Space Marine in the yardstick by which I judge all linear third-person shooters. Which isn't to say it's perfect, some of what it does is done better by other games, albeit not at the same time. Space Marine is my yardstick because every time I play a shooter of it's ilk I can tell weather it's good or not by how much it makes me want to play Space Marine again.
In this case, I was inspired to play Space Marine again after playing through Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. I love me some Transformers, and there were times when it hit points of absolute brilliance, but for the most part it was a pretty sub-standard third-person shooter with Transformers Fan-Service. I enjoyed it overall, but it did leave me thinking: "You know, Space Marine did the 'TPS without a cover system' thing better, and it had more satisfying weapons, a better melee system and no dull upgrade system."
So I replayed it, just to confirm, and yeah, it's still one of my favourite shooters ever made, alongside Binary Domain. Though calling it a shooter is only half right I suppose, considering the importance of melee combat. The two halves of the core action fit seamlessly together, it works so well that I don't miss the cover system the melee combat replaces. You'll still be hiding behind walls a lot, especially later in the campaign, but for the most part you'll be much better off taking on open combat with a power axe and a full shield bar than trying to pop out from walls like a swole, blue whack-a-mole.
Which of course leaves some problems, for example in later stages where enemies may appear exclusively in areas out of melee range, you're left with swole-mole as your only option. Which is fine if your rage meter is full and you've got a Lascannon or Stalker Bolter, and you've got a good enough aim and an eye for target prioritisation, but if you're caught off guard and left with just your standard bolter and pistol as your ranged options, you could be hung out to dry pretty quickly.
So it helps that the Lascannon and Stalker Bolter both feel amazing to shoot at stuff. As does every weapon in the game. Your standard bolter is loud and chunky, the thunderous sound of a lascannon shot followed by that satisfying scraping sound as it recharges, and the melta gun is so god damn powerful you only get 10 shots with it. And rightly so, the thing can reduce entire hordes to dust in one shot. Honestly, "Amazing guns" is practically a hallmark of 40k videogames at this point.
Melee is just as satisfying, with your attacks cleaving through enemies en-masse and brutal executions. Unfortunately, while executions are the only way to get your health back, you don't get any additional protection while using them, so you'll likely need a bit of forethought to using them. It runs counter to the game's philosophy of making you an angry Space Marine that would rather stay in combat than run in response to injury, resulting in yet more swole-mole antics. But it's nothing that can't be obfuscated by quick-thinking and a few rolls, and it will usually be your fault if you die during an execution.
My experience with the tabletop game is limited to a partially-painted collection of Ultramarines and Grey Knights and a squad of melon-coloured misfits, but nonetheless I'm a huge lover of the 40k universe. A world where everything is fucked all the time, full of hammy villains and equally hammy heroes, where the destruction of an entire planet is frequently considered an acceptable loss or even a sensible solution. It's the perfect setting for videogames, which basically live by the same language of violence anyways. The Ultrasmerfs are also the perfect protagonists, being the most goody-two-shoes of all the space marine chapters with a distinctive and easily recognisable colour scheme. I'd love some Grey Knights or Space Wolves love, but the boys in blue are good too.
This is a game that does audiologs pretty well, they're short, snappy, and give fantastic little snippets of the world as well as mini character dramas. The fact that they're all hidden away in corners means you'll likely miss the whole story. And lets be honest, this isn't Dark Souls, I've no reason to pretend it is, I'd rather just have them all in obvious places so I can hear them all. But nonetheless, they're a strong part of what is an excellent realisation of the 40k universe, with giant factories adorned with mechanical religious iconography being torn apart by Orcs in slabs of red metal screaming about SPAYSE MAREENS. It's a glorious world to be a part of, and the fact that this game, one of the best games the franchise has gotten, will likely not get a follow-up, despite it's sequel hooks. One of the greatest shames of our industry, of course.
The multiplayer is still well-loved too, in co-op and competitive, and with good reason. Top-class stuff if you can get it working these days.
So yeah, for the Emperor and all that shite. Steam sale sometime after this goes up, so if it goes on the cheap, grab it. Top stuff.
Next week, I've been replaying Demon's Souls. Started just before E3 to see if I could coerce the Gods into giving me a remake, but no dice it seems. It's in interesting one.
In this case, I was inspired to play Space Marine again after playing through Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. I love me some Transformers, and there were times when it hit points of absolute brilliance, but for the most part it was a pretty sub-standard third-person shooter with Transformers Fan-Service. I enjoyed it overall, but it did leave me thinking: "You know, Space Marine did the 'TPS without a cover system' thing better, and it had more satisfying weapons, a better melee system and no dull upgrade system."
So I replayed it, just to confirm, and yeah, it's still one of my favourite shooters ever made, alongside Binary Domain. Though calling it a shooter is only half right I suppose, considering the importance of melee combat. The two halves of the core action fit seamlessly together, it works so well that I don't miss the cover system the melee combat replaces. You'll still be hiding behind walls a lot, especially later in the campaign, but for the most part you'll be much better off taking on open combat with a power axe and a full shield bar than trying to pop out from walls like a swole, blue whack-a-mole.
Which of course leaves some problems, for example in later stages where enemies may appear exclusively in areas out of melee range, you're left with swole-mole as your only option. Which is fine if your rage meter is full and you've got a Lascannon or Stalker Bolter, and you've got a good enough aim and an eye for target prioritisation, but if you're caught off guard and left with just your standard bolter and pistol as your ranged options, you could be hung out to dry pretty quickly.
So it helps that the Lascannon and Stalker Bolter both feel amazing to shoot at stuff. As does every weapon in the game. Your standard bolter is loud and chunky, the thunderous sound of a lascannon shot followed by that satisfying scraping sound as it recharges, and the melta gun is so god damn powerful you only get 10 shots with it. And rightly so, the thing can reduce entire hordes to dust in one shot. Honestly, "Amazing guns" is practically a hallmark of 40k videogames at this point.
Melee is just as satisfying, with your attacks cleaving through enemies en-masse and brutal executions. Unfortunately, while executions are the only way to get your health back, you don't get any additional protection while using them, so you'll likely need a bit of forethought to using them. It runs counter to the game's philosophy of making you an angry Space Marine that would rather stay in combat than run in response to injury, resulting in yet more swole-mole antics. But it's nothing that can't be obfuscated by quick-thinking and a few rolls, and it will usually be your fault if you die during an execution.
My experience with the tabletop game is limited to a partially-painted collection of Ultramarines and Grey Knights and a squad of melon-coloured misfits, but nonetheless I'm a huge lover of the 40k universe. A world where everything is fucked all the time, full of hammy villains and equally hammy heroes, where the destruction of an entire planet is frequently considered an acceptable loss or even a sensible solution. It's the perfect setting for videogames, which basically live by the same language of violence anyways. The Ultrasmerfs are also the perfect protagonists, being the most goody-two-shoes of all the space marine chapters with a distinctive and easily recognisable colour scheme. I'd love some Grey Knights or Space Wolves love, but the boys in blue are good too.
This is a game that does audiologs pretty well, they're short, snappy, and give fantastic little snippets of the world as well as mini character dramas. The fact that they're all hidden away in corners means you'll likely miss the whole story. And lets be honest, this isn't Dark Souls, I've no reason to pretend it is, I'd rather just have them all in obvious places so I can hear them all. But nonetheless, they're a strong part of what is an excellent realisation of the 40k universe, with giant factories adorned with mechanical religious iconography being torn apart by Orcs in slabs of red metal screaming about SPAYSE MAREENS. It's a glorious world to be a part of, and the fact that this game, one of the best games the franchise has gotten, will likely not get a follow-up, despite it's sequel hooks. One of the greatest shames of our industry, of course.
The multiplayer is still well-loved too, in co-op and competitive, and with good reason. Top-class stuff if you can get it working these days.
So yeah, for the Emperor and all that shite. Steam sale sometime after this goes up, so if it goes on the cheap, grab it. Top stuff.
Next week, I've been replaying Demon's Souls. Started just before E3 to see if I could coerce the Gods into giving me a remake, but no dice it seems. It's in interesting one.
Comments
Post a Comment