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V-G-R | Mako109 Reviews! | Edition #3


Makο

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(Thanks to Legend Zero for a bit of editing help. Yes, LZ, it did help. :P)

Hey guys, I'm back.

Remember when I did those Video Game Review things? The first one was met with hugely positive feedback. While the second didn't fare as well, it still did well. From the time I finished the second, I said I'd quit it with the First Person Shooter games (The two I reviewed were Brink and Republic Commando) and focus on different genres. I said I'd probably try RPG, but from the time I started it, I kinda stopped. It's been months, and I just finished a bit of playing the game I am going to review today, so I'm pumped. I just hope they can live up to the expectations from the very first review. It's a shooter. Not First Person, though, so I hope it's acceptable.


[size=6]Today's game to be reviewed iiiiiiis....[/size]

[size=7]Warhammer 40k: Space Marine*[/size]
[img]http://mp1st.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/warhammer-40000-space-marine-photos.jpg[/img]

[size=6]First thoughts.[/size]

Now, this game was announced, and from there...Well, nothing. It didn't get TOO much media attention to my knowledge. I didn't hear about it too often, and there weren't that many articles about it. It did get mentioned every now and then however. And based off of what I saw...I needed this game. I needed a break from all the FPS games I was playing, while still staying in the "Guy with a Gun" territory. And this looked just fresh enough for me. I always had a semi-interest in the Warhammer 40k universe, wanting to get into the Table Top games, but I never had the opportunity to. I figured this game would be the perfect way to break me into the universe softly, in a way I am comfortable with. Now, I didn't have anything riding on it, unlike my poor choice of "Mowing the lawn till I'm 18 to acquire funds for a game" with Brink, but I was still cautious with it, checking the rating with my parents and waiting for reviews. My favorite VG News host, the Dead Pixel (Adam Kovic) said he loved the game (and after I played the demo), it was settled. I was going to get it. What did I receive? Let's find out.


[size=6]Story.[/size]
Alright. For the main campaign for this game, it revolves around Capt. Titus of the Ultramarines Chapter. It follows him and a few of his fellow Space Marines as they try to repel an Ork invasion of the Forge World Graia, which is a huge planet used ONLY for constructing war machines, making it vital to Mankind. Along with all the other weapons produced, Warlord-Class Titans are also produced at the planet. The Skyscrapper Sized war mechs were something that Mankind could NOT let the Orks get a hold of, so they sent the Ultramarines to help repel the invasion while a relief fleet was on-route.

Now, so far, I have no qualms with the story. I haven't really beaten the campaign yet, so I don't know about what is to come in terms of environment, weapons, and enemies, but I'm sure it can't any better or any worse than what I've already seen. It's a pretty basic linear "Go do this" campaign, with plenty of enemy encounters and new things to see, making it pretty entertaining and worth going through at least once, as far as I know.

Heh, editing my review before I even post it. After writing this little bit above me and a lot more, I went to bed. When I awoke, I did nothing but play Space Marines until I beat the campaign. Well, here I am, and wow. Just wow. While I still retain what I said previously, this campaign does deliver an experience you’ll want to try at least once.

[size=6]Starting up.[/size]
The first thing you're prompted to do, from what I can remember, is adjusting your brightness. From the Start Screen, it'll load, and go to the main menu, where you see Capt. Titus defeating several Orks. It's definitely better than a lot of menu screens, with the others being really stale and boring. From there, you have 3 options. Campaign, Multiplayer, and Options. I tested out the selections, first seeing the Campaign menu, where you can't really do anything other than start a campaign when you first start up. You might be able to listen to some audio recordings that you collect, but I'm not sure. I get to that in a minute. From the Multiplayer menu, you have the option of choosing several different options, ranging from Versus to Customize.

[size=6]Game Features.[/size]
For Singleplayer, there aren't too many features. However, throughout the game, there ARE several Servo Skulls which have Audio Recordings you can go back and listen to, presumably from the Campaign menu. One more noticable feature is how you regain health in this game. After stunning an enemy, you can press a button and trigger an execution. It's a game controlled event that lasts for 3-6 seconds that shows Titus eliminating the enemy in a violent manner, regaining your health. They're fun to watch, and totally worth the effort to trigger one. If this isn't your style, you can use the Fury ability, where you regain health and your melee is several times more powerful, along with Zoom in being in slow motion. In multiplayer, these features are not present.

For Multiplayer, there are several different options, but all the stuff to mention is better off discussed in the Multiplayer part of my review. However, there is a major feature that should be mentioned. The character customization. Along with the Loadout customizer, you can also customize your Space Marine/Chaos Space Marine. Both sides have their own unique armor that you unlock while playing by doing certain challenges, which range from getting killed by a certain thing to getting a certain amount of Savior Kills. There are so many types of armor to choose from, that you could spend a while customizing and perfecting your Space Marine and Chaos Space Marine. Along with the Armor, you can also change your armor colors and your Shoulder Badge. The amount of customization in this game is incredible, and rewarding as well.

[size=6]Gameplay.[/size]
Gameplay wise, this game is your typical, almost Gears of War Third Person Shooter, leading me to call this “Gears of War for PS3 too”. As previously stated, it's a Third Person Shooter with a heavy focus on the melee element of the game. You feel really strong and slow while playing, yet, at the same time, quick, probably due to the Sprinting and Combat Rolling features. For the shooting element, you can either hip fire or aim, neither of which go into a First Person View, aside from the Stalker Bolter and Lazcannon (More of a Scope, if anything). Speaking of weapons, you use a large variety of weapons in this game, ranging from your standerd Bolter to the Melta Gun. There are Snipers, Alternate Ammo Firing Weapons (Plasma), Pistols, and Heavy Weapons. They all feel good, with most having a loud and satisfying sound. They all feel powerful in their own little way. For the melee element of this game, you'll be using it often in Singleplayer. The Orks swarm you at many times, so you'll have to make effective use of your Combat Knife, Chainsword, or any of the other melee weapons to get your way out. It's easy to chain combos to the enemies around you, leading to some extremely satisfying moments where you take out many enemies in 1 blow. The attacks have combos that you can pull, and are useful for killing more powerful enemies. In Multiplayer, you will rarely use the melee ability unless you are the Assault/Rapter class, with your usually using your guns to destroy your enemy. Well, this is based on my experience of course.

In the game, there are a few other types of things you can do. For example, you can man turrets, and there are a few quick time events that keep you on your toes. There is also a traveling segment where you man a turret on the side of a dropship. It’s nothing special, but a nice change of pace.

The farther you get in the campaign, I was actually surprised. Normally, at this point in a game, I’d be like “Ugh, another enemy encounter. Let’s get this over with”. But here, I am far more prone to be like “ALRIGHT HAMMER TIME” when enemies appear, especially with the, you guessed it, Thunder Hammer. Some of the stuff you are able to do is satisfying beyond belief, despite the few annoyances. Speaking of annoyances, I have a few qualms with some of the games AI. Not in the way that they are horrible, but in the way that they are sometimes too good. A few enemies are WAY too accurate with grenades, and use them at the most annoying times, i.e. when you’re taking cover, trying to recharge your shield. They’re also deadly accurate, and all converge fire on you at once. And the Rokkit Boyz are annoying as hell. Now, playing on normal, this might be what is SUPPOSED to happen. Well, better an OVERLY good AI than a terrible one.

While playing this game on normal, like it says, expect yourself to die a few times. And die I did. However, I noticed something. Sometimes, when I died, particularly annoying groups of enemies would altogether vanish after my next respawn, letting me get past the part I died at. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown to me, but I sure appreciated it.

As for the enemies themselves, they move in a fashion that’s acceptable to say the least. Your allies don’t usually get in the way of you, making your life easier. They do kill sometimes, but make better distractions. They rarely get stuck in the environment, while it has happened at times, making for a smooth experience. Occasionally, one or two enemies will get stuck in the ground, or another odd place, halting your progress temporarily. However, they are usually un-jammed rather quickly.

[size=6]Multiplayer.[/size]
For Multiplayer, I must say. I am surprised that more people DON'T play it. This may be because you can’t play online past level 4 unless you type in a code that should be included with your copy, but at least it DOES let you play. And you can buy the code if your copy doesn’t include it. To me, it is an immensely satisfying experience, and FAR less rage inducing than any CoD. From the Multiplayer menu, you can select 1 of 5 or so options. Versus is the main matchmaking service, where you can choose 1 of 3 gametypes. Annihilation is your typical Team Deathmatch gametype, pitting the Space Marines versus the Chaos Space Marines (this is for every versus gametype) in a fight to the death. Seize Ground has the two teams fighting over several controls points all around the map, leading to frantic battles and intense firefights. The final gametype is Capture the Flag, which is your normal "Capture the opponents flag while protecting your own" gametype. Personally, I haven't played it, as I've been focusing on Seize Ground the most.
In the multiplayer, there is a lot to keep you busy. There are 41 levels total. You gain levels by gaining experience from killing enemies, getting assists, capturing objectives, etc. Every level or two, you gain a new weapon, device, or perk to use. The perks in the game include 2 types. The first type is usually class specific (Tactical, Devastator/Havoc, Assault/Raptor), and they help you in ways such as defense, spawning, etc. The second type is weapon perks, which are unlocked by doing certain tasks with said weapon. The perks usually include extra ammo or faster firing, among other things. The same task system is put to use for gaining new armor for your Space Marine and Chaos Space Marine (armor can only be gained while playing as the character). All loadouts and armor customizations are accessed from the multiplayer menu. The leveling system, like all of them, can be frustrating when you keep getting killed by a person that is a higher level than you, who has better equipment.

Discussing classes, there are 3 types of classes. Tactical is the all around class, with a heavy focus on being able to do a little bit of everything. This class tends to use medium to light weaponry, and has team supporting perks.

Devastator/Havoc is the heavy support class, using the biggest of the big weaponry. While it does move much slower than the other classes, it provides much more firepower.

Assault/Raptor uses the Melee weapons the most. While Tactical gets a combat knife and Devastator/Havoc uses it’s gun as a makeshift club, Assault/Raptor uses Chainswords, Axes, Hammers, and an Energy Blade which can only be unlocked by buying the Warhammer 40k Kill Team downloadable game. This class also utilizes a Jump Pack, making travel around the make quick and effective, while also giving the ability of devastating aerial blows. However, this class is limited to a Bolter Pistol or Plasma Pistol in terms of ranged weaponry. However, if you're willing to give up a perk slot, you can use a Bolter instead.

The final selection in the Multiplayer type is called Exterminatus. In this type, it’s you, 3 other players, and a horde or Orks. Now, I can’t really say much about this, other than it’s your typical “Survive waves of enemy” game, but it is pretty fun still. I haven’t made it past round five, though, so I don’t know what else there is to it.

During multiplayer, the hitscan system needs a little work, to say the least. You can combat roll out of enemy fire and behind cover, but still be killed in the process. It doesn't really get in the way of the experience, and most multiplayer games have this problem.

[size=6]Graphics.[/size]
While some reviewers have said that this game, while unique at first, has rather stale and uninspired environments, I say that the folks at Relic did a fine job with them. It looks like I’d expect the universe to, with Rust and Dustish white colors and an ominous Purple/Red for Chaos. However, I must admit, the endless piles of rubble, tall structures, and concrete areas aren’t exactly eye candy, and get boring after a while. But the environment sufficient for the game, and provides many a sight for the critiquing eye.

As for character models, they all look superb. Not the best of the best, but still really good. Sometimes, they’re faces will seem a little emotionless, especially noticeable during rather intense scenes, but I think this was intentional, due to the Space Marines way of thinking. Out of cutscene facial movements, however, are less than good.

[size=6]Overall.[/size]

[b]This game is the type of game you’ll pick up to have a blood splattering, Ork killing, shooting good times (Did I forget to mention the gore? Killing Orks will shower you in blood, just saying). It certainly has it’s flaws, be it difficult enemies or boring environments, but these are easily overlooked just due to the fun time you’ll have with this game. It’s satisfying, intense, has great voice acting, and is a great experience that I recommend to anyone with some cash burning a hole in his or her pocket.[/b]

[b]The Good.[/b]
-Fun gameplay, good story,
-Great multiplayer
-HAMMER TIME
-Watching a Titan walk is really awesome
-Leaves plenty of room for a sequel, but NOT a cliffhanger

[b]The Bad.[/b]
-Sometimes, a bit too hard
-Enemies will get stuck, rarely
-Sometimes, multiplayer is frustrating due to people being higher level than you, thus having more equipment.

[b]The Ugly.[/b]
-Environments get boring after a little while
-Ugly out of cutscene facial movements



[size=6]Overall, I give this game a:[/size]

[size=7]8.5/10[/size]

[size=6]Pick it up if you have the chance. It’ll be worth your money.[/size]


*This game was played on the Play Station 3 video game console



[size=1]I hope I didn't do or say something horribly wrong in this 2k+ word review ._.[/size]

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