
You can even pop Fury- the game’s of-the-era rage mode to turn yourself into even more of a beast. Instead, you get full-on combos with the chainsword, complete with a second melee button for your stun attack- absolutely necessary for the game’s elite enemies. Instead, melee is usually relegated to a simple get-off-me button so you can flee to your nearest knee-high wall. Many third person shooters will tend to neglect having any depth to their melee. What’s the point of being built like an ornate tank if you weren’t going to run head first into crowds of Orks? If you wanted humans with guns you’d go play Guard or something. But my point still stands- Space Marines in melee just feel right. Medieval knights may not have carried chainswords. Heck, multiple chapters of Space Marines are actual, literal, knights. While a lot of recent Space Marine art may sell you more on them being tactical squad warriors, it’s important to remember that these guys have their roots in medieval knights first. Part of what the game gets so right is that you have better options than shooting all the time. Heck, your melee combos can even end in a huge powerstomp, making you double check that you didn’t accidentally download Imperial Warriors instead. Unlike games that might encourage you to not be outnumbered, Space Marine lets you dive into hordes of Gretchins, watching them fly to their deaths. The fact you can turn your run into a charge is just a great example of the game having fun with the concept of what 40K’s Space Marines are. I get it, Deathwing’s Terminators are supposed to be the tankiest of the lot, but at some level a character has to feel like the stick actually controls his movement, not just his center of gravity. Alright, he’s not doing Bloodborne dodges, but at least he’s not spreading the Emperor’s Will at the pace of a melting stick of butter. Unlike Space Hulk Deathwing’s slower, bulkier approach, Captain Titus is actually light on his feet. Now that I’m well in Games Workshop’s hole, though, this might be one of the most fun Space Marines to control yet. I wasn’t really into 40K at the time, so the idea of playing as a Space Marine mattered as much to me as any other big man with a gun at the time.

In my younger and more all-nighter-resilient years, I’d written off Space Marine as yet another third person shooter of the PS3 era. With Space Marine II announced and looking great, I’d decided to check out its predecessor. Suffice to say, this was an era where it was difficult for 40K to break into a proper mainstream crowd. Scholars will still argue if they’d made a good Dawn Of War past the original, and the only other shooter anyone can remember was the ill-fated T’Au Fire Warrior.

At the time, you’d be hard pressed to find a good 40K game that wasn’t a strategy game. Follow us on Twitter Follow and Tweet us Tweet to was especially true during the era of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine.
