You know that sometimes you come across an Xbox game that you know has flaws, that you know you really should hate - but it pulls you in and before you know it you just can’t stop playing? Well that’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.
In fact, it’s a bit like Xfactor. You know what’s coming. You know exactly what you’re going to get, but you just can’t resist.
The gamer takes the role of a Ultramarine whose job it is to kill green skinned Orks (there is a more in-depth story but it seems incidental). You must battle your way through level-after-level of baddies, using an ever increasing variety of bladder-weakeningly cool weapons to deal death to the evil green ones. And, to be honest, this is the core of the game. It is also beauty of this game.
The battle action, be it shooting from afar or rolling up your armored sleeves and wading into the action with your chainsaw or mighty Warhammer, is just stunningly gruesome and disturbingly satisfying. Blood flows, guts spurt and Orks die.
It is magnificently addictive.
There are some flaws, there are some minor negatives, but for me the biggest letdown was the fact that this game failed to embrace the wonderfully vast world of Warhammer. It just seemed a shame that when the developers had so many weird and wonderful characters and races to call upon, they stuck firmly to Orks.
But the balance of play is perfect. As you develop your Ultramarine becomes almost god-like and on later levels you will find yourself wading through wave-after-wave of Orks as you single-handedly save the day.
This game is no Call Of Duty. It’s not a technical first person shooter and it’s certainly not a high level strategy game. It is a plain and simple Hack ‘n Slay. If you come at the game expecting to flex your brain then you will be left cold. However, if you come at Space Marine expecting to wipe out evil Orks (by the bucket load) then you will not be disappointed.
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That is the best title for a blog post. Ever.
Why, thank you, young man!