Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Review (PC): Brawling with my brainless battle brothers

I'll be honest with you: I've never been one for Warhammer 40K's lore, lofty dialogue or miniature figurines. Not that I have any objections to tabletop gaming, role-playing or dudes in bulky armour; I just have too much on my nerdy plate as it is. I did enjoy my brief love affair with Dawn of War II. Once again, not because of the source material; rather, it was a great strategy game in its own right. Now enter Space Marine. Same brand of brawny, quasi-religious tomfoolery, but from a different perspective. Instead of issuing directives from above, players get to step into the ridiculously-large boots of an Ultramarine. Will the close-up make these mammoths of men any more relatable?

Gratuitous title shot

The Good
Brutal Ballet - The combat system in Space Marine skillfully fuses third person melee and shooting into a violent dance that is satisfying to perform. The risk-versus-reward execution system makes some of the more crowded battles all the more exciting, with those last minute Fury activations being the difference between life and death. The weapon selection, while modest, offers additional ways to control the crowd and thus the carnage on screen. Do you snipe your enemies with ranged weapons and clean-up the rest? Or, do you run in with Bolter, grenades and Chainsword at the ready? All important decisions, and most yield favourable outcomes.

 All of the lights

That must've hurt - Execution moves look suitably brutal, and act as another reward for engaging in melee combat. The animations are - for the most part - fluid, and produce a satisfying amount of blood and gore. There are several different animations for each melee weapon, and they each serve to paint the Ultramarines (specifically, Captain Titus) as a force to be reckoned with.

The Bad
You look familiar - There isn't much variety in enemy models and voicework throughout the campaign.  You'll hear "It's the Space Marine!" in a terrible Ork-Australian accent so many times before the closing of the first few chapters that you'll be tempted to mute the game for the remainder. Not that I did, but my word was that idea tempting! It's also not long into the game when you first start yearning for some diversity in terms of look, sound and feel; and no, the jump pack segments do not count.
 

Walk in the park - Space Marine is fairly uneventful in terms of both narrative and difficulty level. With regards to the story: it's painfully predictable, and doesn't really tread into apocalypse territory until the final few chapters. Even then, Captain Titus always seems somewhat laissez-faire about the orc and Chaos Marine threats. The unlikable, poorly-developed support cast also meant that I felt as though I had nothing to lose, even when the situation managed to look bleak. Now about difficulty: on the default Normal setting, I very rarely felt troubled. I don't think I fell during any of the boss fights, and only really had myself to blame when I succumbed to the swarming orcish hordes. Careless spamming of stun and execution moves often led to my own demise; if only those moves didn't look so cool.

I can see right through you! - Clipping errors are rampant throughout the single player adventure. If you're backed into a corner and use an execution move, you'll likely find that your opponent has disappeared into a nearby wall as you continue your choreographed moves. If you commence one of these brutal animations near a ledge, you might even see the miracle of levitation! The visuals also stuttered frequently in the final few chapters; it wasn't so much a reduction in the frame rate as much as it was multiple, short (as in fractions of a second) instances of freezing.

You may not be able to see it, but I'm floating on air!

The Ugly
You're breaking up! - I couldn't connect to a single multiplayer match that was of a playable standard. Deaths came quickly, and often from an enemy that copped about two clips worth of my worthless ammunition. My connection speed was slower than an Ultramarine attempting to run through a vacuum!

Top heavy - Space Marine's multiplayer suite suffers from severe balance issues, with higher level opponents afforded equipment that has them raining death on newcomers. The ability to copy your assailant's loadout after death doesn't help things either, as there's a learning curve for each piece of equipment. As a result, I often found myself dying before I could comprehend the power of the weapons I'd just acquired, and the vicious cycle was reset.

The Verdict
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is a solid game that is undermined by some poor writing, repetitive visuals and obnoxious sound design. The brutal, satisfying blend of ranged and melee combat never turns stale, but the same can't be said for the identical enemies and shallow support characters. The multiplayer aspect of the package also suffers from balance, depth and connectivity issues that led to me losing interest fairly quickly. If you're a fan of the source material, I'm sure that you'll get a lot out of the campaign. It's just hard to recommend this game given the release window, where better games are either already on the market or likely to come very soon.

The Grey Guide

Note: Some of these vendors employ region-specific pricing; so I can only vouch for the benefits that these sites provide for Australian consumers.

I buy a lot of games. For anyone who has been reading my work for a sustained amount of time, this may have been obvious: but I wanted to state for the record that a great deal of my income is spent on videogames and the odd peripheral. My loving wife has long been supportive of my habit, but when I pause and reflect on the last few years, it's almost scary to think how much cash that I've shelled out on anything from latest releases to dust-collecting consoles and peripherals (Wii and Kinect: I'm looking at you). New releases for consoles can cost three figure sums, and the price of collector's editions can be as much as a console!  

Thankfully, I discovered some legal means of reducing this expenditure; and by reduce, I mean save as much as half on each game that I buy. I'm not buying a smaller quantity of games, mind you: just getting more for about the same amount of money. Grey importing and online retail have allowed for me to enjoy all of the latest games - and in some case, tech - for a fraction of the price. I thought that I'd share a few sites that I swear by, as well as those that require some careful consideration before jumping in:

Winners

·    ozgameshop (www.ozgameshop.com): These guys have never done me wrong. Based in the UK, they offer games and peripherals for all current consoles and portables for a fraction of the Australian retail price. If you're happy to wait a few weeks or months after release, you can pick up some genuine bargains on collector's editions and other unnecessary - but somehow necessary - items. Orders usually take about two weeks to reach Australia, and their response to email queries is always prompt; so you'll never lose sleep wondering what happened to your hard-earned cash. Free postage is offered on all orders and prices are displayed in Australian dollars.

·    Steam (www.steampowered.com): Some speak of Steam as though it is a great evil than cannot be trusted. I look at Steam as a paid-for Christmas that arrives with daily, mid-week, weekend and seasonal promotions that can't be bested by any retailer on this list. Sure, you can moan about how the game is never truly yours, but twenty-seven dollars for all three Assassin's Creed games was enough for me to dismiss any argument against Valve's eCommerce monster. The only downside is the occasional - becoming frustratingly more frequent - instance of "region pricing," where publishers opt to charge a higher price to Australian users. Ninety-nine US dollars for Modern Warfare 3 is just plain greedy Activision: with or without the free copy of CoD4. All prices are displayed in US dollars.

·    Play Asia (www.play-asia.com): Another provider of great repute, Play Asia sell everything from consoles to action figures. They sell different region copies of each new release, so provided that you don't mind Chinese text on your box art, you'll often be able to save even more. If you're buying games for region-locked consoles, the individual product listings will advise whether games are compatible with your console (3DS  and Wii games are a no-go, AAA 360 releases are often region free). While you have to pay for postage, there are options for every budget and level of mania. By this I mean that I always shell out the extra dough for FedEx delivery (which takes about three days to reach you). Play-Asia's customer service team respond to enquiries quickly and amending/cancelling orders is easy as pie. All prices are displayed in US dollars.

·    Green Man Gaming (www.greenmangaming.com): This site offers Steam keys for PC games and - in some cases - also allow for games to be played via their own downloader, Capsule. They usually offer fifteen percent off pre-orders and also regularly distribute vouchers which can take as much as an additional twenty percent off their already low prices. For some older titles, there is even the ability to trade-in your digital copy. I've never used the system before, and the trade in values aren't great, but it is another way to save even more dosh. They don't have an expansive range, but they are signing up more publishers, and offering more games with each passing week. For Australian customers, all prices are displayed in US dollars.

·    The Hut (http://www.thehut.com/games.dept): Now I've only shopped once with this site, but the transaction was extraordinary. I ordered Dungeon Siege III (X360) for just over twenty bucks. My game didn't arrive within the designated timeframe, and all I had to do was notify their courteous team for a replacement to be sent out. No fuss, no extra conditions, no probing questions: better service than you'd receive at any brick-and-mortar store. They have regular specials and "two for" promos that are well worth checking out. I should note that they also sell brand name clothes, toys, DVDs and Blu-Rays as well. No charge for postage, and all prices are displayed in GBP.

Buyer Beware (but still worth a look)

·    CDKEYSHERE (http://www.cdkeyshere.com/): This site sells CD keys for Steam, Origin, GFWL and more at certifiably-insane prices. "How insane?" I hear you ask. How about Warhammer 40K: Space Marine for 25 US dollars? That crazy enough for you? It was batty enough for me to jump, grabbing Call of Duty: Black Ops for less than twenty bucks as well; but then I read the fine-print. No problems with Space Marine, but Black Ops was another kettle of fish. It was the Russian version, and if I wanted to redeem the key, I needed to have a Russian VPN, or give these guys my Steam login: neither was on the cards. Thankfully, after a minimum of fuss, they gave me a refund, but this served as a powerful lesson: read the fine-print!

·    G2Play (http://www.g2play.net/store/): I haven't used these guys yet, but it looks as though they are running a similar operation to CDKEYSHERE. Read the fine-print, people!

 

A quarter of the retail price? Surely you jest, my Lord.

Any vendors of choice that I may have missed? Do you buy online, or are you still a bricks-and-mortar player?

Important, potentially-heartwarming, Dutch note: Congratulations to regular Friday contributor, Dawson on his brand-new bundle of joy, Bradley David. Best wishes to Tim, Sherri, Libby and the newest addition to the Dawson family!