S&S Review: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Format: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Relic
Price: $20
ESRB Rating: M
Since the summer drought is now officially upon us, this gives me ample time to delve deep into my enormous backlog of games to complete. Warhammer was an unlikely great first start for me.
In Warhammer, you'll be controlling Captain Titus, the leader of the aptly named Ultramarines. That name is well suited, seeing how all these guys wear gigantic suits of armor and all ultra killing machines. You're sent in to deal with an overwhelming Ork invasion. The story serves as a good backdrop so you can start slaughtering thousands of Orks. The story is okay, with a big plot twist halfway through. It gets a little convoluted at times with all the space vernacular, you'll be familiar with it when you're finished with the game, but if you were to ask me what the game was about a week down the road, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you. The game looks solid, but it never makes your jaw drop with eye-popping environments. Captain Titus and his small squad of Ultramarines are all impressively detailed, but the Orks on the other hand look like they were made exclusively with low-res textures. I thought the game's presentation was just going to be average all around, it was until they began to speak. The voice acting is fantastic, pure and simple. Even the marine grunts you come across speak with such grace and elegance. Mark Strong lends his wonderful talents as Captain Titus, making this one of the best voice acted games this year, believe it or not. The music also pounds with when you're killing off Orks with ease.
Space Marine is a third person shooter, with a lot of melee mixed in as well. There is no cover system in the game, which keeps the action fast-paced. The campaign really only consists of killing, cutscene, then more killing. It gets a little repetitive, but new enemy types gets introduced in the latter half of the game which adds more challenge. The game really impresses at times in terms of the sheer number of enemies on screen at one time. This is when the game becomes a blast, the set pieces get more epic as the you progress to the end of the game. There are a few problems that can sometimes hinder the game's experience. A wonky camera can really take you out of it at times, especially when you have a number of enemies surrounding you from all around you, the camera just really goes out of whack at these times. Another really annoying problem I had with the game was the squad A.I. At times, one of your squad mates will just choose not to participate in the war against the Orks. When you're in the heat of battle, and you don't have your whole squad's attention, its very frustrating. I did tamper around with the multiplayer, the versus modes are forgettable. There is a horde mode, you know it seems I say those exact words every time I review a game. I just wish developers will get creative and create a new mode for us.
Warhammer 40K is a very good game, but nagging problems and an uninspired multiplayer keep it from being a great game. The game is pretty cheap nowadays, and if you're a Playstation Plus subscriber, its free.
S&S Rating: 7.5/10
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