Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine. A freebie steam key I'd gotten a while ago, I'd no interest in it when I got it nor when it was originally released in 2011. It wasn't until a few day's ago that a friend who had also claimed it started to play. So I gave it a shot(pun not intended).
I like the Warhammer universe but my disinterest in the game wasn't that it was part of the franchise or that the game wasn't done well; It's because the game style is so close to Gears of War. Cover shooters are fine but I found the Gears games mind numbingly repetitive.
Cover-shoot-cover-shoot, cover-shoot-cover-shoot something bigger, cover-shoot-cover-shoot X10 bijillion etc..... Space Marine might have the textures of Warhammer but it has the feel of a gears game, without the cover system(a blessing and a curse). I did try the game and I do like it but I still wouldn't have paid for it. I like the franchise so it gets more of a look in. Free fun always gets more of a pass.
For franchise fans you'll see the Ultra Marines in game as a very smurf like version of "real space marines". Titus the leader is a bit too carefree, touchy feely for the leader of a company of Ultra Marines. Early in the game the "Ultra Marines strict adherence to the Codex Astartes" is explained away in a brief one liner. So he's a kind of free thinking hippy space smurf. Shades of gray for sure.
That all sets the game up as a Warhammer lite version(I smell heresy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
That's the nit picking done, I really didn't take the game seriously. It's a good rush/wave shooter/melee game with some bullet sponge enemy's. The harder the difficulty the more enemies they pack into rooms/waves(which can be a super epic feeling).
The storyline and cutscenes are good. I like it when a Warhammer game opens up the other aspects of the universe like seeing the normal human grunts(2nd Lt. Mira etc).
While it's good as of right now I've played about 3 hours of the game storyline and I've no real incentive to continue it on. If the fun is strong I'll be back. I've read that the games main campaign is about 7 to 8 hours long; So there isn't that much to miss(?).
It's a game that once your in and bashing/shooting your way along it does 'feel' good; And in turn you loose time in it. I do like the weapon variations, pistol and sword, bolter, sniper, delayed grenade launcher. The abilities you unlock along the way on top of the weapons add enough variation to keep combat interesting.
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