First Look: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
- June 04, 2009 11:31 AM PST
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I just got back from seeing THQ and the first game I want to tell everyone about is Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. It looks amazing, even though I didn't get to see a live demo but a trailer featuring in-game footage and scripted battle sequences. It's an action-RPG game like God of War designed specifically for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, steering away from the series' traditional RTS roots.
Before the demo even started I got chills watching the teaser trailer outside the game's booth. The trailer was in classic Relic fashion showing impressive visuals of the series' Space Marines engaged in battle with Orcs. I stepped inside the booth and here's what I learned about Warhammer 40K: Space Marine.
Players will take control of a single Space Marine in a brawler style action-RPG. Warhammer is known for its "super, over-the-top violence," and our demo showcased nothing less. I watched a squad of four Space Marines rip through a 10-foot Orc with chainsaw swords in QTE fashion, smash in Orc heads with mighty hammers, and machine gun through grunts with ranged rifles and cannons..
The RPG elements allow players to equip new items to their Space Marine, like in Dawn of War 2, which are reflected on the character in-game. I witnessed a Space Marine upgraded with a jump pack that allowed the marine to leap higher into the air and come down with smashing hammer blows.
When I asked about the four Space Marines and cooperative play, Relic said the company is not making any announcements at this time, however, is known for its innovative multiplayer and that marines always travel in a squad. Wink wink.
The demo ended showing an epic, Lord of the Rings-size battle rendered in the game engine. A nuclear blast explodes miles in the distance as Space Marines, Orcs, and giant robots wage war-everyone in the blast radius is evaporated. The shockwave approaches the Space Marine heroes at breakneck speeds and they continue to fight in blistering winds and blowing sands. I want to play that level right now.
