By Quintin Smith on August 13th, 2010 at 12:00 am.
About five minutes into my demonstration of Relic’s Space Marine I realise what I’m looking at is a 3rd person shooter that draws heavily from Gears of War, so I ask an obvious question. “Is there some kind of cover system?” Relic man grins. “Actually, the team has an internal line about that. We say, ‘Cover is for Pussies.’”
I don’t take my eyes off the screen, but my ears do a double take. “We do have this though,” says Relic man. With the press of a button he sends Ultramarine Captain Titus running straight through a low wall of cover like a wrecking ball, and begins hacking apart the orks on the other side with his chainsword. “Oh,” I hear myself say, mesmerised. “Right!”
There’s a very specific image of a Space Marine Relic are pursuing here, one distinct from the rules of the Warhammer 40K tabletop game or Relic’s own RTS. It’s the image of a Space Marine put forward by 40K’s fiction, which I’ll summarise.
Space Marines are given 19 extra internal organs to help them fight, including an extra heart and a bonus lung. Their bones are laced with a ceramic substance which also causes their rib cage to grow into a solid plate. Their Power Armour is inches thick, and the Marines interface with it through cybernetic fibres that grow into their chest. Plus, all Space Marines carry inside them the enhanced genetic material of the Primarchs, superhuman generals bred when humanity was at its zenith. Altogether a Space Marine weighs around a ton and is a legendary badass, said to be the match of 1,000 Orks.
Space Marine is a game of these terrifying men. You can leave any rules you know about Weapon Skill and saving throws at the door.
As such, Space Marine is the kind of over-the-top action game that I can’t remember seeing on the PC in a while. For most of the time you don’t need to worry about taking damage, just dealing it out, which is looking to be an enormously satisfying business. Your default Bolter rifle doesn’t just fire bullets, it fires rocket-propelled slugs designed to detonate inside the target. And aside from being absurd in and of themselves, your melee weapons (chainsword, power fist, storm hammer) are all backed up by your Marine’s mega-strength. And this is before we’ve gotten to the heavy weapons- one setpiece I saw involving a heavy bolter left behind a pile of ork corpses straight out of any piece of 40k artwork.
So, no, there’s no cover system, and that’s not just because it doesn’t fit the fiction. It’s also because Relic are trying to create a game that’s precisely half shooting and half melee combat, and apparently they found out that if you have cover then people just hunker down behind it. Hardly ideal when every single piece of Space Marine art in existence shows them standing up. Come to think of it, I’m not sure how far they can even bend their legs.
Something else Relic have jettisoned since production began is most of Space Marine’s RPG elements. When the game was first announced it was going to see you managing a squad and collecting all kinds of Wargear. All that’s left of that now is a system whereby you level up your weapons by killing things with them, thereby unlocking new modes of fire and modifications. This is very much a pure action game now, complete with co-op and some other kind of multiplayer that’s being kept under wraps.
Oh- and one final thing they’ve dropped is American voice acting for the Ultramarines. Turns out when people hear American voices, they think cowboy. So now all the marines are voiced by English actors.
“Hey,” you may be mumbling to yourself around now. “These screenshots show a lot of orcs. Do you just fight orcs? I hate orcs.”
Good point (although in 40K it’s orks, not orcs. And the 40k orcs are awesome, with their mad, tribal adoration of technology and zero regard for personal safety). Space Marine is actually set on a single planet- a Forge World, meaning a kind of factory planet controlled by humanity’s zealous machine priests, the Adeptus Mechanicus. This particular Forge World has been recently conquered by a massive Orc Waaagh, which the Warhammer 40K wiki helpfully describes as a cross between a Holy Crusade and a pub crawl. But this is a devastating development, because this lost Forge World manufactures Titans, the Imperium’s city-sized (and therefore largest) engines of war. With the rescue fleet still weeks away, you play part of the Ultramarine force dispatched to the planet to provide what help you can. Except things rapidly get complicated, as an Imperial Inquisitor gets in touch to tell you the Forge World is hiding some prototype weaponry, which absolutely, positively cannot fall into Ork hands.
It’s a plot which will have some twists and turmoil, I’m sure of that. Partially because the Relic man told me “It’s a plot with lots of twists and turmoil”, but also because when I asked whether you’d be fighting any other races he smirked and said they weren’t announcing any yet. Also, when I questioned whether we’d be seeing anything of the darker side of Space Marine lore, he began watching his words very carefully and said that Titus would have to make some difficult decisions.
Interesting, no? Personally I’m just praying for any action sequence at all involving a Titan. The demo I saw already featured a couple of great sequences involving a fleet of Imperial transport ships being torn out of the sky by rocket-wearing Storm Boyz, and Titus trying to stop a massive train the Orks were using to smash open the door of the Titan facility. I was also promised that Titus would get some time in with the jump pack of an Assault Marine.
It is very difficult to imagine anything more awesome than playing Space Marine co-op, all of you with Jump Packs, all of you with chainswords, leaping as one and ripping apart whole crowds of Orks. I’m sure in no time there’ll be footage of Space Marine doing the rounds on the Internet and you’ll be able to see for yourself. Until then, take my word for it. Space Marine is the game of this:
And what could be more desirable than that?
13/08/2010 at 00:09 Gassalasca says:
An orgasm before I go to bed. How fitting.
13/08/2010 at 12:26 MonkeyMonster says:
:D
13/08/2010 at 13:26 Surgeon says:
Not an orkasm?
13/08/2010 at 14:32 Sir Derpicus says:
We went through this last week, surgeon. Do you really need to bolter your own ego that badly?
13/08/2010 at 20:34 Surgeon says:
Sorry, I’m just being a Nob.
13/08/2010 at 00:14 Simon says:
This.
Want.
Now.
13/08/2010 at 19:13 Dhatz says:
and there’s ultramarine movie in the making. it has a very obvious web adress.
13/08/2010 at 00:19 juv3nal says:
“Space Marine is the game of this”
Tyranids confirmed, then? ;P
13/08/2010 at 00:20 jeremypeel says:
Hahaaa, this will do nicely. 40K fiction is still deserving of much better games.
And you’re right, dear Quin Quin – Space Marines are supposed to be f-ing gods, something even the rulesets and the choice-of-Space-Marines-as-everyone’s-default-army disregards. This isn’t the definitive 40K game I’m still wanting, but it looks like it might be the definitive Space Marine game.
13/08/2010 at 03:38 DJ Phantoon says:
With the fiction behind them, I always figured Space Marines should be basically a collection of hero units running around blowing enemies to bits. It never made sense that their biggest thing was that they had a 3+ save.
13/08/2010 at 05:57 Cymril says:
GW actually published an alternate set of rules in White Dwarf to bring Space Marines more into line with the lore. These ‘cinematic’ rules basically boiled down to a single squad of 6 Tactical Marines being the equivalent of a 1000 point army. It also had crazy weapon rules, Bolters were something like Range 60″ Assault 4 AP 3.
13/08/2010 at 13:29 Archonsod says:
The fiction doesn’t portray them to be badass at all; the point of the Space Marines is that they’re absolute pinnacle of human fighting capability, and yet they can only equal the raw power of humanities enemies. Part of it is the tendency to escalate the power of the subject race in each codex (so you get stupidity like Codex Space Marines saying power armour is impregnable to anything less than weapons designed to take out tanks, and then this becoming the standard for showing how strong a race is by having it tear apart power armour with it’s bare hands) and part of it is the tendency for the writers to interpret “All Eldar have some form of psychic capability” as “All Eldar can melt your brain with a simple thought even if they’re on the other side of the galaxy and asleep”. Particularly when they’re trying to sell models.
course, the fluff went downhill once Jervis and Chambers left.
13/08/2010 at 00:20 Spoon says:
Secret technology buried in a forge world? I’m going to guess Necrons will make an appearance, then.
13/08/2010 at 00:27 Tacroy says:
No! It’s obviously going to be orkish technology. Some frakking Adeptus Mechanicus is going to go off his rocker and decide he totally needs to understand Secrets of the Gretchin, and damn everything else!
13/08/2010 at 13:30 Archonsod says:
Nah, it’ll be forbidden technology. So probably an Ikea toaster knowing the Imperium.
13/08/2010 at 00:22 danarchist says:
What is the release date?!?! if your reply is anything other than “Tomarrow” im going to have to figure out how to put myself in a comma.
And I like the fact that its not a “Hide behind a wall and try to snipe with a pistol” clone game. Space marines only take cover to reload.
13/08/2010 at 02:24 Saul says:
Fit yourself inside a comma? Well that would be interesting secret technology.
13/08/2010 at 02:50 jalf says:
Better than fitting yourself inside a colon, I guess…
13/08/2010 at 08:32 MartinNr5 says:
@jalf: Well played, good sir! Well played indeed!
13/08/2010 at 14:16 Vague-rant says:
Better than finding yourself in the middle of a period.
(I shall assume a majority of male readership)
14/08/2010 at 09:31 Sir Derpicus says:
Grammar pun levels reaching critical mass.
Stop, you’re all putting this entire conversation asterisk.
14/08/2010 at 11:40 tome says:
I love you guys so, so much.
07/04/2011 at 21:03 tstapp1026 says:
WOULD IT BE A CAPITAL OFFENSE FOR USIN’ ALL BIG LETTERZ?!
13/08/2010 at 00:23 gryffinp says:
This may be the only game I have preordered in the last five years.
13/08/2010 at 00:32 gryffinp says:
Will have preordered. Time grammars.
13/08/2010 at 00:24 Wooly says:
Oh goodness, yes.
13/08/2010 at 00:24 Kast says:
Reminds me of when my mate got me the novelisation of Fire Warrior for my birthday. Fantastic read, action packed and with sweet action-hero vistas in prose like the Space Marine captain arriving at the feet of a Chaos-controlled titan to find the hero La’Kais stood apparently waiting for him before assaulting the abomination. Then La’Kais presses a button and the Titan just explodes, great cathedral-sized arms falling with glacial slowness to the city below.
Then I got the game and found it was a bland, ugly, turgid piece of dross. I’m sure Space Marine won’t be anything like that though/
13/08/2010 at 00:28 jeremypeel says:
Dawn of War novelisations were surprisingly good too.
13/08/2010 at 11:45 Matthew says:
The third Dawn of War novelization was reasonable, but I didn’t really enjoy the first two at all.
13/08/2010 at 00:25 CoyoteTheClever says:
Here in the states, Warhammer and 40k unfortunately isn’t as big a deal as it is over in Great Britain. I personally love it though, so I’m really stoked about this. I was kinda disappointed in Dawn of War 2 as it wasn’t as great as Dawn of War 1, so I’m really hoping this is excellent (and sells well, because I really do like Relic as a company). I’m already loving the screenshots.
13/08/2010 at 19:47 Dhatz says:
it’s fairly old and for it’s popularity it’s the most underadapted franchise known to me. My cousins older by 20 years had sets of 40K figures.
13/08/2010 at 00:25 Inigo says:
“Actually, the team has an internal line about that. We say, ‘Cover is for Pussies.’”
I feel a stirring in my pants.
13/08/2010 at 00:53 subedii says:
Perhaps someone should tell him about Relics other games set in the Warhammer universe?
13/08/2010 at 21:26 Damien Stark says:
I was just amazed that a game seems to have actually gotten my interest by taking Gears of War (an irritatingly over-the-top blob of manliness and violence) and declaring it insufficiently manly and violent.
I would never have guessed, but somehow this worked. I almost spoke “Oh hell yes” out loud at work.
Well played Relic, well played.
13/08/2010 at 00:27 rebb says:
Why does this marine look like Jason Statham ?
13/08/2010 at 00:31 danarchist says:
Jason Statham is his Primarch obviously
13/08/2010 at 14:09 Dajaki says:
That was one of the funniest responses I’ve seen in a long time. Well played, sir. Well played indeed.
13/08/2010 at 17:32 Davie says:
That marine does not look like Jason Statham. Jason Statham looks like that marine.
Seriously, shaved head, manly stubble, deep-set eyes, grim expression–Statham looks like every Space Marine ever.
13/08/2010 at 00:31 Freud says:
Sounds excellent. Glad to see a company realizing how boring popamole is.
13/08/2010 at 00:32 Seymour says:
This is exactly the sort of writing that I love from this site. I’m definatly more of a lurker than a commenter, and aside from a breif affair with the first Dawn of War, I have no real interest in 40k, but damn do I want to play this game. I don’t even like shooters…
Some may say bias, I say passionate.
: )
13/08/2010 at 00:32 YogSo says:
“Come to think of it, I’m not sure how far they can even bend their legs.”
I’m pretty sure the Ultramarines could adopt a kneeling position in the old Chaos Gate videogame; not very dissimilar to that picture you posted three paragraphs above that comment.
13/08/2010 at 00:32 Zwebbie says:
I fail to see what everyone’s so excited about. Gears of War but without cover and with more melee? I’ve heard of more exciting concepts. Sure, you might like the IP, but did that ever make an iota of difference?
13/08/2010 at 00:35 Seymour says:
I may be wrong, but I think that the attraction comes from the sheer bad-assery that is implyed here. I know that it’s not a particularly revolutionary concept, but when done right, what red blooded male can resist it?
13/08/2010 at 00:38 Bowlby says:
I think it’s a subtle but important change. A lot of games now have become cover-oriented, and it kind of holds back the flow of the action. Because of that, I’m looking forward to a balls-to-walls shooter; it’s a nice change of pace.
13/08/2010 at 00:41 Daniel Rivas says:
Well, he also got to see the game. I gather it looked quite good.
13/08/2010 at 02:55 JuJuCam says:
Also Relic is a very trustworthy company, with a strong history of post-release support and good expansions. I’m not a rabid fan of their games but they’ve done good work and it’s interesting to see them branching out from RTS.
13/08/2010 at 03:36 DJ Phantoon says:
It’s not at all like Gears of War.
First off, you’re two feet taller, you’re a space fascist, it’s fun to yell the battlecries (as opposed to WHERES MAH WIFE), and your armor isn’t made out of marshmellows and wishes when you’re being shot at. Your weapons are huge because you’re a superhuman rather than just possessing super luck. And it has BLUE. On the guys. They don’t even try to hide.
This murder simulator shall be glorious.
13/08/2010 at 14:10 megalomania says:
Yeah it’s mostly the IP. Warhammer 40k is pure nerd porn. I’d play Diner Dash if they gave it a Space Marine-themed skin.
13/08/2010 at 19:54 Dhatz says:
If there was a way to make singleplayer out of the TF2 40K mod , I’ d definitely think about DLing that.
13/08/2010 at 00:33 Bowlby says:
“Actually, the team has an internal line about that. We say, ‘Cover is for Pussies.’”
I like your thinkin’, mister! :D
13/08/2010 at 00:44 mcnostril says:
What I’m hoping for is melee as solid as Ninja Gaiden and some awesome shooty bits as solid as… er… some awesome shooty bits in some other game.
I’m quite curious to see if Relic can pull this off. Every time they decide to shake things up, things turn out pretty great, but while they’ve been rather original with every new game, they’ve never veered off course this much before.
There better be some Terminator armor bits.
13/08/2010 at 01:11 subedii says:
I’m not sure we should really be expecting Ninja Gaiden here in terms of gameplay mechanics. The melee’s going to be in-depth, but from the description it sounds like it’s going to be more of a shooter.
At the leats, it’s probably going to be half-and-half, so I’m not sure the melee system would go quite that in-depth.
Gamespot has a video preview up. Looking at the new footage it looks more rough-and-tumble than smoothly transitioning slashes and combos:
http://au.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/warhammer40000spacemarine/video/6273131/space-marine-interview-with-raphael-van-lierop
13/08/2010 at 00:47 Barman1942 says:
A space marine is nothing compared to an army of flashlights.
13/08/2010 at 00:47 Fenring says:
Yeah, whatever. Call me when we get to play a Chaos Space Marine. So much more interesting in visuals and personality.
Actually, rather more interested in this than I was at the start of the article. Well done.
13/08/2010 at 00:48 Down Rodeo says:
I think it’s a testament to Quinns’ writing that he can provoke this level of excitement in a comments thread (I’m not trying to raise myself above it though, this sounds AWESOME in a way I did not think I’d ever get).
Having just been playing the DoW 2 campaign in co-op, this sounds great. I really trust Relic now, so long as they ditch the disaster that is GfWL.
I feel like a teenager again.
13/08/2010 at 00:50 Bigglesb says:
I don’t really remember/know all that much 40k backstory, but I did once read a short summary of the story behind the Horus heresy and always thought that would make an awesome setting for a game like this. Even playing as a supporting cast member in a story of primarchs and emperors, chaos and betrayal could be amazing, culminating in a massive invasion of earth and a duel between horus and the head of the blood angels (who actually seemed to have these massive angel wings and a burning sword)
I’m sure they’ll make something like that one day, though the IP is so ready for exploitation… I can see this being the first of loads of great games. That is, if they make it half decent itself…
13/08/2010 at 00:53 pupsikaso says:
English voice actors? Good! It will give the game the proper British flavour that all other WH and WH40K games have been missing.
13/08/2010 at 00:54 pupsikaso says:
Not sure how much I trust Relic to make a good FPS, though.
13/08/2010 at 02:27 Azradesh says:
Well that’s ok because it’s not a FPS. :P
13/08/2010 at 02:45 pupsikaso says:
Oh d’oh. Figured if it’s on a PC it’s an FPS, silly me. I really hope they don’t have that wanking player-model-to-the-side view that is beloved of TPS.
13/08/2010 at 03:30 D says:
I’m not even sure a Space Marine can wank. But yes it looks like the camera is off to the side. I don’t see a problem with it.
13/08/2010 at 07:21 anon says:
@D
in the gamespot video, 1/3 of the time a good quarter of the screen (bottom left) was entirely covered by the marine character model.
If I’m supposed to be 1. aiming and shooting while 2. protecting my in-game body from damage, it isn’t helpful for 2 t-rexes, a herd of elephants, and a panzer tank to be able to hide behind my body on the side corner of the screen.
They should at least give us the option to position the camera centered above, to, the right, or to the left (think of the LEFTIES for goodness sake)
13/08/2010 at 20:09 Dhatz says:
americans are overused and british are unusable, what about australians?
14/08/2010 at 10:16 RedFred says:
@ Dhatz: Christ! That’s asking for trouble.
13/08/2010 at 01:04 zakkmiester says:
OH FUCK YES.
13/08/2010 at 01:26 jalf says:
I don’t know, is extreme badassery and a high entertainment value among those criteria? In that case, I think Lem might need to come up with a better (and shorter) definition.
13/08/2010 at 01:26 Rick says:
I remember an exchange of “primary threat spotted”-”…moving into position”-”neutralising”-*bang* *ping* *splat* -”TAKE COVERRRRRR!” in the Dawn of War 2 intro. Maybe its just the Blood Ravens who cower behind rocks and sandbags with a vague sense of self-preservation, whereas these Ultramarines just like to get into the thick of it.
Either way, looks awesome. Definitely watching this one.
28/08/2010 at 10:08 noerartnoe says:
I seem to remember that at the time a crashing Landspeeder was heading towards their heads…
13/08/2010 at 01:30 Spacewalk says:
No cover, levelling up your weapons by shooting them off, English voice acting and ultra violence; this game floats my boat like an airship would.
13/08/2010 at 01:33 Sian says:
So… Do we get to use terminator armour? That’d be kind of nea…. a whole other level of badassery, if done right.
Also, @kobzon: Tropes are not bad and WH40k runs on the rule of cool.
13/08/2010 at 01:36 CreepingDeath says:
I love that the RPS guys are such fans of 40k that it allows them to cover games like this with a bit more insight than other such websites :P
As for this game, I am absolutely stoked for it. Have been since it was first announced years ago. And I like to think my constant bitching to relic by email about why this game was (once upon a time) a console exclusive is the reason why we now get it ^^
As for english accents for the marines, that’s how it should be! Now I just hope one of them is cockney…
13/08/2010 at 13:16 Archonsod says:
I’d prefer Macclesfield myself. “Trouble at t’ forgeworld!”
13/08/2010 at 13:33 Kieron Gillen says:
Extreme pretension and 40k-geekery are the dual things which I think personify RPS.
KG
14/08/2010 at 10:19 RedFred says:
Haha at extreme pretension. But, alas, it is true.
13/08/2010 at 01:37 luphisto says:
Burn the heretic! Kill the mutant! Purge the unclean!
cant wait for this game
13/08/2010 at 04:22 Tetragrammaton says:
Aye. Equally, I love the fact they seem to be towing the fluff, usually I prefer a little variation when it comes to IP translations, but the original 40k canon is just utterly awe-inspiring. And I love that they clearly have a copy of the Index Astartes. Here’s hoping for a moraly dubious plot.
You carry the Emperor’s will as your torch, with it destroy the shadows.
13/08/2010 at 01:38 bleeters says:
But how can it not have cover? Cover systems are all the rage these days. Games that lack them are locked in gallows and humiliated in the streets.
I want this, I want it now. Though it would be great if just once I played something other than Space Marines.
13/08/2010 at 06:26 Spacewalk says:
There’s too much blue, it’ll never sell.
13/08/2010 at 01:48 CMP5 says:
I feel as if people are missing the fact that the Marines you play as look to be Ultramarines Honour Guard, ie the badassiest of the badasses.
13/08/2010 at 02:02 Cooper says:
Never, ever been a 40k fan, but this does appeal.
Actually, just the main one thing appeals. That smashing through knee high cover. It’s exactly the kind of response to an already painfully engrained piece of game design I like to see.
13/08/2010 at 20:20 Dhatz says:
I thnik all fans of this game(count me in) are 100% same in this. now let me make game where I often destroy enemies by smashing their cover.
13/08/2010 at 02:09 negativedge says:
You’ll forgive me for not being interested in a game literally called “Space Marine” staring bros with “19 extra internal organs.”
13/08/2010 at 03:46 Nick says:
No we won’t!
13/08/2010 at 04:23 negativedge says:
:(
13/08/2010 at 11:56 Okami says:
I guess you can be forgiven for having had a horrible childhood and the wrong friends during your teenage years.
But still…
How anybody can not feel excitement about playing a genetically enhanced, 7 ft tall, brainwashed, fascist warrior monk with a chainsaw sword is totally beyond me…
13/08/2010 at 13:34 Kieron Gillen says:
19 extra internal organs and – if you dig into the fluff – implications of them having their genitalia removed. PSYCHOPATHIC SPACE EUNUCHS.
KG
13/08/2010 at 13:41 AndrewC says:
Teeheeheee ‘digging into the fluff’ to find their genetalia teeheehee! I like to think that extreme pretension, 40k nerdery and amazingly childish senses of humour define RPS.
13/08/2010 at 15:01 GHudston says:
The three things that define RPS are their extreme pretension, 40k geekery, amazingly childish senses of humour and nice red uniforms… I’ll come in again.
13/08/2010 at 20:24 jalf says:
That’d be to make room for the 19 extra organs?
13/08/2010 at 22:55 BrutalSlayingIsAJoy says:
@”How anybody can not feel excitement about playing a genetically enhanced, 7 ft tall, brainwashed, fascist warrior monk with a chainsaw sword is totally beyond me…”
By having seen the ORIGINAL game footage of Space Marine before that was scrapped and the whole thing turned over to Relic.
Talk about chainsaw action there in the original :D
(Yes, still talking about http://games.tiscali.cz/news/news.asp?id=29130)
13/08/2010 at 02:47 pupsikaso says:
It’s “bad sci-fi” because WH40K /defines/ sci-fi. All others rip it off or rip off those that rip it off.
If you’ve never read any WH40K fiction you are seriously missing out on well-thunked sci-fi.
13/08/2010 at 02:59 Kirian says:
Cover doesn’t really work for Space Marines any way. They’re so damn scary to any enemy not insane or an Ork (just insane then) that cover is a waste of good fear. And honour. Can’t forget that. Hence the bright armour.
On that note, I was rather hoping Titus would be a helmeted Marine. I’m all for taking his helmet off (characters do too) but it always seemed silly to wear all that power armour and then leave your head exposed.
Relic get bonus points if at some point in the game, or in an additional mode, you get to play as Calgar. HEAR ME RELIC?
13/08/2010 at 02:59 Kirian says:
That should read anyway. Darn.
13/08/2010 at 20:23 Dhatz says:
there’s only way to solve this, forcefield around the head (and that’s what I’d use anywhere in such space games)
14/08/2010 at 11:35 Archonsod says:
Problem with such forcefields in 40K is they have a tendency to blow up, get you executed by the inquisition, or blow up, get you executed by the inquisition and get your corpse possessed by demons.
24/08/2010 at 21:16 Tacroy says:
That’s not saying much, though – going out for a nice walk has a tendency to cause all those things in WH40k.
13/08/2010 at 03:24 Tetragrammaton says:
This will do nicely.
13/08/2010 at 03:31 DJ Phantoon says:
“Come to think of it, I’m not sure how far they can even bend their legs.”
The Space Marine’s only weakness:
Things on the ground that shouldn’t be killed.
14/08/2010 at 10:27 RedFred says:
What about the classic head stomp? Surely they get into some head stomping. That requires bendage of legs.
13/08/2010 at 04:05 Cael says:
A moment of doubt leads to a lifetime of heresy.
Never forgive.
Never forget.
13/08/2010 at 04:32 Avex says:
Meh, why can’t we play as a Black Templar instead. I guess is not as bad as playing Blood Raven. Article failed to mentioned which company this Titus chap from.
“While other lesser chapter wear’s the Emperor’s Aquila symbol on their chest we don’t. We are his symbol!”
-Grimaldus, High Chaplain of Black Templar.
13/08/2010 at 05:15 bleeters says:
@ Avex
It does in fact mention what chapter you belong to.
“With the rescue fleet still weeks away, you play part of the Ultramarine force dispatched to the planet to provide what help you can.“
13/08/2010 at 08:35 Malagate says:
He said Company, not Chapter, as in he already knew it was the Ultramarines chapter, hence why he mentioned wanting Black Templars instead. Although I would question a man’s 40K lore if he couldn’t tell the difference between Ultramarine companies from the shoulder trim alone, which is shown in the screenshots ;-)
Personally I would want the chapter of SPACE SHARKS instead. For obvious reasons.
13/08/2010 at 11:40 bleeters says:
@ Malagate
Urgh, so he did. I shouldn’t make posts at five in the morning :(
13/08/2010 at 13:28 ErikM says:
Blood Angels please! :(
Either way, it makes me all giddy inside!
13/08/2010 at 04:51 noobnob says:
Killa Kans as minibosses pleaaaase
13/08/2010 at 05:32 the_fanciest_of_pants says:
Keen!
Do hope there’s an option to PUT A FUCKING HELMET ON.
Always hated Marines’ tendency to take off the coolest looking part of their armor. Oh well, I bet in Co-op you play as more generic marines, and I can have my precious helmet.
Also Orks in multiplayer please!
13/08/2010 at 05:51 Pijama says:
2010: Year of the Space Marine.
Mass Effect 2, Starcraft II, and now this.
Then Valve releases a Half-Life – Combine Marine and there we go!
13/08/2010 at 05:55 Pijama says:
Also would like to say that EPIC GREGORIAN CHANT + EPIC GUNNING + EPIC VICTORY + EPIC POSE + EPIC CHAINSWORDING are obviously required.
14/08/2010 at 10:40 RedFred says:
Is there some logical reason they are called marines? Marine’s were traditionally an amphibious force. There is no water is space.
14/08/2010 at 11:03 jalf says:
Well, if a ship carries marines, you’d expect a spaceship to carry space marines, no?
Also, their role is pretty much the same, isn’t it? Traditional marines are amphibious, they operate on the sea and on land. Space marines operate in space and on land. I don’t think we have a word for that like “amphibious” yet, but in a setting where space travel is common, I think it’s pretty clear to see that space marines have taken over the role that “plain” marines used to play.
Of course, you could argue that they’re badly named… But then I suppose you’ll have to deal with the modern army’s use of names like “cavalry” units as well. Isn’t it pretty common that when a new technology replaces an old one, it often takes on the old one’s name?
The cavalry units of today’s armies are so named because they fulfill the roles that used to be fulfilled by the horse-riding soldiers.
And the space marines of the future are so named because they fulfill the role that marines fill today: that of not being stuck on land, basically.
14/08/2010 at 11:40 Archonsod says:
40K falls into the standard route of having the space forces named after naval ranks. Despite the fact all current space programs tend to follow air force conventions.
13/08/2010 at 06:05 jvempire says:
There’s no time to be lost.
13/08/2010 at 06:17 drewski says:
This sounds awesome, but I’m a touch disappointed that, out of all the lore the 40K universe contains, they went with the boringest, vanilla-est and plainest of the chapters.
The Blood Angel’s Death Company – now *that* is a story to sink your teeth into.
13/08/2010 at 16:54 Nick says:
wouldn’t end well!
13/08/2010 at 20:36 Dhatz says:
lemme envision: it’s a series! you gotta get the generations too young to know WTF is 40K something to start with.
13/08/2010 at 06:26 Vinraith says:
Purely on the strength of potentially being 40K done well, this has promise. Still, I wish they’d let me play something other than a space marine in one of these games. Nothing wrong with SM’s, really, but they’re so much less interesting (and so much more overdone) than many of the other options. Give me a game where I can play an Ork or an Eldar or for that matter an Imperial Guardsman. Anything else, really, would be more likely to get my attention. Why does it always have to be space marines?
13/08/2010 at 11:56 DiamondDog says:
It has to be space marines because look at the reaction in these comments. Plenty of people scoff at something like Gears of War for being a big dumb console game with macho men, then froth at the mouth when a similar type of game is sold to them wrapped in the lore of 40k. I’m with you though, the 40k universe is big enough to find an interesting story to tell, but then we know space marines sell well.
Personally I think it could be fun, but then I also enjoyed Gears of War. It’s just funny seeing the reaction it gets. What if they’d made a Modern Warfare clone based on Catachan Jungle Fighters or the Imperial Guard. I bet it’d get a free pass.
Did that sound a little bitter?
13/08/2010 at 12:57 Kirian says:
I think the difference is that Gears of War thinks it’s something special and tries to be emotive, clever and other things it doesn’t have a fraction of the intelligence for.
40k, on the other hand, knows it has a lot of really interesting lore but is, essentially, stupid. Case in point: Orks in GoW wouldn’t be a comedy army that’s also a serious threat.
Maybe I’m bitter that they didn’t embrace an out-there concept in Gears of War like a gay main character or two when it fits so well. Nope, they went with more dudebrodudebroMADDEN stuff.
13/08/2010 at 16:57 Nick says:
Playinga guardsman would be rather more like playing a normal shooter though. I agree Eldar could be interesting however, depending on if you were an aspect warrior or a ranger or something.
13/08/2010 at 18:08 Arathain says:
@Vinraith: while I agree with you that a good Imperial Guard game must be done, I think the value here is that a Space Marine game has never really been done right. If they want to get that out of the way, more power to them.
13/08/2010 at 22:00 Damien Stark says:
@DiamondDog
The thought hadn’t escaped me either, but I’m coming at it with far less 40K nostalgia and it still worked on me. I haven’t completely figured out why yet, but I think it goes something like this:
If the whole appeal of your character is what a badass he is, don’t put him up against opponents who are equally (or worse, more) powerful than him. There’s been a run of “power fantasy” games in the past couple years (like Force Unleashed and Prototype) and their greatest sin seems to be attempting to provide you with a typically balanced game difficulty. I know I felt downright feeble and puny in Force Unleashed, and it made the game irritating.
The thought of a “powerful” character who is actually powerful has great appeal to me…
13/08/2010 at 07:12 Seamus says:
Relic, I love you guys. So much.
13/08/2010 at 07:21 Tei says:
Finnaly!.. this seems the W40K game made for *me*. I absolutely adore the lore on the books and rulebooks. I want what is described in this article.
13/08/2010 at 07:41 Allandaros says:
40K’s not supposed to be good SF. It’s supposed to be Orks in Spaaaaaace! and Judge Dredd and Nemesis the Warlock, (admittedly with a splash of Dune to, ahem, spice things up). If you are coming to 40k thinking it will be “good SF,” then you have Missed The Point. Admittedly, some writers (Dan Abnett) have turned it into good SF somehow, but they are they exceptions. 40K was one of the original gonzo kitchensink settings, and it ought to show.
13/08/2010 at 07:50 pipman300 says:
METAL BOXES!!!
13/08/2010 at 07:56 Mad Doc MacRae says:
FEAR DENIES FAITH!
/quite excited about this
13/08/2010 at 07:59 pipman300 says:
OUR ENEMIES HIDE IN METAL BAWKSES! COWARDS FOOLS ETC ETC
13/08/2010 at 12:24 coldwave says:
S-S-S-INDRI-I-I-I ! ! !
15/08/2010 at 20:24 Bhazor says:
WYNOZE! WYNOZE!
13/08/2010 at 08:02 Choca says:
As usual, I will say :
Dear Relic, I love you.
Me.
13/08/2010 at 08:12 General_Frags says:
Nope GFWL is required for this too, a journo of Shack news or Kotaku saw a GFWL pop up during a press demonstration, he asked about it but Relic would confirm or deny it, seems like it might be like DoW 2 in terms of DRM using both GFWL and Steamworks.
13/08/2010 at 12:32 Down Rodeo says:
:’(
13/08/2010 at 18:50 pipman300 says:
they never learn.
14/08/2010 at 09:01 pkt-zer0 says:
Aaaand they’ve since confirmed they’ll be using Steamworks after all. A pleasant surprise.
13/08/2010 at 08:42 Rob Lang says:
“As such, Space Marine is the kind of over-the-top action game that I can’t remember seeing on the PC in a while”
Just Cause 2 is not over-the-top or is that seen as longer than “a while” ago?
13/08/2010 at 20:38 Dhatz says:
it’s seen as the bad way to be over the top, the world is still way too close to reality to be anything near 40K’s dog.
13/08/2010 at 09:03 Trindermon says:
Cover maybe for pussys, but Marcus Fenix always finds a way baby! ;-) lol. looking forward to this; personally i love 40k, so this will let me scratch a itch ;-) hoping its good. This + gears 3, i am a happy man.
13/08/2010 at 11:21 Ovno says:
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111oneoneoneoone!!!!!!111!!!
13/08/2010 at 11:25 DK says:
“It is very difficult to imagine anything more awesome than playing Space Marine co-op, all of you with Jump Packs, all of you with chainswords, leaping as one and ripping apart whole crowds of Orks.”
It’s friggin easy to imagine somthing more awesome. The original concept with RPG elements and a SQAUD.
The redesign is utterly boring compared to the original concept.
13/08/2010 at 14:36 SanguineAngel says:
Nah…. I’m pretty glad they took out the RPG elements. I am sick and tired of seeing these meaningless stat increases and upgrade systems in all my games. I mean I LOVE RPGs but this bugs me for a few reasons:
1. It’s usually friggin pointless.
2. Stat/ability increases do not an RPG make.
3. It’s been done to death.
I’d enjoy a squad system though. Something a bit more indepth than they’d have likely put in though. Less Republic commando more Raindow Six.
13/08/2010 at 20:42 Dhatz says:
@ SanguineAngel: yes, it’s lotsa pointless how even X-M O: Wolverine had to have xp. they seem to mistake xp with the point of gaming, and it was xp that brough the curse of grinding uppon games. Strategy and precision should be the shit.
16/08/2010 at 10:15 SanguineAngel says:
@ Dhatz Yeh, it’s rediculously prevelent and I think entirely down to how publishers (probably, perhaps some developers too) perceive gamers based on presumably WoW and CoD:MW solely. In fairness to MW1 their xp and reward system was interesting and well implemented – there were clear tactical advantages to most of the upgrades which allowed different strategies for both the player and the team. That was good. MW2 far less so sadly. WoW is essentially a grindfest that appeals to casual players. The other aspects of WoW are probably what appeal to a lot of people more – Social aspects for example. (To be fair to WoW there are also other aspects of the game that will appeal to the gamer’s gamer).
By and large, games are including upgrades and unlocks, usually based on XP gains which, as you rightly point out, promotes pointless grinding. That’s really not the point of gaming – it’s not even the point of an RPG, it’s just the by-product of a particular single aspect of some RPG designs.
It’s foolish game design and I suspect that it’s not as popular as it is perceived to be. I mean, we all perceive it to be popular because we always see it but that doesn’t mean people want it.
There’s more rant to be had on this topic but this thread is days old already so I’ll leave it be for now.
13/08/2010 at 11:59 pkt-zer0 says:
This could be interesting, if they get the gameplay right. Yay for no cover system! Boo to using GfWL.
13/08/2010 at 12:23 coldwave says:
I want two things.
1. I want to actually feel I’m playing as a guy who weighs a metric ton.
2. I want to play as an Ork, at least in multiplayer and STOMP-STOMP-STOMP.
13/08/2010 at 12:23 alh_p says:
Hutations, tentacles and Chain AXES, not to mention all that Khorne berserker stuff – that would be good!
13/08/2010 at 12:26 jalf says:
WAT?
Where does it say they’ll use GFWL? I must have skipped over that part.
13/08/2010 at 12:26 Batolemaeus says:
Actually, W40k is basically every single scifi trope cranked up to eleven and put on steroids. That’s whats what is so great about it. It just drops all pretense and goes all out insane, badass and ridiculous.
Ridiculously Epic, that is.
13/08/2010 at 12:29 BrutalSlayingIsAJoy says:
Would still rather be playing http://games.tiscali.cz/news/news.asp?id=29130
13/08/2010 at 12:34 pissant says:
Everything here points to a dull-as-rocks God of War clone with QTEs, and scripted from start to finish. The lack of base building and small, squad based gameplay in DoW II was a novel take on traditional RTS mechanics; this crap is a step backward.
And why does it have to be space marines every single goddamn time? There are what, 10 races in 40k, and judging by the games produced, you’d never know it. Fire Warrior is the only exception that springs to mind.
Hell, for a game like this, playing as an Ork would be the most appropriate, and we could do away with the gravelly voices, terrible dialogue, and epic (boring and done to death) orchestral soundtracks in favour of toliet humour and Ska.
13/08/2010 at 12:54 coldwave says:
Rites of War had only Eldar campaign.
13/08/2010 at 13:01 pissant says:
two games, then – though iirc marines were still the antagonists of the campaign. On DoW 2: single player is heavily scripted and dull, (and the narrative is mind numbingly boring) but taking out bases while keeping the capture and hold mechanics of DoW vastly increases the strategic depth of the game and reduces turtling. It’s a huge improvement.
40k does revolve around marines, yes – but this isn’t an argument against the statement that marine-based games have been done to death. Think of a4X game in the guise of master of orion or Imperium Galactica, that could take elements from 40k, Epic, and Battlefleet Gothic. the lore provides room for asynchronous rules and playing styles for each race (like sword of the stars). It would be glorious.
13/08/2010 at 13:36 Archonsod says:
Pfft, bring back Squats. You could do a Fallout style game with a diminutive belligerent bugger riding a futuristic Harley with twin mounted autocannons. That would be an interesting game :P
Alternatively, I’d love to see a Necromunda / Gorkamorka game which let you manage your gang between battles.
13/08/2010 at 12:48 Urael says:
I’ll take issue with your comments about DOW 2 – the removal of said features produced a rather dull game, in my opinion. No longer were you ranged against a cohesive army but isolated pockets of enemies-on-screen who were just as scripted on occasion. Singleplayer, anyway.
The whole concept of Warhammer 40K revolves around the Space Marines. They ‘re the most recognisable and marketable aspect of the 40K universe. To my mind, no-one has done a title of this style with them – in fact Fire Warrior was unusual in that many people WANTED a Space Marine game shooter than some less well-known, less popular race, simply because there hadn’t been one yet.
13/08/2010 at 13:02 Qjuad says:
HEAR ME SPESS MARINES!
13/08/2010 at 13:04 Alexander Norris says:
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSINDRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!
13/08/2010 at 13:05 coldwave says:
BAAAAATLE BRUUUUTHERS!
13/08/2010 at 20:57 pipman300 says:
WE… WE SHOULD TAKE AWAY THEIR METAL BAWKSES!
13/08/2010 at 13:18 jalf says:
Wait, so actually having more than one genre of games is a step backward? We’d be better off if Relic stuck rigidly to just making the same RTS game again and again?
I disagree. I actually think it’s a good thing that Relic tries to make different games.
You may note that this is not a Dawn of War game. So why exactly shouldn’t they be allowed to make a different type of game?
And uh, “everything points to a GoW clone”? You know, when I think GoW, the one thing that comes to mind more than anything was “COVER SYSTEM”. Because, you know, that was kind of GoW’s thing. It’s what made the game stand out.
Which this game chooses not to have.
So what you’re saying is really “Oh my god, it’s a third-person shooter with a big bulky main character!”
Yeah, that’s clearly going to be a dull GoW clone…
Angry internet man is angry
13/08/2010 at 13:19 jalf says:
God dammit, until a month ago, the comment system actually worked for me. Now my comments are all over the place.
13/08/2010 at 13:33 fallingmagpie says:
You know he said ‘God of War clone’, not ‘Gears of War clone’, yeah?
13/08/2010 at 13:35 coldwave says:
I think you are confusing Gears of War with God of War.
I may be wrong though.
13/08/2010 at 13:38 pissant says:
Don’t strawman me. Hahahah ‘different games’ – a thid person action hack ‘em up, possibly the most overproduced and consolised form of game, qualifies as a ‘different game’ we should applaud and await with baited breath now?
I’m not arguing relic should stick to RTS games, I’m arguing that the genre, narrative, and play style they’re opting for this game looks, thus far, to be derivative crap in an uninspired setting, and featuring the most over-used race in 40k lore. Until I see something pointing toward some sort of strategic depth or RPG elements I see no reason to look forward to this.
I can’t wait for the ‘epic’ twist where our Captain gets betrayed by his superior/his battle brother/the imperials because – oh my god – they were Chaos cultists/marines/daemons all along!
13/08/2010 at 13:33 Araxiel says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt1M8iZNHpQ
“As our bodies are armoured with Adamantium, our souls are protected with our loyalty. As our bolters are charged with death for the Emperor’s enemies, our thoughts are charged with his wisdom. As our ranks advance, so does our devotion, for are we not Marines? Are we not the chosen of the Emperor, his loyal servants unto death? ”
~Chaplain Fergus Nils~
I just came…
13/08/2010 at 13:37 apachebreak says:
They should add a trip to planet murder as a quick diversion on the way to the titan forgeworld.
13/08/2010 at 15:47 Okami says:
But wouldn’t they be 10.000 years to late?
13/08/2010 at 13:45 kaday says:
Laser guns, and space ships does not automatically make something= Sci Fi gents. If anything this is space opera. Grim space opera perhaps, but space opera nevertheless.
13/08/2010 at 14:12 megalomania says:
40k is the Pulp Fiction of sci-fi.
13/08/2010 at 14:13 Quizboy says:
I don’t mind playing as a spess mehren (it’s sort of inevitable), but I’ll carry on dreaming of something like Mass Effect with an Inquisitor, flying around in your ship, assembling yourself a retinue from the various dregs of humanity you encounter while PURGING things with FIRE, a morality system that skews from unnecessarily harsh to almost lenient (with the risk of suspicion from above if you’re too nice, and shiny medals but the loss of informants and potential allies if you set everybody on fire) and great big enormous epic battles with you trying to avoid getting friendly-fired by the Guard unit you’ve been wildly accusing of HERESY for the past month.
I’ll be a bit disappointed if the Orks are the enemy for the whole game, though (much as I love the big lugs). Chaos and Genestealer cults seem like a shoo-in, especially to highlight the incredible squishiness of human heads under the Ultramehrens’ giant metallo-boots. And surprise Necrons later in the game, when you’re feeling all upgraded and nails and OH GOD THEY’RE FLAYING MY SKIN, would be lovely, ta.
13/08/2010 at 14:14 Dajaki says:
Are they all going to have insanely deep voices like their balls have dropped so far they seem to have a tank dangling off them? I understand the “big man, big voice” thing, but the fella in the DOW2 trailer had a voice like a car compactor.
13/08/2010 at 14:43 Ben says:
Give this now!!
For the fapping Emperor!!!1
13/08/2010 at 15:07 ColOfNature says:
I like to think that extreme pretension, 40k nerdery, amazingly childish senses and an almost fanatical devotion to PC gaming of humour define RPS.
13/08/2010 at 15:14 ColOfNature says:
I like to think that extreme pretension, 40k nerdery, amazingly childish senses of humour and an almost fanatical devotion to PC gaming define RPS.
D’oh :( …And it was meant to be a reply to a much earlier comment. Damn it. Forget I said anything.
13/08/2010 at 15:20 GHudston says:
Great minds think alike (and at almost the same time, I might add!). But only one of those great minds can successfully use the reply system! ;)
13/08/2010 at 15:31 Birdman Tribe Leader says:
Ummm, there’s also the image directly above this statement…
13/08/2010 at 15:32 Birdman Tribe Leader says:
“This statement” being of course “every single piece of Space Marine art in existence shows them standing up. Come to think of it, I’m not sure how far they can even bend their legs.”
Stupid reply function.
13/08/2010 at 15:45 METAL BAWKSES says:
@Quizboy – you can have your dark heresy effect if I can have deff skwadron online
13/08/2010 at 16:39 Chaplain Cassius says:
I sense heresy in this place. We must find it, brothers.
Only one solution is acceptable. Extermination. There can only be two side in such a fight- choose carefully, lest you and I find ourselves on different sides.
Courage and honour.
13/08/2010 at 16:51 Hornwulf says:
This affirms my belief that some of the greatest things come from England. We’ve got some ok stuff in the US but not Led Zeppelin, Newcastle, the Benny hill theme song, the Aston Martin, and warhammer 40k If England were a woman I’d marry it or at least make inappropriate advances only to be shamefully shot down.
13/08/2010 at 17:34 Davie says:
YES
YESSSSSSSSSS
I’m so glad Relic decided to release this for the PC. Our console of choice has such limited options when it comes to hacking and shooting the hell out of everything everywhere. Besides, 40k. You can only go slightly wrong, and even then the results will probably be awesome.
13/08/2010 at 19:06 Kyrne says:
Looks good and sounds like it has the possiblity to be awesome, and as Relic are involved then i have high hopes.
The story itself sounds a very similar to Armageddon to me (the planet that is,not the end of the world) which involved Chaos so they may turn up somewhere as well.
Which also means that i’m kinda hoping the ‘secret protoype’ is some sort of Titan weapon or somethign equally insane(seeing as Armageddon had a portable Nova Cannon buried in a desert!!!)
13/08/2010 at 19:17 protorp says:
More like the Platoon of Aliens’ snakes on a Starship Troop plane of sci-fi . . .
13/08/2010 at 19:30 Marcin says:
*tentative enthusiasm elicited by dismissal of cover*
14/08/2010 at 01:59 Arathain says:
Dismissal? Outright destruction! They have a cover system. It’s the stuff you smash through on your way to spilling alien blood in the name of the Emperor, while the bullets pinging off your armour give rhythm to your catechisms. I do hope there are catechisms.
13/08/2010 at 20:01 Squizz says:
So much win … http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6mkOYSRI6-U/TGWV9C_ANtI/AAAAAAAAAYE/rYVh7xSeTPo/so-much-win-emote.png
13/08/2010 at 20:14 Dhatz says:
it’s not trying to be cri-fi, as where are all those ubertechnologies feeding them information in matter overwhelming for 21century man? and nano or pico technology? antigravity built into their suits? Those who think it’s the final destination for superhuman badassery to show off are close to the truth.
14/08/2010 at 00:09 BrutalSlayingIsAJoy says:
“Space Marine is the kind of over-the-top action game that I can’t remember seeing on the PC in a while”
Someone hasn’t played Wolverine. Now that’s a game to model after in terms of GFX, combos, moves, visceral madness..etc.
14/08/2010 at 05:14 jokermatt999 says:
More of this please. I know nothing of WH40K, nor have I ever purchased a product having anything to do with it. Space Marines generally do not interest me. However, straight up no bullshit action does. You had me at “Cover is for Pussies”. I loathe the boring combat of pop up and shoot. I can’t wait to get my hands on this game.
14/08/2010 at 09:52 choconutjoe says:
…but I’ll carry on dreaming of something like Mass Effect with an Inquisitor, flying around in your ship, assembling yourself a retinue from the various dregs of humanity you encounter while PURGING things with FIRE, a morality system that skews from unnecessarily harsh to almost lenient (with the risk of suspicion from above if you’re too nice, and shiny medals but the loss of informants and potential allies if you set everybody on fire) and great big enormous epic battles with you trying to avoid getting friendly-fired by the Guard unit you’ve been wildly accusing of HERESY for the past month.
I think I just nerdgasmed.
14/08/2010 at 11:39 apa says:
I want a Space Hulk mod of this. Also a new pc or mod capability for PS3…
14/08/2010 at 17:17 Ankheg says:
PURGE THE ALIEN!!!
14/08/2010 at 19:36 adder says:
The epic twist in this game’s mechanics come from firing a mini-rocket-launcher on full auto into a crowd of enemies and not being some weakling who has to do more than 3 combos to kill your enemies.
No, space marines can 1-shot most orks and decapitate multiple orks with a single sword strike. As seen in the trailer, the melee combat is nothing like ninja gaiden or god of war (which use a pitiful melee system imo – flashy energy sparkling with blades apparently having the sharpness and mass comparable to a potato peeler. Those look so ridiculous I don’t even consider playing them)
And i wouldn’t mind a cover system as long as orks constantly try to “zerg rush” you and outflank you making cover useless in many cases, but still being useful against especially shooty nobs and killa machines.
15/08/2010 at 01:13 Dedtoo says:
There is only one game i would love more than this i think:
Ork: The game!
15/08/2010 at 19:16 GonnaHate says:
Yay for being able to play genetically pure skinheads who can curbstomp inferior races of different skin tone.
16/08/2010 at 00:07 pipman300 says:
in the grim darkness of the far future there are only white people
16/08/2010 at 07:36 pipman300 says:
oh yeah and everyone is british especially the orks (orks are highly evolved british).
19/08/2010 at 13:33 Jon says:
Nah. Orks are Scottish!
Innate mechanical ability, prone to partaking dodgy drinks, speaking in unintelligible grunts and suicidally willing to fight anything, anywhere, at any time, without a particular reason.
15/08/2010 at 19:37 Plopsworth says:
I don’t think anyone’s denying the thinly veiled fascism of the humans. Then again, sayeth the moral relativist, just look what they’re up against.
Also, not everyone knows, but Relic *have* made a third-person shooter earlier. It was called the Outfit, it was console exclusive, and supposedly an alrighty-ish blend of action and build-queues.
16/08/2010 at 11:01 Torb says:
Archonsod: Chaos squats.
16/08/2010 at 11:47 We Fly Spitfires says:
Sounds… awesome. I hope it has enough depth though and doesn’t turn out to be just another vapid shooter. Like the sound of the RPG elements combined with the fast and gruesome gameplay. Plus English voice acting FTW. Colour me interested.
16/08/2010 at 18:41 pipman300 says:
they should of gotten the spess mahreen guy to do the main characters voice.
17/08/2010 at 10:32 Bad Brad says:
It looks promising although it’s very disappointing about the removal of Role Playing sections.
Shooting stuff is fun …for a while, but I don’t get invested in the character unless its ME giving the merciless orders, or choosing which enemy first deserves to be purged by the Emperor’s righteous fire.
If RP is out, then I’m out. Just not my cup of tea without it, even though I understand the majority of purchasers won’t miss it given how much choice and thinking is an irritating distraction…
17/08/2010 at 10:39 Bad Brad says:
Uggh… oh wait- this reviewer is one of those monkeys that regards RPGs as “inventory addition.” Who cares if that feature is gone?!
JUST GIVE ME A CHAINSWORD AND A SEA OF ENEMIES TO SWIM IN.
No seriously, introduce some proper Role-playing features. Dialogue choice. Disturbing Warhammer morality. The Path of Righteous Extermination.
It can’t be that much work. And it pays big dividends for replay.
19/08/2010 at 13:37 pipman300 says:
but it is that much work :/
you can’t just tack rpg elements on and suddenly viola IMRPVOED GAEM!
17/08/2010 at 11:46 Tusque d'Ivoire says:
The little flash thingy that leads to this article and appears only on the rps main page says:
“There’s no game that wouldn’t be better without a space marine in it”
It took me a while but essentially what youre saying is space marines are no good. i don’t think that’s supposed to be your point… but leave it there, its a wonderful sentence anyway!
I do have to say i couldn’t be more interested in this game. see what i did there?
24/08/2010 at 22:39 Utgaardsloke says:
I’d play this. Hard.
30/08/2010 at 07:37 Valius says:
It… It’s brilliant! I can’t wait for this game, I love 40k!
22/03/2011 at 20:05 Metonymy says:
Victory needs no explanation. Defeat allows none.
15/06/2011 at 11:12 SMD says:
Space Marines are extremely overused and people, the Warhammer 40,000 world is about the GAME, not the whatever-one-of-the-authors-wrote to make the story look cooler. Space Marines have got 19 internal organs and bulletproof bones. SO? They are not fighting ordinary humans, remember? Orks regenerate so fast they can survive decapitation (if you stick the head back soon enough), Eldar move ridiculously fast and have their psykery, Tau have got plasma everywhere and similarly good armour, Chaos is toughened by the Ruinous Powers and Tyranids evolve with every kill. What would certainly be more interesting is the true-to-form IG game, where you would feel what you are- infinitely expendable cannon fodder. How about this: you start the game, take a couple of steps, get killed and get resurrected in the another Guardsman out of the thousand present. If you survive for more then 10 minutes (irrespective of whether you actually win the battle, because it would be possible to win without stay in one body for very long), you are upgraded to the Sergeant and so on. Yes, and remember to step in sync with the regiment or get your head melted with the Commisar’s laspistol.
NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL A REVOLUTIONARY GAMEPLAY!