Space Marine Review

This review is probably as belated as could be, but I have mostly Amazon to thank for that. Shipping my copy four days late. What is the point in pre-ordering a game if you get it so late?
And before anyone adds: "Pre-order it on steam" I would have done that, if some unknown force hadn't actually disabled Space Marine from the Steam Store.
That's right, a game that requires Steam to be played, can not actually be bought in the Steam store itself.
More than likely we have the Evil Empire of www.game.co.uk to blame. They replied Nu-uh, but seeing how this only affects the UK and where the only victor could only be retail sales then yeh, you'll understand that statement would be Pinochio's equivalent of a 10-foot pole. Ideally used to keep distance of aforementioned corporation...
It's so absurd and surreal, I almost fathom myself being back in Belgium. And speaking of, do they have a government there yet?

But how is the game? A month ago I gave my thoughts on the demo and that seems pretty much true for the entire game. The game engine renders Game Workshop's setting graphically both stunning and beautiful. It's a mix best described as industrial gothic. A big thumbs up to the engine that earlier gave birth to another graphically lush game: Darksiders. The game is also filled with lots of particle effects and events and I can't say I've ever seen my framerate drop, or had a crash.

It's a game that is also true to the 40k setting since it actually makes you feel like a real space marine, a one-man war machine with bolter guns that feel like they're really firing explosive rounds the size of a fist.
The story itself, although not the most original, is enticing and plays as if it doesn't just use Warhammer 40k as a background, no it actually really feels like it is part of the whole setting, with little audiobooks around, and references to for example the Space Wolves. And allow me to call the protagonist Captain Titus, Badass of the Year.

Or how I learned to love the atomic bomb

The gameplay is good, with a fluid combat system where you can switch from melee to ranged nearly flawlessly. Unfortunately the first part of the game can get tedious after Ork wave number 100, with the same types of orks, and the same type of behaviour/tactics. It's also suffering from a few unnecessary and unfortunately at times boring level designs. Did we for example really need a level through sewer tunnels where we get perhaps 3 waves of enemies?

He's Boss Grimskull

Luckily once halfway and introducing the forces of Chaos, the pace becomes fast and the fights much more complicated and vast, with beautiful three-way fighting between Chaos, Orks, and you the Space Marines. There's also a few mindblowing levels such as fighting on a moving train or alongside other Space marine chapters.





The single player campaign unfortunately is unforgivingly short. It took me 9 hours on normal difficulty, which means it can be done on anywhere from 7-10 hours. That is damningly short.
That would be ok though, if the multiplayer was good. Sadly though, it is not. There are only two modes currently (co-op mode is being introduced later). But even these two modes seem rough and simple. Not to mention unbalanced as you get weapons and gear through levelling. That latter part is not to be underestimated, if you realize the potential of the hammer and jetpack.


If you want an entertaining game where you're satisfied enough with just hacking down endless  waves of orks and Chaos forces then you'll feel right at ease. But be wary that the single campaign is short, and the multiplayercampaign is rough and unbalanced.