Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Previews

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Written by BuckGB on April 21st, 2011

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The Warhammer universe definitely has a distinctive visual style, and Relic certainly isn't skimping on that. Framing all the blood and gore is a world heavily influenced by heavy, gothic architecture and large-scale industrial areas. In one area, after making his way through the sewers of an industrial area into the command center of a shipping port, Titus takes a moment to look out over a planet that seems to be entirely covered by this one port. The sheer size of one of the gigantic shipping cranes dwarfs even the super-sized soldiers. There's a reason why Warhammer's style is well-respected; it's dark and gorgeous. Titus isn't the type to let a serene moment stand though, so he pulls a switch to drop a shipping container on an unsuspecting group of Orks.

The Marines won't be stuck in industrial zones forever though. Later in the preview, Titus and his crew somehow find their way into an ambush situation in the middle of a desert canyon. After picking off the stragglers of a fight between Orks and Chaos, a Psyker shows up, blocking their path through the canyon. This particular agent of Chaos is able to not only summon force fields, but also open up portals to let other minions through to join the fray. It's a struggle to fend off the oncoming hordes while also trying to pick off the Psyker, but certainly showed off Titus's varying styles of combat.

The game is set on Forge World, a factory planet given over to war machine production. Our hulking hero, Captain Titus of the Ultramarines Chapter, is brought in to purge the planet when it is invaded by Orks--green-skinned, brutish hordes queuing up to meet Titus' chainsword (chainsaw sword), bolter (assault rifle), and grenades. The bolter pistol, plasma gun (with a single and charged shot), and grenade launcher also appeared in the demo; the latter launched five remotely detonated sticky grenades that could be triggered individually or en masse.

Space Marine is emphatically not a shooter with the odd edged-weapon execution. The combat system is a melee-shooter hybrid that is intended to balance gunplay with hack-and-slash action from the centre of a pack of baddies and allow quick switching between the two. We're also told melee isn't intended as a defensive last resort, as is sometimes the case, and it is powerful enough--and ammo seems scarce enough--to keep it from being so.

The first level we tested was entitled 'Best Laid Plans' and consisted of reaching and defending a fellow group of soldiers from wave after wave of Orcs. The level offered the best chance to sample the melee combat, especially against the droves of weaker enemies. Light attacks were performed by pressing X, while heavy attacks were performed by pressing Y. The melee combat was smooth and the basic four hit combo was pretty effective for dealing with groups of three or four enemies at a time, although without much in the way of variety, the move set was on the repetitive side. Pressing the B button unleashed a brutal execution move, generally consisting of ripping the enemy in two, and also serving to restore a small amount of health - although you are vulnerable to an attack from behind. Killing enough enemies also builds up the fury bar, which allows players to slow down time when aiming a gun or unleash a devastating melee attack - handy when surrounded. Building up the fury bar didn't take long and the game seems to actively encourage cavalier tactics, especially with the lack of a cover system.

The second level tasked players with reaching a factory and taking charge of a huge crane in order to lay waste to the invaders. Although bleak, the size and scope of the industrial setting made for some impressive viewing and really did a good job of conveying the sheer scale of the futuristic factory operation. Once again the level combined a journey from to A to B with moments of defence against waves of enemies - a theme which could prove problematic unless Relic incorporates additional set-pieces into the game's levels. It also gave us a chance to sample the extremely fun grenade launcher, which fires up to five sticky grenades at a time and can be detonated by the player at will. This was a great demonstration of the game's brutality, offering plenty of mindless fun and blood-soaked carnage.

There's certainly an aura of virtual indestructibility about Captain Titus as we jump into a one-man mission to pull a platoon surrounded by invading Ork armies out to safety. To him, the Gretchins at the bottom rung of the Ork hierarchy are rats to Rentokil.

Even the Melee Boyz, Ranged Boyz and '˜Ard Boyz are little more than target practise for his Space Marine standard-issue Bolter gun and something to bloody his Chainsword, Power Axe or Thunder Hammer on.

So the arrival of this one-man army on the scene is met with great relief by the Imperial Guard soldiers, who are on the cusp of being overwhelmed by wave after wave of Ork forces.

There was a balance in the difficulty, and while many Orks saw fit to run at me, practically throwing themselves down on my upheld Chainsword (a staple in the Warhammer 40K universe and the Space Marines' go-to melee weapon), I never felt like the enemy was trash. I was constantly challenged and died a few times throughout my lengthy play session. It's nice having feeling of being equipped to kill, without having your hand held.

Space Marines also does a good job at seemlessly integrating the ranged and close-quarters combat, though the camera could use some refinement. I would be firing on a group of enemies in the distance, only to be blind-sided by another pack, with no prior threat indication of any kind. If I was better equipped to see my surroundings, I could more tactfully and skillfully initiate this transition between firing and slicing, making me more invested in the combat mechanics. It was certainly serviceable, but if Relic Entertainment could zoom out the camera just a little bit more, the experience would improve.

So, how does Space Marine play - and comparisons to other games aside - is it going to be a game worth spending your time and money on. In a nutshell, yes if you like no nonsense visceral action games. We loved the fact that enemies would swarm around your character to the point where the waves of enemies all wanted a piece of your ass and that should you be a little slow at picking them off at range, a simple button press would switch to a melee weapon instantly to start tearing them apart for daring to be so close. You're able to perform easy combos as well with the light and heavy attacks afforded to you, which are effective against the lower tier hordes. However, the enemies have their own heirachy as you'd expect, and so the arrival of some shielded larger foes meant changing the tactics slightly. Toss a few grenades behind them, try and manoeuvre around to their sides, or simply hammer away at the shield until it breaks. Things to contemplate whilst having your ankles bitten by the lesser foes. Movement seemed a little clunky but hopefully this will be fixed for the final game as the build we played wasn't finished by any means.

The weapons presented come across as being standard fare what with an infinite ammo pistol, machine gun, sniper rifle and grenade launcher on offer in the demo - we got to use them all and each felt suitably powerful and effective for any given scenario. At one point having depleted our ammo reserve and ignoring the search for ammo resupply crates, we completed an entire section being spot on with the game's infinite ammo pistol - definitely worth doing if you think you're hard enough. The grenade launcher did sport its own twist where you're able to place mines, so to speak, and detonate them at a time of your choosing for devastating results. There's also a number of inanimate explosive objects that beckon to be shot as well, sending any nearby combatants flying to an early grave. The fusion of melee and ranged combat definitely gives the game a more quirky feel to those it mimics in so many ways, and in this regard it's all the better for it. Whilst Titus and chums are pretty formidable in battle, the sheer numbers of enemies that cleverly hit you with grenades from afar whilst sending in the minions to chink away at your armour and then health, up close, create some intense moments. We died a few times, but not to the point of frustration; and yes the game does use the standard regenerating health system you'll find in pretty much every game nowadays. We can imagine the game's hardcore setting will be extremely challenging for those aiming to beat it a second time or are brave enough to tackle it on a first play.

Fortunately, every Space Marine carries around a trusty melee weapon, and Relic has made sure you'll want to use this wherever possible. Of course, it's possible to rely on your Bolter, but you will have enemies rushing you wherever possible and Gretchins do nothing but rush you. It means that if you decide to use the gun in close quarters, you will get over-run with enemies and maintaining a nice balance between gunfire and melee combat will be the key to victory.

It's a system that works well because of how much damage a Space Marine can soak up. The game employs a regenerative health system, which makes perfect sense considering how modified the Space Marines are. And if you're in a tight spot, facing rather sketchy odds, your best bet is to whack out your melee weapon and do some serious damage. You have the option to perform light attacks and heavy attacks, but the system felt as though it was lacking a bit of depth. Since it feels as though you will be using melee attacks quite a lot, some variation, or different moves, would work wonders here. It's worth mentioning though, that the animation blending is excellent. Your Space Marine will adapt to the situation they're in and it's so fluid.

Most of the enemies present in the demo were of the Space Ork-variety - though they came in all shapes and sizes, some armed or armored more heavily than others. Heavy shield-carrying "Ard Boy" Orks were best dispatched at close range, as were the swarms of tiny Gretchin Orks and slightly larger Melee Boys. Of course, the large Orkish Warbosses proved a good bit tougher to take down.

One of the levels also showed off a couple of units from the Chaos faction - former Space Marines and Imperial Guard soldiers driven mad by the Chaos Gods. Tainted Psykers hovered over the battlefield, spawning Bloodletter Daemons that would warp into close range before attacking. Tactics for fighting the Orks was quite different from fighting the minions of Chaos - a good sign of variety.

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