Warhammer 40k: Space Marine Preview

12 Aug 2010 at 20:16:51 by John Robertson

If there’s one thing Warhammer is famous for it’s the fact that everything takes place from above, as though your hovering over the action inside a low flying helicopter.  The table top game, played with the little hand-painted models, as well as the popular Dawn of War series subscribe to this perspective wholeheartedly; allowing for strategic, tactical gameplay in which thinking a few moves ahead is essential.  So, sitting and watching a seven foot tall super-soldier (read: Space Marine), clad in armour seemingly designed to fit a genetic freak made up of one part Arnie and one part Shaq, from an over-the-shoulder 3^rd-person viewpoint is initially a shock to the system.   

It’s a shock because it’s simultaneously original and familiar.  It's original in the sense that we’ve not seen the Warhammer universe depicted in such an intimate manner onscreen before now, and yet familiar in that it reminds you somewhat of Marcus Fenix and his days out with a certain Locust horde.  In fact, if you have only a passing knowledge of Gears of War, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Warhammer 40k: Space Marine is part of the same series, or at least from the same developer.  The epic locations, overwhelming fire power and enemies that turn from flesh and blood organisms to merely flesh and blood evoke strong memories of Epic Games’ shooter.

Aesthetic similarities aside though, Space Marine is a very different proposition.  The story, written by a new THQ scripting team, centres around an ‘Imperial Forge World’ (a planet sized war factory) that has come under attack from an army of Orcs hell-bent on capturing the valuable military technology. It’s your job, as part of the Space Marine force sent in to halt the Orc advance, to capture certain key locations and rescue an ‘Inquisitor’, who has been developing top secret weapons, and mustn’t fall into enemy hands.

From the segments of gameplay we got our eyes on, the experience is clearly geared towards all out action as opposed to a softly, softly approach.  For starters, there is no cover system.  Apparently, a Space Marine’s high-tech armour is many times stronger than rock or metals used in construction so hiding behind a low wall or section of collapsed steel wouldn’t make sense within the Warhammer universe.  If you do happen to run into something that looks as though it could be used as a barrier by any normal human being you simply smash right through it like butter.

It seems that attack is the best form of defence as the lack of a cover mechanic forces you to stay aggressive and meet the enemy head on.  Rather than worrying too much about head shots and unloading a full clip into each Orc, enemies tend to die fairly easily; the emphasis very much on tackling large groups, not ultra-tough individuals.  After a certain point in the story you’re joined by a couple of squad-mates who’ll aid you on your quest but, unfortunately, we weren’t able to garner any specific info on their involvement past the fact that they’ll help you tackle enemies.  For example, we don’t know if they can die, if they have a significant role in the story or whether you can opt to have a friend/friends take control of them.

To help you achieve dismemberment on an African savannah scale, your basic weapon set is made up of a pistol, ‘Bolter’ machine gun and nasty looking ‘Chainsword’.  The Bolter looks like your standard, futuristic assault rifle and is used in the standard left-trigger to aim, right-trigger to shot manner.  From what we saw, the Bolter is more than capable of taking down your standard Orc so long as you keep a reasonable distance and don’t become surrounded.

If you do happen to find yourself amongst an over-enthusiastic mass of Orcs the Chainsword quickly jumps to the top of the preferred weapons list.  Pulling the sword out of its cradle on your back triggers the melee viewpoint, the camera pulling back to position similar to that of God of War or Bayonetta, allowing you a good look at your immediate surroundings and preventing sneak attacks from behind.  According to the rep from THQ talking us through the game, the melee function is designed to be a legitimate attacking option as opposed to a last resort.  We’ll reserve judgment on that until getting our hands on the final product but, the shift in camera position does seem like a well thought out idea.

As you progress through the game, dispatching of enemies, your weapons build up their own levels of experience; bonus points awarded for flashy kills such as accurate headshots or messy dismemberment.  The Bolter, for example, can be equipped with a Plasma Cannon or Grenade Launcher attachment for taking out large numbers of Orcs in close proximity.  Seemingly, the thinking is that as the progress through the 10-hour long single player campaign, the armoury available to you changes drastically and provides you with a reason to stick with certain weapons that you may not appreciate initially, but will become viable options down the line.

Other tools of attack we got to see were branded as ‘set-piece’ weapons, located in specific locations and either mounted and stationary or equipped with very limited ammunition.  One such moment came during the Space Marines approach to the planet, in which you’re tasked with commandeering a mounted machine gun and protecting the fleet from the Orcs’ aerial assault.  Another involved riding on a fast moving haulage train (being used as a battering ram) and wielding a rocket launcher to destroy an ‘Orc Flyer’ buzzing around above you; the final result being the flyer falling out of the air and destroying the train, saving the day.

In truth, from the sections we saw, it all looked quite impressive.  Despite being constantly assured that the game is only at 70 percent in terms of final graphical quality, the world and character models felt suitable epic, detailed and ‘Warhammery’.  Animations were generally smooth and suitably varied and the particle effects, particularly chunks of rock and dust from bullets hitting rock, are worthy of an honourable mention.

Space Marine is a far cry from what we’ve seen from Relic before (Dawn of War, Company of Heroes) but their passion for the project and desire to please Warhammer 40k fans is clear, and seemingly sincere.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the project.  A glance at the menu screen tells us to expect both co-op and competitive multiplayer, but in what form is still a mystery.  We don’t know if any other races from Warhammer 40k are set to make an appearance (although I did ask for you guys), and we don’t know when it’s due for release with any more clarity than sometime in 2011.

What we do know is that Warhammer 40k: Space Marine is due for release on 360, PS3 and PC and that - from what we’ve seen so far - it’s one you should probably mark down as ‘showing potential’.        

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