Space Marine Demo - My experience.
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 8:27 am
When I got word that the demo for Space Marine, one of my most awaited action games, was released, I immediately went on to check it out. I was one of the folks who's been watching over it since it's announcement, eager to see a battle experience far stronger than that of it's FPS predecessor, Fire Warrior. Just downloaded yesterday on Steam (As it is, unfortunately, the only place where you can download it) and played it through today.
What goes now is the brief experience of mine on this game, proving to be one of the most challenging, but also one of the most difficult.
Presentation:
The menu simply shows the main character going on around, slaying Orks with Chainsword and Bolter Pistol, nothing unusual, nothing of the impressive. In a slight difference to Darksiders: Wrath of War, Space Marine presents more options for graphics change, albeit only a bit of them. The menu also presents two games too: A mission from the original storyline, and one which you get to have fun with a Jet Pack.
P.S: The new THQ logo sucks. Badly.
Story:
The story isn't something to be expected from a company like Relic, like 'Oh, a dynamic Warhammer story!'. Relic just recycled, again, the plot formula for Dawn of War (The very first game), Orks invading a planet and Chaos Space Marines acting backstage. So, no surprises past the obvious, which a different and more useful one was sacrificed for the sake of gameplay. Voice acting is as average as best, yet still lacking some attachment, especially with the protagonist, Captain Titus (Which, let's admit, must've been inspired on Sam Neill for such a dull face.).
Gameplay:
Fact: You'll be plotted against Ork Swarms. No, you don't regenerate Health per kill, but per execution. Either that, or you'll have to use Fury Mode repeatedly, especially against Ork Nobz (Bulky, larger ones with red armor, you'll know when you see it.), and even then, occasionally, you'll die. For execution, you have to stun and calculate your strikes so you won't miss a button when you go for the super stun. And here's some deals, you'll be more pitted on close range combat than using bolters or other weapons. Controls are somewhat clunky and unresponsive, needing a sequence to be made more than once. In summary, simpleton ripped off from Gears of War, with the exception they raped cover and roadie run for the sake of close combat. Interesting at first, but you quickly lose interest after figuring out you'll do 82% close combat and the remaining the ranged one.
P.S 2: There's too little dodging in close combat, so newbies should expect constant deaths.
Art & Animation:
It's more than predictable that Relic doesn't have any brains concerning art and animation of it's 3D world, in which you'll rather see pipes awfully polygoned, like with 16 poly cylinders and such, low resolution textures seen up close and more of that. Yet, it's animation which helps out, yet on a decent level. The best graphics you'll see afar, but even in those (Like the Manufactorum Fortress Doors) you can see the laziness of Relic's artists in making pipes inside pictures to fool people and spare polygonal count.
Resuming:
I'd give the game a 8.0, given the gameplay was challenging, but interest eventually wanes off quickly because of knowing you'll have to execute constantly and use Fury mode too many times, as well as the clunky controls. Story too predictable and already used in the Dawn of War series and the lack of additional work in art and animation shows Relic was more interested in time schedule than actually polishing and finishing it. Not better than Darksiders, but eventually overcomes the ridiculous Duke Nukem For Never.
SCORE: 7.0
What goes now is the brief experience of mine on this game, proving to be one of the most challenging, but also one of the most difficult.
Presentation:
The menu simply shows the main character going on around, slaying Orks with Chainsword and Bolter Pistol, nothing unusual, nothing of the impressive. In a slight difference to Darksiders: Wrath of War, Space Marine presents more options for graphics change, albeit only a bit of them. The menu also presents two games too: A mission from the original storyline, and one which you get to have fun with a Jet Pack.
P.S: The new THQ logo sucks. Badly.
Story:
The story isn't something to be expected from a company like Relic, like 'Oh, a dynamic Warhammer story!'. Relic just recycled, again, the plot formula for Dawn of War (The very first game), Orks invading a planet and Chaos Space Marines acting backstage. So, no surprises past the obvious, which a different and more useful one was sacrificed for the sake of gameplay. Voice acting is as average as best, yet still lacking some attachment, especially with the protagonist, Captain Titus (Which, let's admit, must've been inspired on Sam Neill for such a dull face.).
Gameplay:
Fact: You'll be plotted against Ork Swarms. No, you don't regenerate Health per kill, but per execution. Either that, or you'll have to use Fury Mode repeatedly, especially against Ork Nobz (Bulky, larger ones with red armor, you'll know when you see it.), and even then, occasionally, you'll die. For execution, you have to stun and calculate your strikes so you won't miss a button when you go for the super stun. And here's some deals, you'll be more pitted on close range combat than using bolters or other weapons. Controls are somewhat clunky and unresponsive, needing a sequence to be made more than once. In summary, simpleton ripped off from Gears of War, with the exception they raped cover and roadie run for the sake of close combat. Interesting at first, but you quickly lose interest after figuring out you'll do 82% close combat and the remaining the ranged one.
P.S 2: There's too little dodging in close combat, so newbies should expect constant deaths.
Art & Animation:
It's more than predictable that Relic doesn't have any brains concerning art and animation of it's 3D world, in which you'll rather see pipes awfully polygoned, like with 16 poly cylinders and such, low resolution textures seen up close and more of that. Yet, it's animation which helps out, yet on a decent level. The best graphics you'll see afar, but even in those (Like the Manufactorum Fortress Doors) you can see the laziness of Relic's artists in making pipes inside pictures to fool people and spare polygonal count.
Resuming:
I'd give the game a 8.0, given the gameplay was challenging, but interest eventually wanes off quickly because of knowing you'll have to execute constantly and use Fury mode too many times, as well as the clunky controls. Story too predictable and already used in the Dawn of War series and the lack of additional work in art and animation shows Relic was more interested in time schedule than actually polishing and finishing it. Not better than Darksiders, but eventually overcomes the ridiculous Duke Nukem For Never.
SCORE: 7.0