E3 2011: Warhammer 40k Space Marine Hands-on

I love Warhammer 40k, let's get that out of the way right now. I used to have a Chaos Marine army years ago and would spend hours in a basement moving my little men around with rulers and explosion radius measurement tools.  It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon and not get laid.  The learning curve of a game like that, however, can be extremely steep, and it's really only a select few who can sacrifice the time to really get into it. That's why Warhammer 40k Space Marine really feels like a breath of fresh air.

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine is a third-person action shooter through and through. It forgo's the sometimes labrythine rules and regulations of the board game for straight up action and chainsawing enemies to regain health.  It's good, dumb, fun at its most base level but is also surprisingly satisfying at the same time.

Control is fairly familiar. You move around with the left stick and aim with the right. Right trigger shoots and left trigger zooms in. Your X button does light chainsaw melee attacks, and your Y button does heaver attacks.  The player also has a “Fury” meter which will slowly build up as you attack and kill enemies. When unleashed, the "fury" will further empower your character with a variety of devastating attacks which are, and this is the most interesting part, completely contextual to the actions your character is doing at the time. Be standing in one position not attacking and you'll do an area of effect ground pound, be shooting and time will slow down, and you'll zoom in further, allowing you to do more devastating shots.  The system is fantastically responsive when you get the hang of it and can turn the tide of battle in an instant.

The player can also perform execution moves which will not only restore some health and energy, but are also fairly amusing to watch.  Keep in mind that the game, at this point in time, is no graphical powerhouse but they get the job done, and are more than adequate for a game which truly delivers on action alone.

Both cooperative play and multiplayer have been announced for the game but little information has been given about this so far. Personally, I can see this game being the most fun with an online squad, but only time will tell if that's in the cards.  As it stands now, however, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is looking to be a fun romp in a universe that hasn't really gotten the video game air time it probably deserves. We'll be watching this one over the next few months for more details.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is scheduled to be released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 6, 2011