Note: This post contains only minor spoilers. The screenshot album linked at the end includes major spoilers, however. You should be safe reading this post if you have not played the game, but going too far through the album will reveal spoilers.
Space Marine gets everything that matters in its genre right. The gameplay is simply great. The mixture of ranged and melee combat is fluid, every shot and every impact feels appropriately strong, and the movements of the bulky marines have a good weight to them. The controls are simple, and work well on the PC: left-click for guns, right-click for melee, and a few keys for other actions.
There is no cover system, no jumping (except when wearing a jump-pack), and no health regeneration. Low on health? Charge in battle, and stun then execute an enemy to heal yourself. Don't be fooled by the guns; Space Marine is more a third-person melee combat game than a third-person shooter.
Most importantly, though, Space Marine's combat is just fun. How could charging into a horde of Orks, firing weapons the whole way, and using melee weaponry to slash and smash everything within range be anything other than fun? Add in grenades, executions, Fury mode (activate for increased damage, health regeneration, even the option to "slow time"), and the occasional jump-pack segment and Space Marine
gets even better.
Sure, there are only a handful of ranged weapons and even fewer melee weapons, and only a handful of different enemies to use them on. The game never really becomes too challenging, the combat is rarely changed up, and the campaign can be finished in about 6-7 hours. Add an hour, maybe if you hunt down every optional "hidden" audio log. But I had fun through the entire game; I was never bored, never frustrated. When I did reach the end, it was exactly when I expected. The ending felt neither abrupt nor dragged out.
Even though Space Marine has a lot of repetitiveness (combat, move forward, combat, etc.), there are some great moments throughout. The first time I used a mounted gun and discovered I could literally tear it off the mount to use as a hand-held weapon reminded me that I was a Space Marine, not some weak generic soldier. The unfortunately short-lived and rare jump-pack sections were probably the most fun I had in the game, flying up into the air only to crash down into groups of unsuspecting Orks.
There is a great little segment that has you manning an aircraft's turret, shooting down Ork planes and...Orks with rockets strapped to their backs. At times you even have to clear those rocket-Orks off of other friendly aircraft and your own. Just when the game risks becoming stale, a late "twist" (you'll probably see it coming if you know anything about the Warhammer universe) changes things for the whole endgame.
The final "boss battle" was extremely disappointing, though. It really wasn't even a boss battle; it was a quick-time event. In a game full of satisfying combat, I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to create a final boss where you don't get to participate in any of that satisfying combat. There is another boss earlier in Space Marine that worked fine, with an interesting battle that went beyond just "big enemy with more health". Bosses aren't entirely necessary all the time, but if you're going to include them, make sure they aren't terrible (leave that to Deus Ex: Human Revolution and GRIP Entertainment).
While Space Marine's gameplay should get most of the attention, I also want to point out the game looks great. It's no Crysis or anything like that, but the designers and artists seem to have done everything right within the Phoenix Engine. The mostly destroyed environments look impressive, and some of the levels have some enormous scale to them (even though you're restricted to smaller portions).
The Space Marines, Imperial Guardsmen, Orks, and other enemies are all well-animated and well-designed, but there are some flaws in other areas. Executions almost always work, but do not always display correctly. It's not uncommon to watch your character executing an Ork who is clipping into a wall or floating over a ledge or impossible to see.
As for the story, it is...passable. The plot is generic and predictable, but for a game like this the story really doesn't need to be anything special. The story proceeds at a good pace to string you along from location to location, and that's what matters. The characters are barely developed and probably not memorable in the long run, but within the game they fill their roles well. The dialog is similarly straight-forward and can be "dumb" at times (one Space Marine asks, seriously, why Orks would kill people), but the voice-acting is rather good.
The game ends with a rather clear lead-in to a possible sequel (or DLC, or expansion). Honestly, I don't really care one way or the other if the story is further developed, but the gameplay is certainly worth revisiting.
Space Marine also includes multiplayer, but I haven't gotten into that yet. I've heard some mixed opinions about the MP, so if you're interested in that aspect seek out other articles. I'm not sure I will, but I will definitely be trying out the upcoming free Exterminatus DLC which adds a new 4-player co-op mode.
I have uploaded 431 Space Marine screenshots I took during my playthrough. These screenshots include major spoilers, so avoid viewing the album if you do not want to have things spoiled.
There is no cover system, no jumping (except when wearing a jump-pack), and no health regeneration. Low on health? Charge in battle, and stun then execute an enemy to heal yourself. Don't be fooled by the guns; Space Marine is more a third-person melee combat game than a third-person shooter.
A Space Marine in some melee combat, with more Orks on the way.
Most importantly, though, Space Marine's combat is just fun. How could charging into a horde of Orks, firing weapons the whole way, and using melee weaponry to slash and smash everything within range be anything other than fun? Add in grenades, executions, Fury mode (activate for increased damage, health regeneration, even the option to "slow time"), and the occasional jump-pack segment and Space Marine
gets even better.Sure, there are only a handful of ranged weapons and even fewer melee weapons, and only a handful of different enemies to use them on. The game never really becomes too challenging, the combat is rarely changed up, and the campaign can be finished in about 6-7 hours. Add an hour, maybe if you hunt down every optional "hidden" audio log. But I had fun through the entire game; I was never bored, never frustrated. When I did reach the end, it was exactly when I expected. The ending felt neither abrupt nor dragged out.
Even though Space Marine has a lot of repetitiveness (combat, move forward, combat, etc.), there are some great moments throughout. The first time I used a mounted gun and discovered I could literally tear it off the mount to use as a hand-held weapon reminded me that I was a Space Marine, not some weak generic soldier. The unfortunately short-lived and rare jump-pack sections were probably the most fun I had in the game, flying up into the air only to crash down into groups of unsuspecting Orks.
An execution after landing with the jump-pack.
There is a great little segment that has you manning an aircraft's turret, shooting down Ork planes and...Orks with rockets strapped to their backs. At times you even have to clear those rocket-Orks off of other friendly aircraft and your own. Just when the game risks becoming stale, a late "twist" (you'll probably see it coming if you know anything about the Warhammer universe) changes things for the whole endgame.
The final "boss battle" was extremely disappointing, though. It really wasn't even a boss battle; it was a quick-time event. In a game full of satisfying combat, I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to create a final boss where you don't get to participate in any of that satisfying combat. There is another boss earlier in Space Marine that worked fine, with an interesting battle that went beyond just "big enemy with more health". Bosses aren't entirely necessary all the time, but if you're going to include them, make sure they aren't terrible (leave that to Deus Ex: Human Revolution and GRIP Entertainment).
An Ork Stormboy trying to get into the aircraft.
While Space Marine's gameplay should get most of the attention, I also want to point out the game looks great. It's no Crysis or anything like that, but the designers and artists seem to have done everything right within the Phoenix Engine. The mostly destroyed environments look impressive, and some of the levels have some enormous scale to them (even though you're restricted to smaller portions).
The Space Marines, Imperial Guardsmen, Orks, and other enemies are all well-animated and well-designed, but there are some flaws in other areas. Executions almost always work, but do not always display correctly. It's not uncommon to watch your character executing an Ork who is clipping into a wall or floating over a ledge or impossible to see.
As for the story, it is...passable. The plot is generic and predictable, but for a game like this the story really doesn't need to be anything special. The story proceeds at a good pace to string you along from location to location, and that's what matters. The characters are barely developed and probably not memorable in the long run, but within the game they fill their roles well. The dialog is similarly straight-forward and can be "dumb" at times (one Space Marine asks, seriously, why Orks would kill people), but the voice-acting is rather good.
One of the great-looking environments in Space Marine.
The game ends with a rather clear lead-in to a possible sequel (or DLC, or expansion). Honestly, I don't really care one way or the other if the story is further developed, but the gameplay is certainly worth revisiting.
Space Marine also includes multiplayer, but I haven't gotten into that yet. I've heard some mixed opinions about the MP, so if you're interested in that aspect seek out other articles. I'm not sure I will, but I will definitely be trying out the upcoming free Exterminatus DLC which adds a new 4-player co-op mode.
I have uploaded 431 Space Marine screenshots I took during my playthrough. These screenshots include major spoilers, so avoid viewing the album if you do not want to have things spoiled.
Facing an Ork Warboss.