, focusing the story and most of its bits almost completely upon the situation at hand.  There’s a wonderful sense of headlong theocratic devotion in the human and Ork characters that comes off so strong that, if you can suspend your disbelief as to how utterly ridiculous it is, you find yourself drawn in and almost cheering along your characters.

The singleplayer experience for Space Marine clocks in at about an 8 to 10 hours depending on your gaming abilities and while this isn’t enough alone to garner your hard-earned cash off the bat it does serve as both a great entry point for newcomers to the Warhammer 40k mythos as well as seasoned veterans.  It definitely stands out in a market dominated by post-apocalyptic futures and modern combat titles so if you are looking for something fresh Space Marine is definitely worthy of your interest.

The Blood of Martyrs is the Seed of the Imperium

Gameplay in Space Marine, as said before, is a third-person shooter experience.  Players face off against thousands of enemies over the course of the game usually alongside two or three AI teammates of, at times, questionable intelligence.  It is clear that Relic intended for you to earn the majority of the kills throughout your time playing the game and at times it seems like your friends can stand on their own just fine.  Sidonus, Leandros and your occasional forth party member are incapable of being killed and certainly do enough to make it feel like they are contributing to the war effort but, when you are staring down the sight of your weapon see over a dozen Orks charging you it’s hard to not question their devotion.

Enemies in Space Marine consist of two races, the former being the Orks while the latter being the Legions of Chaos.  Regardless of their affiliation, enemies will usually come in one of three flavors: melee, ranged and a mix thereof.  The mixes can only be described as micro bosses or perhaps squad commanders as they are both quite harder to kill and, more often than not, will slaughter you if you aren’t careful.

What the game doesn’t tell you though is the degree of enemy you face.  Third-person shooters usually have you facing off against a handful of enemies at a time in an enclosed space.  Space Marine however fully understands the meaning of the word ‘horde’ as you are regularly assaulted by no less than well over two dozen enemies at a time.  Each encounter with the enemy will not feel particularly unique but, given the often large, open spaces you have to engage them in, this feeling will appear quite a few times throughout the game.

Facing down dozens of foes at a time is quite the task for any protagonist, especially one in a third-person shooter.  Captain Titus though was clearly made for such a task.  As a Space Marine, Titus and his men stand eight feet tall and are adorned with armor that makes each man look and feel more like a tank than a human being.  This sense of overwhelming strength carries over into the game as Titus feels like the most versatile and mobile weapon on the battlefield.

This is a requirement given the game’s overall design.  Staying true to its “cover is for the weak” tagline, Space Marine is half brawler, half shooter done in a way that actually mixes the two quite well.  While there are select segments in the game that encourage melee over shooting or vica versa they don’t come often enough to dictate how you should play the game overall.  Many have laid claim that this game is yet another Gears of War clone and they are oh so wrong.

Weapons in Space Marine not only are true to the Warhammer canon but are also feel wonderfully powerful and destructive.  The first melee weapon you earn in the game is a chainSWORD and your initial pistol and rifles fire explosive rounds.  The game’s most powerful melee weapon, the Thunder Hammer, limits you to using only your pistol and rifle but in return is easily the most fantastically devastating weapon I’ve wielded in years.  Coupled with the game’s unfortunately occasional sequences in which you utilize a jetpack you feel damn near unstoppable.  In short, you are a juggernaut in Space Marine and it feels magnificent.

The only area you can really compare Relic’s title to that of Gears would have to be in the brutality department.  The level of gore and decimation present in Space Marine is equal to if not superior to what Epic Games has been putting into their franchise and it, in turn, really compliments the overall nature of the Warhammer universe.  When you aren’t getting headshots with your in-game weapons and earning some of the goriest explosions in the history of gaming you are literally smashing and slashing enemies into bits and pieces.  The game’s health system requires you to stun and execute enemies in order to regain health and the resulting animations are nigh awe inspiring.

All Men Call Out for Salvation

In addition to an entertaining singleplayer experience Relic has included a surprisingly versatile multiplayer experience on the disc.  A team-based affair all around, Space Marine’s multiplayer pits a team of Space Marines against their Chaotic brethren in one of two modes: Seize Control and Annihilation.  Seize Control is the Warhammer equivalent of a territory control mode like Domination in the Call of Duty series while Annihilation satisfies your need for a team deathmatch variant.  The lack of more modes of play is a bit disappointing considering how much variety you can get out of most multiplayer-centric titles on the market but Relic seems to want to change this in the future.

Space Marine, much like most other shooters on the market, offers a class-based experience that can be customized to the player’s preference.  Only three classes are offered: Tactical/Chaos, the game’s balanced class; Assault/Raptor, the more melee-focused class that allows players to jump packs in order to get around the map fast; and Devastator/Havoc, the ranged class that equips you with heavy weapons and the ability to brace oneself in order to deliver rapid fire.  All three classes are entertaining to play as but it seems that the Assault class in particular can be especially dominating in Seize Control as it is both fast and can deliver a strong ground-pound attack on enemies who aren’t too careful.

The level of customization available to the player is surprisingly strong and can easily challenge the like of games like Halo Reach.  Weapons can’t be modified but the player can equip up to two perks to aid them in combat.  Armor easily allows for the most customization as you can alter almost any aspect of your character’s armor to one of your liking and the default armor sets derive from almost every single Space or Chaos Marine division in the entire Warhammer universe which should easily entertain series fans.

Space Marine’s multiplayer component offers potential but given the amount of opposition it has to face on the market it doesn’t stand much of a chance in the long run of keeping your attention.  Relic has announced that they will be releasing a 4-player cooperative mode for free via DLC soon but it wasn’t factored into the overall score.

Brave Are They Who Know Everything but Fear Nothing

Relic Entertainment is a company that is well versed in the Warhammer 40k universe.  Just as strongly as they clearly love this dystopian, terrifyingly different reality so too do they deliver a faithful, almost loving gaming experience.  Space Marine is a departure for Relic as it escapes from the god-eye perspective of their previous RTS outings and brings it down to earth for a visually devastating experience but any fears that one would have about such a transition are laid to rest in this latest effort.  Space Marine definitely stands out in the crowded season this year and probably isn’t destined to do as well as it deserves but, for me, I couldn’t have picked a better title to begin the fall 2011 gaming madness.

If you don’t play Warhammer 40k: Space Marine it isn’t just dereliction of duty as a mature gamer: it’s heresy.