Space Marine II

 Blood for the blood god?

You don't always need that personal, intrinsic, connection to the source material in order to feel that crescendo in excitement around a new announcement. You just have to endure the endless references, the unsolicited loving call backs, the recommendations every other day. Not that I bemoan it all, that just shows someone out there really loves what they're talking about and if this property has fans that into it, then I can only assume it's worth at least a bit of the fuss. But then there's always that level of subdued fandom around Warhammer in particular, for which if a fan observes the slightest whiff of this topic they'll go on for hours, but they'll never go into their love unprompted. Perhaps that makes them one of the more polite nerd fandoms out there, but for me that made it hard to worm out what exactly it is that makes this universe so darn great. I want to join in on all the excitement guys; why won't you help me? Games, however, cannot by the very nature be quiet niche little projects going on in the corner out of my earshot; so I've made sure I'm receptive to hear all about this.

Warhammer has had something of a tumultuous history when it comes to adaptations from the tabletop to video games, or even decent support for the breadth of the tabletop source. Or rather, Warhammer 40k has those definers. Warhammer Fantasy was apparently so underloved that the owners, Game Workshop, turned around and rebooted that entire franchise. I don't even know how that works for a tabletop game! I mean, Wizards of the Coast don't even bother to wait until a new edition before making odd changes like subtly removing all references to evil races enslaving others for some quiet reason they refuse to clearly state. But Warhammer Fantasy must have been beyond saving if it needed a whole 'Age of Sigmar' resurrection. 40k, however, has been alive and kicking for a while now, but not quite always as 'lively' as some fans it to be. I may not be a fan myself but even I hear mumbles of certain factions going totally underrepresented, popular ignored corners of the lore and, most pertinently, a licence which is rented out more than the village bike.

For 40k alone there are VR Games, lane defence games, a virtual snakes-and-ladders style game, twin sticks, 2D side scrollers, a card game, an FPS looter-style game and 4X strategy titles out the arse- including one made by... Steel Wool Studios? ("Great going, Supersh*t. How'd ya f**k that one up so badly?") And this diversity is by no means part of some far-reaching unified mastermind plan for the franchise, it's the result of everyone and their mother being given a go at the franchise. Including mobile makers. Because nothing says "We respect our brand" like letting the leeches on mobile sink their claws into it. (I see that Game Workshop apprenticed under EA in the school for 'How to grow your brand as quickly and unscrupulously as possible'.) But with the scattergun spray of misses, the 'throw everything at the wall approach' did land a few significant successes; the famous Dawn of War series for one, and the less-famous-unless-you're-in-the-right-circles: Space Marine.

Now the original was a game about being a Space Marine, very straightforward, but the visceral, in-your-face, and exciting way that Relic realised that concept stood out from the crowd for a lot of fans. And that's because it was an adrenaline-fuelled third-person action game which sent players out with their Chainswords and machines guns to rip and tear through enemies in bloody dances of well-animated ultraviolence. Even just watching some snippets of gameplay it's very easy to see why a game like this would do so well for a franchise frequently dominated by more off-hand strategy style games. Sure, ordering a marine to slay a unit of Orks and watching them mop up the scene from the your detached, sky-high vantage point is just fine, but taking control of the man in blue, emblazoned, power armour and driving the response of each powerful swing with each satisfying press of a key is a whole other world entirely. And Relic must have pulled it off well for the amount of reverence that original regularly receives.

Of course, it only makes sense that Game Workshop would commission a sequel- 10 years later. (Was the original a commercial flop or something? What the hell?) And that exact sequel set off fireworks with it's debut during the game awards, even if what we saw contained just the slightest sliver of real, glorious, action. (A little bit of gameplay is better than none at all, afterall.) Even from an outsider I have to admit, seeing the Power Armoured Space Marines drop into a battlefield and carve their bloody path, even in a CG trailer, made for some striking visuals, and the trailer itself was exceptionally animated. If this is the sort of effort which is going into just the showmanship of presenting the game than it makes one wonder for what calibre of surprises that are being kept behind for the full game, waiting to blow fans away. (You've got to have some huge, impressive set pieces tucked away if you want to drum up hype in this day and age.)

Saber Interactive are the guys behind this one, and if that name rings a slight bell in the vast recess of your recollection only to go dead the moment you go and look, that's likely because they were responsible for the flash-in-the-pan World War Z game. Although according to what I can find on the Internet, it would appear they have an insanely eclectic history of helping out in other game franchises from Vampyr and the Ghostbusters Video game to Crysis and Halo. So don't let that one commercial flop fool you, these guys have experience and enduring talent behind their walls; no doubt. They may not be the original developers, but if you want to give the sequel to what is considered one of the best Warhammer games of all time to anyone, it's going to be someone which the sort of resume that Saber has. That doesn't make any guarantee, but it certainly tips the odds in the game's favour.

And the public seems to have heartedly accepted what they've seen thusfar, and it's not hard to see why. The gameplay shown off so far is about substantive enough to fit inside of a thimble, but it's all incredibly striking. Watching the player bat off swarming creatures like he's recreating the front cover of DOOM has an insane amount of movement all on the same screen at once, that one slightly lingering shot of the wider battle is buzzing with small loving details filling a huge portrait of indomitable scale, and there appears to be a jetpack. Not enough games out there have jetpacks, which makes me want them all the more whenever and wherever I see them. Even 'Warhammer-Community.Com' is confidant enough in the game as it is so far to call it 'More epic than it's predecessor in everyway'; which is quite the challenge when you acknowledge the insane reverence that predecessor still receives. I hope that confidence pays off for them.

As you've likely picked up from the way I'm talking about this, I would love to get into this sort of universe and it's games like these, rather than the hugely complex RTS 4X games, (I was always bad at RTS anyway, to be frank) which provide that open window. And when these games are fitted with this almost AAA gleam to them, that reflects very highly on the strength of the brand behind it. Does this mean that I'll someday get to a point where those terribly awkward 40K Youtube comedy skits I sometimes come across does anything other than make me cringe out of my skin? Probably not, you have to be reborn into the fandom to become that invested, but maybe once I've delved into this game and maybe given Dawn of War another shot (I know I'll need to) I'll be able to watch 'Astartes' again and appreciate it for more than just the outstanding animation and modelling work. So there's evidence of real time perspective conversion before your very eyes, proof of the transformative power of a damn good game announcement.