Warhammer 40000: Space Marine

As a 17-year veteran of the Games Workshop hobby, Space Marine is a dream come true. A video game where you can actually BE a Space Marine!

The game starts with you jumping from an orbital transport, called a Thunderhawk, right into the middle of a War Zone. From there, you have to use your wits, your weapons and sometimes just sheer brute force to rendez-vous with your team-mates then fight your way through a horde of belligerent, hostile aliens called Orks.

The game is fantastic as it sets the scene right away without assuming a huge level of prior knowledge about the 40Kniverse or even the GW Hobby. It really is a game you can just pick up and play to ruin some green gimmers weekend by inserting a chainsword into his face.

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!!!

This may not set the bar too high with regards to graphics but it does have a certain charm and the brilliant sense of scale. Where this does set a high standard though is the action- art direction and character portrayal. On the surface it is a linear hack n slash but once you get into it it is a brilliant RPG lite- hack n slash- shoot em up- stomp em in the face er em up!

You instantly like the character you play because he is an honorable- noble and respected BAD ASS MO FO!!! As soon as you take control you feel powerful- stomping around in you heavy armor and laying waste to everything in you path- and I do mean waste! The blood and gore defines the phrase -ultra violence-. At points swarms of Orks are turned into clouds of exploding blood and guts. Your character and weapons are upgradable and with each upgrade the satisfaction quota goes up- you become more and more formidable. That is not to say you are indestructible though- the difficulty balance is just right. Every now and then a beefier bad guy is thrown into the hoard and they are well equipped to tear you a new one! Sometimes you can be overwhelmed by sheer number too.

The main characters are well designed with the usual gothic finesse of the Warhammer trade mark. The Orks are almost cartoon caricatures- with bright green faces and comedy voice acting. Overall this is a really fun action based game that is a welcome change from the usual RPG/RTS heavy titles from the franchise.

The first time you play it, Space Marine will probably be one of the most exciting FPS you will have played. The graphics are fantastic, the voice acting is the best I've ever seen, the game play itself is satisfyingly violent and the scenery if fantastic. And the overall atmosphere is what you would expect from a Warhammer 40K game.

However, there are a few problems. The chief among them is a total lack of any replay value, beyond simply trying it on a different difficulty level. You can pretty much try out all the weapon combinations on the first go, and there isn't much room for tactics in this button mashing game. Yes, you can collect 'servo skulls' that give you more background on the story, but in my game they seem to be buggy and sometimes don't even show up at all.

Another problem would be, as other reviewers have said, there isn't any room to explore. It's all very linear and forces you down one path. So really, the world around you is little more than eye-candy, and the makers could have done MUCH more with all that fantastic scenery.

Still, as FPS's go, Space Marine is one of the best in recent years, it's fun, it's gory and atmospheric, and I can tell you that I will never, ever get tired of killing orks.

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.

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.

This has to be one of the best games i have played in a very long time, i was looking forward to this release and was not let down at all.
The gameplay is fantastic and the style and movement is extremely well done.
Also obviously the other review that has been given didnt give the game a chance, the verity of kills and the combonations of kills is excellent alot more than most games offer.
The online aspect of this game is immense from a all out war to seizing ground and soon to be added Co-Op which is just in my opinion going to make the game even better.

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.

Everything you'd want from a 40k Space Marine game. Striding around as an Ultramarine Captain you really feel powerfull, its good the haven't toned down the blood and violence. Great setting and story as well. A must-have for all 40k fans and gamers alike!

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.