Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine [Download]

by Sega

Product Details

• Downloading: Currently, this item is available only to customers located in the United States and who have a U.S. billing address.
• Note: Gifting is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B005IZMCBM
• Release Date: September 6, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,855 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PC Download

From the Manufacturer

Warhamer 40,000: Space Marine is a third-person Action Shooter in which players accept the role of a Space Marine Captain tasked with the defense of the empire as well as humanity against the Chaos Faction lead by the ruthless Ork hordes. Players will have to use their exceptional size, strength, armor, weaponry and fighting spirit in order to succeed. Features include: a new seamless combat system allowing equally for ranged and melee action, hordes of deadly enemies of various kinds, intense 16-player online multiplayer and more.

Story

In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine you are Captain Titus of the Ultramarines, humanity's last hope for survival in a war-ridden future. Step into the armor of this superhuman warrior and use a lethal combination of deadly weapons to crush overwhelming alien forces. Fight against the savage Orks and the unholy forces of Chaos in a brutally violent world based on the richest science fiction fantasy ever created.

Lead the fight against the Chaos faction as Captain Titus of the Ultramarines.
View larger.

Battle System

Space Marine features a fluid combat system that allows players to seamlessly switch from ranged to melee weapons without interrupting the flow of combat. Hitting the melee button at any time will result in a close range strike with the equipped hand-to-hand weapon as well as the camera pulling out to melee distance. Pulling either trigger will instantly snap the view back to behind the player’s shoulder ready for precise shooting. These systems are immediately responsive and leave the player in full control at all times. As the player dispatches enemies in Space Marine they will be earning "Fury" which can be used to unleash devastating ranged or melee attacks. The player can use "Fury Marksman" to enter a heightened form of awareness where time seems to slow down allowing them to pick off multiple ranged enemies in the blink of an eye. Alternately the player can opt to utilize their "Fury Strike" up close and personal with a sweeping area of affect attack that will obliterate anything close enough and knock-back and stun more distant foes.

Key Game Features

• Storm Into Battle - Step fearlessly into the heart of combat as an unstoppable Space Marine. Never hide, never cower, just purge all that stand in your way.
• Unleash Visible Violent Death - Using an innovative, new combat system, switch seamlessly from high-caliber ranged weapons to devastating close-combat strikes. Taking out an enemy has never been so satisfying.
• Experience the Dark Future of Warhammer 40,000 - Jump into a rich universe of awe-inspiring landscapes, deadly enemies, immense battles and ruthless annihilation.
• Take the Battle Online - Form your own Space Marine squad or Chaos Space Marine warband and face off in 8 vs. 8 online matches. Gain experience and unlock new weapons and armor to customize the Devastator, Assault and Tactical Marine classes.

Additional Screenshots

New innovative combat. View larger.

8 vs. 8 battles online. View larger.

Multiple marine classes. View larger.

Unlock weapons & armor. View larger.

System Requirements   Minimum Specifications: Recommended Specifications: OS: Windows XP (SP3) / Windows Vista (SP1) / Windows 7 Processor: 2.0Ghz Dual core CPU (any Core 2 Duo or AMD X2 or better) Any Quad-core AMD or Intel Processor RAM: 1 GB (XP), 2 GB (Vista), 2 GB (Windows 7) 1 GB (XP), 2 GB (Vista), 2 GB (Windows 7) Hard Drive: 20 GB space free (10 GB free after install) Video Card: 256 MB Video Card using Shader Model 3 & DirectX 9.0 or better (Performance equivalent to an AMD Radeon 3850 or NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT) 512 MB Video Card using Shader Model 3 & DirectX 9.0 or better (Performance equivalent to an AMD Radeon 5750 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260) Additional Info: A Steam account is required for activation and game play

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good game, good start September 7, 2011

By Rick M

Platform for Display:PC

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

The game is fun. Just how long does the fun last? Depends on each particular person.

The Story (3.5/5)
It's a standard 40K story. There is only war, high risks, threats to the Imperium. Relic uses the known enemies of the Imperium, so there are no big surprises, or great twists. It's enjoyable, light, easy to follow. But certainly not a masterpiece. You know your objectives, you know what's at stake. I found that the servo-skulls recordings were quite nice, a welcome addition. It gives you background from the invasion prior to your arrival, and the desperation of survival.

The Graphics (5/5)
Beautiful. Relic's experience with the 40K license gives them a spectacular understanding of how to emulate the feeling of the 40K universe. There's a lot of detail throughout the war-torn Forge World, from visual treats like the Adeptus Mechanicus sigils, the detail on the Orks, the Purity Seals on your Power Armour... it's all great. The texture quality might not be the best, but that's me nitpicking.

The Sound (4/5)
The voice-acting is okay, sort of what I expected from Ultramarines. They are not passionate, and you can almost feel the holier-than-thou attitude. The regular human acting was actually a good surprise; I think they both captured the awe at seeing an Adeptus Astartes, and the tiredness of fighting against a brutal enemy. The Orks, on the other hand... they could have been better. More Ork-ish, I guess. Also, the bolter did not sound as powerful as I would've liked. It's good, but nothing spectacular. The soundtrack is pretty good, a great touch. I half-expected to hear the Ultramarine chants of previous games, though.

The Game (4/5)
You see an Ork, you kill an Ork. That's pretty much all you need to know. Throughout the campaign, you've given an arsenal of melee and ranged weapons. Each has their use, and none are completely overshadowed by another. Sure, you might enjoy the devastation of the meltagun, but you should use the strengths of each. Is combat repetitive? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. Everyone will have an opinion on whether wading through waves of Orks is eventually boring, but there is enough variety to just have fun with it. There are tough places, but not impossible. You've your armour, and your health. Armour regenerates after a short time, and health is recovered by performing Execution maneouvers. These maneovers are visceral, but you're not immortal during the animation: you might be killed while performing one. Also, there are about 3 or 4 different animations for each melee weapon, so it might bet boring to see them over and over again.
No, there is not a cover button. You should not need it. The controls are responsive, and quick enough to get out of the way of a barrage of either bullets, or rockets, or a crazed Nob that feels you're a head taller than you should be. The switch between ranged and melee is impressive, and you can quickly respond to any situation. Movement is as solid as it should be, considering you're practically a walking tank. You are a Space Marine, but you are not invincible. You should be smart enough to plan your battles, not just charge recklessly and complain that you died. Know your strengths, your weapons, and you will be successful.
At times, it feels like an old-school beat-em-up. At others, a third-person shooter. Overall, the campaign should take about 8, 9 hours. There's probably not much incentive to replay it, since there are no branching paths. You might enjoy using other weapons or such, or trying a harder difficulty.

Multiplayer (5/5)
A blast. Pretty standard, but well done. The classes are mostly balanced, the perks are interesting, the levels rewarding. Customization is a bit less impressive than I thought, but it's still quite good. The matches are quick, furious, and in my experience, not a trace of lag. There are minor grievances with the matchmaking, but you'll get over it quickly. This would be the main reason to come back to the game, specially if Relic keeps giving us reasons to come back. The co-op multiplayer aspect is supposed to come in 30 days, so that's something to look forward to. All in all, it's great fun.

The Bottom Line:
If your thinking this is the game that will replace all games, you're probably going to be disappointed. It's a good game, but not excellent. The campaign is fun, but short. The combat is good, but can get repetitive for some. The story's solid, but not spectacular. If multiplayer's not your thing, you're better off renting the game. A solid addition to the 40K game line.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simplified Gears + Great Characters + Solid Execution September 23, 2011

By Riyad Kalla VINE™ VOICE

Platform for Display:PC Download|Amazon Verified Purchase

Space Marine is an interesting animal... for all intents and purposes it SEEMS like it would be a silly rental game that you knock out in a few hours and never touch again, but because of the sheer talent of the development company behind it, it isn't. It is much more enjoyable.

I know nothing about the lore behind Warhammer 40k and was worried this game would give me so little context that I would be lost, fortunately there is enough story telling that you pretty much understand what you are (a badass) and what you are doing (being badass) and why you are doing it (for the emperor!). Titus (you, the main character) is Marcus Fenix if you sent him to Oxford, made him in his 40s and classed him up to the point that he demands respect and admiration from everyone around him.

The story itself is straight forward, one of the alliance manufacturing planets (I guess everyone in the universe just makes war implements and constantly fights) is being attacked by orcs and you are dropped in to secure the most valuable war machines.

But then there is a twist and things go sideways... I loved the twist, the character design was brilliant.

Had this exact same game been given to any other development studio that was more junior and maybe had sloppier controls or poorer looking graphics and design effects, it would have scored a 5 out of 10, it is honestly just from sheer solidness of execution that this game ends up being fun and feeling great. A testament to skilled work I think.

Space Marine is a great "play for 15 mins" kind of game or sit down and play for hours. It is gory, controls are easy to use, sound effects are great and punchy and checkpoints reasonable.

On Easy, you can almost always get into a group of orcs and slaughter them with no concern for your life. You WILL encounter some situations towards the end (even on Easy) where you need to slow down and use some strategy or die and retry once or twice... so if you just want an action packed arcade experience, play on Easy. If you demand that there be more of a challenge and you want to use the perfect move combos to survive even if that means dying and retrying sometimes, go ahead and try a harder setting.

An example, if you are the type to play God of War on something harder (Norm, Hard) then try that here.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable action game September 27, 2011

By A. Whitehead TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Platform for Display:PC

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

Space Marine does pretty much what it says on the box: it puts the player in the feet of an eight-foot-tall, genetically-engineered warrior created for the purpose of defending humanity against myriad alien threats and heretical insurgents. The game is a third-person action title blending shooting with melee combat. Engagements typically begin with long-range exchanges of fire before closing down the gap and attacking with close-in weapons (players are advised to hold off and pick off enemy heavy weapons first before closing to melee, as the enemy have no compunction about mowing down their own troops if it kills you as well). In contrast to a lot of recent action games, the game has no cover system as the ethos of the Space Marine is to constantly attack and stay on the attack. Hiding behind a crate and sniping at the enemy for ages is considered both dishonourable and also damaging, as it delays the fulfilment of the Emperor's Will.

To encourage an aggressive play style in keeping with the setting, Relic have used several techniques. One of these is a melee combat system that allows you to build up special attacks and chains of attacks through constantly staying on the offensive. The other is the game's health system, where the only way to regain lost health is to engage in melee combat and carry out special 'finishing' moves on stunned opponents. Thus, gloriously counter-intuitively but in-keeping with the battiness of Warhammer 40,000, if you are low on health the best course of action is to charge straight into the middle of a pack of enemies with chainsword whirring.

This focus on melee and de-emphasis on stand-off firefights means that the Gears of Warhammer comparisons that have been floating around aren't very accurate. The game also makes use of the extremely rich and well-developed setting to give the story more depth and emphasis. The game's depiction of a Forge World at war is brilliantly atmospheric, conveyed by the excellent architectural design and the high quality of the graphics. The writing is surprisingly good for a linear combat game, with an interesting subplot developing about dissent in the Ultramarines' ranks (which builds to the morally ambiguous conclusion to the game). Secondary characters are fleshed-out well, and the game designers are to be commended for avoiding cliche with the game's only female character of note, Lt. Mira. Even the (initial) principal villain, the Ork Warboss, is surprisingly badass and at one stage even sympathetic.

Elsewhere the game is more predictable, especially if you are familiar with the WH40K setting in general and Relic's Dawn of War strategy games in particular. The 'unexpected' arrival of a third faction in the late-game period, the unveiling of a core character as a traitor and other plot twists are signposted well in advance. Still, for an action game, the plot and characters are above average.

Combat is satisfying, with the Space Marines' arsenal feeling suitably overpowered. There's also a nice burst of originality in doing tiresome 'turret' missions only to find you can rip the weapon off the turret and walk around with it as a normal (but massive) gun until it runs out of ammo. The hordes of attacking Orks are depicted well and the game manages to strike the right balance between being too much of a pushover and too difficult to be enjoyable. Whilst the game rewards you charging straight into the midst of a horde of 20 Orks, it also punishes you if you do so without being fully aware of the situation and eliminating bigger threats first. In particular, keep an eye open for suicide squigs (animals with explosives strapped to them) which have a tendency to charge up to you and explode whilst you are distracted in melee.

The game breaks up the numerous large-scale battle scenes with set-piece events, such as sitting on the back of a train blazing away at an attacking Ork battlewagon (which seems to conflate two Firefly references into one, with this particular Ork ship strongly resembling a Reaver warship). These are surprisingly infrequent, with the game preferring to mix up combat scenes with 'tense' sequences of exploring areas and expecting an ambush. In practice these 'tense' sequences are a little bit too common, making it feel that a good quarter or so of the game is spent running through empty rooms, some of them suitable for a good firefight, only for nothing to happen. The limited interactiveness of the game - aside from shooting or hitting things or stocking up on ammo, the only thing you can do is listen to some logs lying around the place - makes the between-firefight sections feel a bit pointless. Unfortunately, just as I was getting ready to praise the game for the total absence of tiresome Quick-Time Events, the game decided to end on a rather annoying one (albeit one amusingly based on an event in the Lord of the Rings movies), which felt random and out-of-keeping with the rest of the game.

Space Marine's engine is impressive, handling the numbers of enemy opponents, ludicrous amounts of mayhem and the vast levels with ease. In fact, the engine is good enough that I'd love to see Relic doing more with it: adding more interactiveness or maybe even producing a WH40K role-playing game using the same assets would be an interesting move.

Overall, Space Marine (****) is a fun, playable shooter. It's on the short side at six hours, but it also doesn't outstay its welcome, cleverly adjusting the plot twists and turns to keep things as fresh as possible given the limitations of the genre, though the shoot-'n'-slice gameplay does start to feel a bit old towards the end. I'd hesitate to recommend it at full price, but on rental or budget, it is a solid and enjoyable slice of entertainment.