Orks in spaaaaaace!

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is a new third person shooter from the developers at Relic. Taking place within the universe of the popular Games Workshop franchise, you take on the role of Captain Titus, one of an elite soldier class called the Ultramarines. Titus, along with two fellow warriors, has been tasked with fighting back the Orks that have invaded an Imperial Forge World key to humanity's continued survival.

Space Marine, as the Warhammer name implies, is all about action. From the onset of the first level to the last chapter of the game, you will literally be slicing, sawing and shooting your way through hordes of enemies as you fight back the invaders. The structure isn't unlike other third person shooters, each level will have multiple objectives to reach, but your course is generally laid out in a linear fashion. The design of each stage does allow for some limited exploration for collectible audio files, but generally you're funneled into sections that serve as encounter points. This is really the only downside to the game, it's not very inventive in masking when these skirmishes are going to occur, and on occasion features long stretches of hallways or paths that have you doing nothing but running forward to the next ambush.

The combat is incredibly visceral throughout the campaign. Guns feel and sound excellent, and all perform different specialties. They still fall into your standard categories, like pistols, shotguns, rifles and so on. But the sci-fi twist for each weapon is well implemented. Take the Melta Gun for instance, which is essentially Space Marine's version of the shotgun. It has limited ammo, and a slow reload time like you might expect, but its visual effect is pretty stunning. When fired, it unleashes a blast of concentrated fire in a cone pattern, and will literally incinerate enemies if you're close enough to them. Then there's the Lascannon, a sniper rifle of sorts that fires a single, piercing laser beam that will disintegrate most foes upon contact. I can't emphasis enough how great all the weapons in the game feel, and how much fun I had using them. A lot of games offer up little reason to use more than a standard assault rifle, but Space Marine thankfully throws you into a variety of combat situations that will require making use of your full, currently equipped arsenal.

Besides the gunplay, Space Marine also places a big focus on melee combat as well. Captain Titus can wield a variety of close combat weapons, like a Thunder Hammer, Chainsword, and Power Axe. A lot of the Orks you encounter will rush you over time, very few hang back and use guns. The idea is that you pick off as many incoming Orks as possible, but when they're within striking distance; it's time to bring out the melee attacks. You can make simple chains by tapping the X button a few times or combo the X and Y buttons together to stun opponents. When stunned, they'll get an execution prompt above their head, which will then put you through a pretty brutal killing animation. This sequence is unique for each enemy type, and since the game throws a decent variety of enemies at you, it rarely gets old watching this play out.

Another key reason for performing executions is that it's the only way to regain health. This can get pretty tricky though, as you're not invulnerable when in the execution animation like you might expect. This just means that you need to a be a little more judicial in when you decide to perform a killing blow, adding just enough strategy to some fights to make them more challenging and entertaining.

Outside of the campaign, which will run you a solid 7 to 8 hours, there's a couple multiplayer modes to partake in. There's also a free co-op mode in the works that's essentially horde mode, but that's not being offered as DLC for another 30 days or so. The two modes currently enabled are variations on Team Deathmatch called Annihilation, and a point capture mode called Seize Ground. Both modes put the player into the role of either a Space Marine or Chaos Marine, there's no Ork faction present. Both of these mode are pretty basic as far as multiplayer goes, but the maps are well laid out and fun to play in, and the combat in the game so much fun that it manages to keep these otherwise standard additions fun.

The best part of multiplayer is all the armor and customization unlocks that you can obtain. Multiplayer borrows a page from Call of Duty, in that you'll gain experience after every battle which allows you to move up in rank. With every new rank comes new gear and perks. Gear isn't just weapon unlocks, and you can get a variety of different armor pieces, including entire sets of armor taken from the various sub-factions that make up the Space and Chaos Marines. I'm sure someone a little more familiar with the series will appreciate the sheer number of options available here, but even I'm impressed by how much attention to detail is present.

If you've been looking for some hardcore shooter action, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine certainly fits the bill. It features a really fun, intense campaign to run through, with a well voiced cast and unapologetic action to go along with it. It's also a fantastic looking game, and manages to avoid a lot of technical hiccups that seem to plague a lot of games as of late. Another thing worth noting is that the musical score here is fantastic. If you have any love for action games, Space Marine shouldn't be missed. It's big, dumb action on a grand scale, and manages to give Gears of War a pretty good run for its money. I certainly hope we see a sequel in the near future, and I urge everyone to check it out.