Does the digital adaptation of a long running game series do it proud? Yahuh...
Any who, Space Marine is the latest adaptation of the classic board game that us dorks put hundreds of hours and dollars into. Thankfully however it's just a $80 price tag, which is cheap in games workshop talk. It's brought to us from THQ, the people responsible for other action titles like Darksiders and Dawn of War 2. With those too games under their trench coats I had high expectations that they were going to unveil, in streaker nature, a puppy under that big coat instead of a slong. On the most part they deliver.
The majority of the game has you in high octane action, running and gunning through hundreds of Xenos, or 'Orks'. You take the wheel on a half tank half... tank, dude called Captain Titus from the Ultramarines. With just your other two marine brothers by your side you take advantage of a dozen or so guns and explosives.
The story in Space Marine was disappointing. With such intricate and diverse stories in the board game, you would think they have the potential to write a new lord of the rings. And they do, that's why it was so disappointing that the story left me without a heavy heart by the end of the campaign.
I don't dare spoil any of the plot twists for die hard fans, but I will say that they end with a disappointing cliff hanger. The biggest rookie mistake for any good told story. Yeah you're allowed to keep the story open for a sequel, BUT, you have to have a satisfying ending to the original story, which allows the characters to tackle a new treat. It was disappointing that the story ended so abruptly, I was almost surprised when It finished. On the other hand if you want a good story go and play heavy rain. You're here to blow s*** up and play as an Ultramarine, in all their badassitute and testosterone filled carnage. If you're not here for that, why are you reading this. I mean come on, go look up your heartwarming tale and leave your judgemental mind for that.
The gameplay in Space Marine is what makes it so bloody amazing. It's repetitive yes, but addictive all the same. Some people compare this game to Gears of War, and those people are wrong. The only similarities between those games are the desaturation and hulky men. And no it's not a vintage gay p*rn flick. As Captain Titus you can man any weapon you stumble upon, and stumbling upon weapons is not uncommon. In an arcade fashion you just so happen to 'stumble' onto new gear. It's almost laughable. Who cares though? So long as you get a new way to blow up Orks nothing else matters. Trust me, blowing up Orks (and the occasional chaos space marine) is about all you do. And it's bloody fun. Nothing is quite as satisfying as stomping a orks head while his comrads try to end your hulking life. You get some breakup from the repetitiveness though, three times you get to man a jumppack and fly into the air, crashing down to the earth and destroying anything that was near you. Majority of the time though you'll either be taking advantage of your melee or guns. The guns turn into a run and gun 3rd person shooter, and the melee turns into a hack and slash. It's these two differences that allow you kick ass in a unique and memorable way. The only real complaint I have is that the only way to recover health you have to perform a finishing move on an enemy. These are only possible using melee and often break up the action. It's a small complaint though. The gameplay is just hardcore, my words do not do it justice.
Thankfully THQ realized that people were desperate for a way to beat each other up, who would have guessed... The multiplayer is fantastic. You get to customize either a space marine or chaos space marine, and you unlock new weapons and armor by levelling up and completing challenges. Unfortunately there's only two games modes, excluding the dlc horde clone, and they only have 4 maps. I don't mind though, it keeps me amused enough to keep coming back and that's all that matters right? The two modes are annihilation and control. Annihilation is a team deathmatch where the first team to get 41 kills wins. Control is a node game, where you have to capture nodes and the amount of nodes you control determines how fast your points go up. Control is the better of the two because people are more strategic and desperate to capture the nodes. This ends in a big muddle of good, intense, fun.
In conclusion.... just get it....