Review of Space Marine demo

Hello again and welcome back to our beloved Father Nurgle's cupboard. Now I wonder if any of you can guess what I was up to yesterday rather then painting my Warhammer Orc horde? Yes, you've guessed right. Like any other fanatically (don't get too giddy though the inquisition might come after you!) devoted fan of GW you will (or should) have downloaded and tried the demo for the up and coming game Space Marine.




Now I will admit we fan boys of the 40k universe can be pretty hard to please, but I have to say Relic have absolutely nailed this game. The look, the feel, the sounds, everything is how I would imagine the 40k battlefield would be like. I think Relic have taken a lot of inspiration from the hobby. I would say they have pulled thing from various parts of the hobby, from Black Library books, to GW's scenery and miniatures. Even to the actual game of 40k itself.

There are two levels to try out in the demo. One where you are on foot and you get to try out some of the weapons that you will have at your disposal and another that give you a go with a jump pack.

OK when the game loads up you get to get your self familiarised with the controls, the graphics and the sounds. The graphics are brilliant. They're very crisp and clear. The textures of the surfaces are especially good. The sounds are believable, from the space marine boots clanking on metal, to the industrial ambience.




The weapons you get to use are the bolt pistol, which is a semi automatic pistol. You use this with your chain sword in close combat. There's the Bolter, which as you can imagine is an automatic rifle a bit like the Assault Rifle from Halo or the Lancer Assault Rifle from Gears of war. You get a grenade launcher, which fires miniature grenades and lastly there is the Stalker pattern Bolter, which is like a sniper rifle version of the Bolter. It can take an Ork down in two shots or with one well placed head shot that causes the Orks head to explode.




The controls can be a little tricky to get used to at first, I found the jump pack especially difficult to get used to. The game play itself is extremely fluid and this certainly helps as your character responds to your commands instantaneously. The change from ranged combat to close combat is brilliant and can certainly help you get out of a pickle. This is the first thing you need to get the hang of quickly if you are to cope with the hordes of Orks and I do mean never ending hordes.

The combat system is easy to get used to and is very swift as you hack and chop through Ork after Ork. There are 3 normal combos for each weapon and 3 stunning combos. The stunning combos are important as you can then use finishing moves on enemies and this replenishes your health and you need this as you are constantly under fire and be hacked and chopped at yourself!

Speaking of Orks the enemies you come across in the demo are Choppa Boyz, some Shoota Boyz, Gretchin, Bomb Squigs and a couple of Loota Boyz on the Jet pack level. There are also a couple of 'Uge Choppa Nobz laying around and these guys are deadly as they tower over you!




I was really looking forward to this game and it certainly did not disappoint me. It really reminds me of Gear of War with the gore, weapons, the characters (you can't say a C.O.G marine doesn't look like a Space Marine) and the game play. I would suggest anyone who like the Gears of War series who is not a fan of the hobby to give this game a go and to all those fellow hobbyists out there you have to try this out. If you haven't then I hope the emperor's finest hunt you down.

Until next time my Plagueling friends.