Pre-E3 2009: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine First Look
As for the level of gore, it appears Relic wants to make this game really bloody. Since the camera is right in close to the action, clouds of red will be billowing out from every sword slash or bolter round that makes a successful impact. In one part of the video, we even saw an Ork's head get cut in two after a particularly vicious slash. Relic would not, however, confirm or deny that dismemberment and decapitation was actually in the game, but we're hopeful.
Slicing through your enemies and progressing through the game will in some way unlock new armor and improve your statistics. Perhaps we'll see something similar to Relic's item drop system in Dawn of War II, where the occasional enemy and boss encountered in the battle would yield goodies. Or perhaps it'll just be a system where you're awarded with experience or points to boost your statistics after completing a mission. We don't know yet, as it sounds like all that type of thing is still being determined internally at the studio. We did get to see in the video a brief look at a character equip screen, which featured a few slots for inputting weapons, armor, and items, as well as progress bars for different statistics.
How exactly the game controls is another thing still under development. We asked whether it'd be a system where there were light and heavy attacks with modifiers for special abilities, or whether specific buttons would be tied to specific limbs, but we'll have to wait and see. Hopping into vehicles might be another option for your Space Marine. We can say we saw a Titan – a gigantic mechanized walker, strolling around toward the end of the video as an Ork warboss charged a group of Space Marines while a shockwave from a massive explosion in the background caused everything to shake and shudder.
One of the more interesting aspects of the game is the potential for multiplayer. We saw four Space Marines standing around, so the natural question to ask is if the game will support some kind of co-operative play online or locally. Unfortunately this isn't yet something Relic is yet talking about, though it was mentioned that multiplayer was going to be a major focus of the game.
It's still early, but the bits that THQ and Relic showed off of Space Marine definitely looked promising. For those hardcore Warhammer 40,000 fans, it seems like Relic is gearing up to deliver the kind of ferocity Games Workshop's universe is known for, though this time at a much more personal level. Instead of staring down at a battle like you would in Relic's Dawn of War real-time strategy games, this one lets you get right into the action and directly control how you want to tear up the opposition. For anyone who isn't necessarily all that familiar with Relic or Warhammer 40,000, this is still a game worth keeping an eye on, as there's a ton of interesting fiction that could be incorporated and, considering Relic's track record at least on the PC, you've got to at least believe the studio is capable of delivering a high-quality, entertaining experience.
There's no set release date right now for Space Marine, as Relic is still busy building the game and will spend the time required to bring it up to a level of polish they deem acceptable. It'll eventually be released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.
How our favorite systems are just like humans and sometimes have issues finding their special someone...
Xbox 360 wants to Kinect & PS3 wants to Move! Why are both systems having such relationship problems? The reason is they both become so infactuated with desire while watching the Wii as it waggles on by. They simply want what they can't have.
Official member of the Xbox 360 Squad
