Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Previews

First and foremost, THQ has extendedits licensing deal with Games Workshop for an unknown number of years, which promises more 40K-based products from the publisher.

Next, we have a couple of previews. Atomic Gamer.

Still, the whole game feels vastly different because of the change in focus away from constantly firing from behind cover to standing out in the open. You’ll find that smart tactics can allow you to draw some enemies away from the pack, and the maps are designed in such a way that you’ll have chances to pick off enemies without exposing yourself to enemy fire from all angles. Still, when the Orks come and mob you – two or three taking potshots with their crude guns from above, and eight or more surrounding you, hacking at you with crudely-built axes – it’s nice to be able to handle them readily. Pick off the pot-shotting Orks from a distance, use a couple of melee attacks to hack a gap into the surrounding force, then pop through the gap and take on a few at a time, even as more enemies pour in. That was one of the things mentioned by Relic: the Orks swarm in numbers when they attack, and making a game that can only handle a few enemies at a time, like you often see in many shooters, just wouldn’t cut it. So while Space Marine doesn’t have jaw-dropping visuals or vast amounts of polygons, it does maintain solid frame rates with wide-open views and plenty of characters (be they friends or enemies) on-screen at a time. And for our demo all of this was delivered with a two-month-old, pre-alpha build, with plenty of optimizations and improvements to go. Not bad!

Game Revolution.

Unlike Gears of War, in which the combat is very duck, cover, and shoot, Space Marine expects you take a more hands-on approach to combat. When you’re in the shit, you’re in the shit. Not only do you have to deal with snipers, grenadiers, and other various gunmen, you also have to handle wave after wave of foot soldiers all up in your face trying to ruin your day. Do you hack your way through all the grunts in front of you then worry about the gunners, or do you take out the guys who keep shooting you in the back while your chainsword is stuck in some unlucky Ork’s skull? Either way, blood will be spilled.