Warhammer 40000: Space Marine

I must admit, Im a massive fan of most of the Warhammer universe video games so was really looking forward to this being released.
I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed. The game play is smooth with seamless transition between the 3rd person shooter and hack n' slash genres. This is rarely done well but Space Marine manages it excellently.
The array of weapons is great and you can tell a lot of thought has gone into ways of keeping the combat fresh and preventing it from becoming repetitive which so many games end up being.
Usually you find that games which encorporate shooter with melee combat focus more on one genre than the other with one form of combat seeming clumsy or awkward, but not this game. The game would have been excellent either as solely a shooter or a hack n' slash but they have combined the two very effectively.
I was really, really impressed, and I'm sure others will be too.

I received my copy on the game yesterday. After only 3 hours of play I can state quite confidently that:

- It is very pretty (graphics are fantastic on medium settings)
- Some fantastic locations
- Voice acting is amongst the best I have ever heard
- The range of weapons and enemies to use them on are above
average
- Very linear.

and last but no means least (after 3 hours of gaming)

- It is so repetetive that I have no wish to load it up ever again.

There are a very limited number of moves you can make with each weapon (3-4 at best) and the whole game seems to have devolved into a button mash fest (which I did not think could happen with a mouse and keyboard)

Please don't get me wrong, there are some redeeming aspects. I know that I have not played long enough to get an idea for the story line. I am also not all that familiar with the warhammer universe.

This is simply not to my tatse.

Beneath all the wonderful graphics and lovely warhammer theme, this is basically a hack-n-slash arcade game. It is extremely linear, with little or no room for adventure or interaction with other characters. You are forced down a linear path to kill various enemies using various weapons. That's basically it. There is no sense of adventure or exploration at all.

This game is great fun to play, on a simple and sastisfying 'kill everything in sight' basis - not a 'lets explore this area and see what's here' basis.

I just think nowadays even the basic hack-n-slash games need a touch of adventure about them, and some room for exploration. I was looking forward to exploring the Space Marines' world as much as undertaking their mission. Would it have been so hard to include a little stragegic decision-making, as well as just hammering the 'fire' buttons?

Having said all that, the combat is awesome, if a little repetative at times.

For a thrid person shooter, however, it has some rather annoying restrictions. You cannot jump. You cannot crouch. You cannot carry more than 4 weapons. These are basic things but they do bring the gameplay down a notch when they are missing.

I haven't played the online multiplayer yet because I am too addicted to the single player campaign.

Space Marine is definitely worth buying but don't expect anything more than a linear hack and slash affair.

The adaptation of the 40k universe is stagering.

Make no judgement about the gameplay, from my preference for 1st person shooters and strategy titles, this 3rd person game is an excellent title to have in my collection for some quick, dirty excitement. Hack and slash has never been so rewarding and varied. Choose to stand and shoot, malee to your hearts content or mix it up with your far from usless digital brothers of war.

Yes i agree exploring the world is linear, but I get the feeling this is but a shortcoming of having a story mode. Future expansions/versions will do doubt increase the popularity and expansive capabilities of the combat environment.

This title has lived upto and beyond my expectation and I am thoroughly enjoying the combat challenges and the jump packs with power axe are simply glorious battle weapons to have fun with.

Just get it, have some fun and enjoy some variety from the other titles out there. It is well worth the time to get to know this game and master the space marines.

This game is fantastic in almost every single way. For anybody who has ever played Warhammer, especially as Space Marines, this game just brings to life the games that you used to play . . The world you fight in is just how you imagine the epic forgeworlds to be, the sheer awesomeness of a tooled up Marine with a massive thunderhammer is just as epic as you thought, and the feeling of a chainsword mashing up and ork is very very satisfying!
The story is great, the attention to detail top notch, and the graphics are gorgeous given half a chance . .
My only slight issue is that the campaign is possibly a little on the short side, it could be finished in 1-2 days with intensive playing but I limited myself to a chapter a day and so got plenty of time out of it, and I would happily replay it.

All in all, the best shooter and smash and mash game I have played in a long long time, for anybody who is a fan of the Warhammer universe this is a MUST buy!!!