Buy Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $20.77
Today's Bonus: 48% Off

Space Marine's campaign is quite literally the most fun I've ever had playing through a single player campaign. From what I understand, the game underwent quite a lengthy overhaul in the design phase, probably aiming to sufficiently distinguish the game play from Gears of War.

In that regard, they absolutely succeeded. A better game to compare Space Marine to would be Ninja Gaiden. While there is no "snap-cover" mechanic like in Gears of War, there *are* absolutely mind-boggling numbers of enemies throwing themselves at you pretty much all of the time. In that respect, I couldn't help but recall the frenetic against-all-odds feeling of Ninja Gaiden. In that game, you are supposed to prevail because, hey, you're a @#$ing NINJA. In Space Marine, you are supposed to prevail because, hey, you're a @#$ing SPACE MARINE.

Like Ninja Gaiden, you have a variety of close combat weapons (though not the same breadth) each with their strengths and weaknesses. However, in addition to the "hundreds versus one" in close combat, Relic has managed to incorporate the most fluid ranged combat/close combat system I have ever used. You can literally snipe an enemy on the high ground one second, and then spin around and decapitate another enemy with your bare hands, and you don't even think about the control scheme at all!

The campaign could have easily gotten repetitive, considering that your main staple weapons only gradually expand in variety, but intelligent level design consistently creates new puzzles for you to solve, by having you fight in a variety of terrain heights, against different mixes of ranged, close combat, and heavy hitting opponents. I found that on the "hard" difficulty setting, I literally needed to rely on every aspect of my arsenal to survive. That often meant anticipating a charging crowd with some well placed grenades to soften up the ranks, then using my range weapons to take down some high priority threats, and finally crashing into the wave of enemies to slash and dismember anyone who survived my opening salvos. I can't think of a more cinematic, and pulse racing game in recent memory. There are several set-pieces like action sequences out of the movies that just feel unbelievably epic, but I won't ruin them for you. All I'll say is that clearly this campaign was designed with a lot of careful planning and inspiration.

The multi-player is also worthy, and rewards strategy and practice. It copies the customizable weapon loadouts you find in the Call of Duty series, while also incorporating the different weapon classes found in Warhammer 40k (Tactical, Devastator, and Assault). As you play more and improve, you unlock more weapons and armor options, which can greatly increase your lethality. They were smart to include a feature where you can copy the loadout of the last person who killed you, however, so if you find yourself fighting someone who has hopelessly more toys to fire at you, you can level the playing field.

I've been playing Halo Reach for a whole year, and at first the Space Marine multiplayer experience was jarring to get used to, since it feels so different. After playing for a few hours, however, I had become sufficiently acclimated to the pace of Space Marine multiplayer, and it was incredibly satisfying. You will spend far more time practicing how to be effective with a broad range of tactics than you will in Reach, because the permutations and perks you can customize can really necessitate that you alter your tactics.

I have a few minor gripes as well. In multi-player, the teams are divided between Space Marine loyalists, and Chaos Marines (instead of say, Red VS Blue). You get to customize an armor set for both (sort of like how you customize both Spartans and Elites in Halo Reach), but you don't get to choose which armor set you use in a match. Personally, I'm all about playing as the Blood Angels chapter, but sometimes it feels like 4 out of 5 games I'm arbitrarily assigned to the Chaos team, which is a drag. This has no effect on game play, but it still bugs me. I can understand that if the designers let us choose, perhaps there would be too many Chaos players, or too few, but it seems like they could have at least included a "preference" option, so that wherever possible you are assigned the faction you identify best with.

I also think that some more multi-player features wouldn't hurt. Right now it's basically "king of the hill" or team deathmatch, which is fine, but we have all been spoiled by the variety of game modes in other shooters. Of course, there's no reason why these things might not be added on in future patches. I know for a fact that they are going to be adding a free multiplayer "survival" mode where you can just kill waves of orks with a friend on the same console. Hopefully they will continue to support and expand on the game, because they really made a winner!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I have to preface by saying that I am a huge Warhammer 40,000 fan, and, as such, have waited not a little impatiently through its development. I was not dissapointed. This game is beautiful, absolutely stunning. The world is epic is scale, dark, and detailed. The soundtrack is deep and suspenseful. Please don't believe those that say this game is a button mashing repeat-fest. I assure you it is not. The combat can get a bit repetitive after hours of game play. It can also be mundane if you simply wade into enemies and swing your chainsword. However, that is a crappy (and difficult) way to play the game. Using the different weapons to strategically take out important targets and tackle different situations can have devastating results on your enemy. Further, the levels are constantly changing, as are the configurations of enemy parties, and even the enemies themselves. The game is actually extremely fun.

Some have said that is plays a little like Gears of War. I would say that it "plays" very little like gears of war. This game includes much more melee and a unique health system. The game's weapons are also not really like Gears. Finally, the cover system, something absolutely integral to the Gears experience, is completely missing. That said, the game does, in many ways, "look" like Gears. Some reviewers claim that the hulking Space Marines look like Cogs, the looming stone architecture looks like Jacinto, and the Adeptus Mechanicus insignia and its focus on gears and mechanical insignia are all too familiar. How dare they copy these things from Gears of War, right? Well, wrong. For anyone that has almost any experience with the Warhammer 40K universe, playing this game is like stepping into a perfect embodiment of a fictional universe that has been around for decades. The fact is that Space Marines do wear hulking armor (or "armour" if I was to be true to the genre), the gothic architecture is key to the ships and buildings of the Imperium of Man, and the Adeptius Mechanicus is embodied by cast iron and mechanical workings. This game looks great and is true to its roots, so don't feel upset by its few but noticeable similarities to Gears of War.

Best Deals for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

To Start off I will say that I know there will be 200 people on here posting reviews that this is a Gears of War clone. Space Marine plays similar to Gears but with some BIG differences. Number one the Lore and History of the Warhammer 40k universe is huge and it has also been around for around 30 years so it already has a pretty sweet backstory. Secondly the whole cover system is gone which personally to me is a great edition because it seems like in all shooters you do the same thing. Step one: move into room Step two: take cover behind something Step three: kill everything Step four: go back to step one. Space marine has you hold the line until your enemies are all over you then pull out your power sword and go to work melee style. The Story seems more interesting to someone who enjoyed Dawn of War or someone who enjoys the books. If your not familiar with 40k the story will probaby be really boring and it uses terms only fans would recognize such as Astartes, Adeptus and Xenos. All in all I think this game is great, mainly because i'm a really big fan. My advice to non-fans is to go play Dawn of War 2 or read the ultra-marines books and then come back to this. The game will be a lot more fun.

Honest reviews on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

I got this game at the midnight premiere, and boy it is quite an experience. First thing you will notice is that it is one of the most visually captivating games you will play. The characters and enviroments have a great amount of detail that truely is game art at it's finest. The story is very interesting with a right amount of mystery, suspense, and action. The online playing is fun, with a good amount of in depth customization of your character. Online play does have a level-up system, letting you unlock stuff with every level. No matter what side you play on, he may be any color or design you would like. To be completely fair, there are some things that did dissapoint me. First off is that the story is kind of short, in the sense I beat it on normal mode in about 2 days. There is only two modes of online multiplyer which are Anialation (Team Deathmatch) and Sieze Ground (Capture The Command Posts). Those two things there are what is holding me from giving it 5 stars. Gameplay is very fun, making you have to balance between melee combat and ranged combat, and the same carrys over for online play. This is a good buy for anyone who enjoys shooters, classic fantasy lore, sci-fi space battles, or any combination of the three. I really hope they make a sequel.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

What is WARHAMMER 40K? I knew next to nothing about this campaign setting going into W4K: SPACE MARINE, but now I have a bit of an idea. It's a setting in which the galaxy is in a constant state of war, where entire worlds are hollowed out to fuel a galactic war machine, and space marines fight on the same battlefield as sorcerers and orcs. (Orks, that is.) It's a setting that you get by taking a gritty, war-bound, Tolkien-esque universe and throwing it thousands of years into the future 40,000 years to be exact. I wasn't a fan of WARHAMMER 40K before SPACE MARINE, but I think I'd like to be one now.

The story of SPACE MARINE picks up nine days after the invasion of a Terran "Forge World" by a massive Ork army. They've since taken control of the planet's orbital defense cannons, effectively keeping the human fleets at bay. So it's up to Captain Titus and a group of Ultramarines (one of many groups in the Space Marine Legion) to disrupt the invasion and keep the Orks from obtaining crucial military weaponry that could turn the tide of the war. This begins only after the player character, Titus, single-handedly takes down an Ork attack ship, just so you get the idea that space marines are NOT your average soldier; they're practically walking tanks.

After that amazing opening (and it really is amazing) you progress toward your objective at the whim of circumstance and Ork counterattacks, and you get a feel for the gameplay going forward. This is where I'm going to have to stress that opinions in this regard will vary. The gameplay of SPACE MARINE feels very much like a cross between GEARS OF WAR and DYNASTY WARRIORS, in that you're either running and gunning, or hacking through waves of Orks with whichever melee weapon suits you.

Playing through SPACE MARINE is not a very deep experience. There's no cover system ("Cover is for the Weak"), no way to get the drop on your enemies or flank them, and while there is a sufficient amount of weapons, managing them can become a pain. So you're left sorta blasting or hacking your way through a thousand enemies across very linear levels. This means that unless you'd like to play through the story again, there's not that much of a reason to return to the campaign. The variety just isn't there, and neither is story mode co-op in any form.

So... why the four stars? While it's unfortunate that the gameplay doesn't bring anything new or exciting to the table, it's the story, level design, atmosphere, and fierce commitment to the WARHAMMER 40K setting that elevate SPACE MARINE well above its faults. The campaign is simply an exciting thing to play through. Whether you're bringing down an Ork attack ship, defending a squadron of Imperial Valkyries (from Orks riding rockets), or clearing your way to a factory so huge that it practically takes up one of the planet's hemispheres SPACE MARINE always found a new way to keep me engaged. Sometimes I kept on playing just to check out more of the Forge World, since each level is typically gigantic in scale with lots to see.

The multiplayer is also an added bonus, though it lacks an abundance of game modes. The game also requires a product code of some kind that comes with new copies of the game, so if you're thinking of buying the game used, you'll only be able to progress five levels in multiplayer without paying a bit more.

SPACE MARINE succeeds in delivering what it set out to do. The campaign is exhilarating and, at times, awe-inspiring, thanks to the scale and masterful level design. It's a shame that all the work that went into the design, writing, and lore didn't transfer well to the gameplay, though it works well enough to get you through to the ending. I think with a few more twists on the gameplay, a deeper focus on the story than destroying a thousand Orks, and maybe even an RPG element (since we're working with an RPG property and all), W40K: SPACE MARINE could've been a game to compete with GEARS OF WAR. But as it stands, this is a game where you can see the developers' enthusiasm for the W40K property throughout.

While a fine game in its own right, it's also a great steppingstone into the WARHAMMER 40K universe for the uninitiated. Now I have to figure out what all the fuss about this Eisenhorn fellow is about.