When someone mentions the Warhammer series, we usually think of a product on the PC, with the 40,000 (that’s the co-name, not the number of games) brand garnering numerous users with some splendid top-down action. But what about those who want to experience the joys of the game on a console? Well, while you won’t be getting anything deep or tactical, you will get a worthwhile action experience come this August, when THQ and Relic introduce Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine for Xbox 360. The game’s plot is simple. It revolves around a specifically rebuilt (and well armored) “ultramarine” by the name of Titus. He’s been called upon to Forge World, a place where evil green brutes known as Orks have pretty much dominated the planet. It’s up to Titus and his crew to clean house, a feat that doesn’t prove so easily, as these creatures are heavily armored and in no mood to leave. Luckily, Titus has a few tools of his own, letting him dish out his own brand of justice.
These are top of the line weapons, including a chainsaw-based sword known as the Chainsword, which can easily rip enemies to pieces; and a sweet bolter rifle that shoots out painful rounds at incoming enemies. Grenades are also provided for those situations that call for explosives. Over the course of the game, other weapons will become available, including a nifty grenade launcher, a smaller version of the bolter fortified into a pistol, and a plasma gun that fires charged rounds. We didn’t see all the weapons in action as we played through the demo, but we checked out enough to give us an idea about the scope of destruction. There’s no question that Warhammer: Space Marine has been inspired by Epic Games’ Gears of War series. The look is suspiciously close when it comes to design, as the enemies and levels look like something good ol’ Bleszinski would cook up. But Warhammer doesn’t perform a rip-off here. Instead, it tones the look of the game into the overall story arc, and manages to fit it right in without the need to really adapt much. Plus, it gets downright brutal during the action sequences, as you don’t have the comfort of cover to rely on. (Take that, Fenix!)
Without cover, you need to work towards a combination of fast-paced gunplay and some well executed melee attacks. You’ll use these together in a variety of situations, whether it’s fending off a position from incoming enemies or charging into a battlefield just crawling with the creepy green guys. Seeing as how your ammunition isn’t unlimited, you’ll actually incorporate melee into your offensive approach – making the game much more personal than your traditional third-person shooter. The melee attacks don’t just slice into someone’s first layer of skin – they lop off limbs and head like a good chainsaw-based sword would. Other melee weapons will be introduced over the course of the game as well, including a thunder hammer (we’re talking Thor level here) and a power axe. Titus has a fury meter that fills up over the course of the action, too. Once it’s juiced and ready to go, he can either execute ranged fury attacks to pick off Orks from afar, or use a fury strike, which fires off a powerful sweeping attack that takes out enemies in a nearby region. The choice is yours when it comes to the level of devastation, but we’re leaning more towards the strike because, well, it’s messy. (And damn good fun.)
This feature preview continues on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see our final thoughts after going hands-on with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.
