Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II

There are few things more synonymous with Warhammer than the Space Marine. The ultimate power fantasy strapped in a suit of power armour, for decades the Space Marine has been the most identifiable super soldier in sci-fi. Eight-foot tall, wielding weapons that make a regular human pop like a blister, they might appear indestructible at first. And yet, due to the breadth of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the stories told within it, Space Marines must be in equal part demigods impervious to all but the mightiest of blows and fodder ready to become part of a statistic in a galaxy-ending conflict.

The Space Marine is therefore a tricky thing to get right. And yet, Saber Interactive has made that challenge seem utterly arbitrary. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II is the definitive Space Marine experience. From the weight of your armour, to the metallic slam of each step of your boot against the ground, to the reactions of the Cadians (regular human soldiers) when they see you walk by. Little moments, such as watching a soldier take a knee before us as we stride to the next battlefield, show just how much attention to detail Saber has put into this game. From the distant 41st millennium, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II manages to make an eight-foot tall superhuman, the armour he wears and the weapons he uses, feel grounded and real without ever taking away from the fantastical element of the overall experience playing as a Space Marine.

Seeing Titus back in blue is a sight to behold, as is the rest of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II. The game is gorgeous and while it can certainly put your rig to the test if you're playing on PC, to see the universe come to life in a way simply not done before is worth it. The Warhammer 40,000 universe is so huge in its scope and scale that it comes across almost like a Lovecraftian horror. We shouldn't attempt to understand the size of it, lest we go mad thinking of city squares that can hold tens of millions of people and buildings so large we can only assume the architects of the 41st millennium have access to creative mode. However, that scale has been brought to life in Space Marine II. The diversity of the universe has also been given a great showing, from the jungles of Kadaku to the sprawling cityscapes of Avarax to the twisted, apocalyptic world of Demerium. You're constantly given environments that feel unique, without the levels causing you to get lost in the size of your surroundings.

The sights of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II are only made better by the enemies swarming over them. Showing an upgraded version of the same technology used for World War Z, Saber has brought the endless numbers of the Tyranids to the fore. You'll spot thousands of them overhead and have to face just as many on the ground. You can shred through the smaller members of the hive mind easily enough with your Bolt Rifle or Pistol, but the sheer weight of numbers will soon catch up, forcing you into the thick of melee. When surrounded by swathes of smaller Tyranids combined with a few Warriors capable of matching your own strength, things can get dicey fast, especially on tougher difficulties. You can't just spam attack, and will have get used to the rhythm of slaughter in Space Marine II. While the combat will appear similar to those who've played the first game, with the parrying, perfect dodges, and all-round improved variety, you'll find less button mashing and more solid strategy is needed in tough encounters. Gorgeous, gory executions are of course a highlight of the combat, giving each encounter more of a cinematic feel and ensuring that you'll be stepping over a mountain of enemy skulls at the end of each mission.

Missions are long in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II, in both the PvE Operations and the main story campaign. It helps that there's not an overwhelming amount of them, as it makes each mission feel unique and replayable, especially in the case of the Operations. It takes about 15 hours to get through both campaigns, and then of course you've got the PvP mode Eternal War to dive into afterwards. It all makes for a very dense game, reminiscent of an old Halo title. There will be players here just for the return of Titus, though, and it's worth mentioning they won't be disappointed. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II approaches its story boldly, even with the baggage left by the cliff-hanger of the first game. After nearly a century away, Titus has changed. He's harsher, less trusting, and while these elements are more difficult to convey giving Space Marines usually have the emotional depth of a watermelon on steroids, Clive Standen does a great job at delivering this version of Titus. The action of the story doesn't leave much time for introspection, but it serves as a solid narrative overall, and a brilliant excuse for some of the most-memorable gaming moments of the year. As the story reached its apex, I had a permanent, immovable smile on my face, in awe of what I was seeing, of how perfectly the spirit of Warhammer 40,000 had been captured.

Would it have been nice to see more of a character-driven story than a plot-driven one? Of course, but Space Marine II manages to once again hit the nail on the head with the Warhammer portrayal, where there are often too few moments for quiet reflection as yet another apocalyptic event lies just moments away. The overarching villain of the game is about as memorable as that of the first game - meaning not very memorable - but he does come with an incredible boss fight, something that isn't rare in Space Marine II. The bosses really put your combat abilities to the test, and yet facing off against a Carnifex or clashing blades with a Chaos Sorcerer always feels incredibly satisfying. As blades clash and your Bolt Rifle thunders round after round into the boss and the lackeys they've brought just to make the encounter that much more deadly, once again it becomes difficult to avoid the urge to strap on some power armour, grab a chainsword, and fight in the name of the Emperor. Some how, some way this game makes the 41st millennium feel like somewhere you wouldn't mind visiting as you're simply made to feel so badass.

Something that shouldn't go unmentioned is the role that sound plays in creating that feeling. The swell of the music as you and your fellow Ultramarines charge into the daemonic line, the crunch as you jam a Tyranid's bone sword through its own ribcage. Even the noises created by your armour as you move around serve to make the fights feel that more impactful. Again, the time that has been spent on making everything feel authentic, the respect that Saber and Focus have for the IP is hard not to admire. This is especially true considering the broad nature of the game. I've not really touched on the PvP Eternal War mode, and that's largely because I only got to play a couple of matches, but the experience appears as solid as the other two facets of Space Marine II.

A story campaign, a parallel PvE campaign, a 6v6 PvE mode, two different enemy factions, co-op, single-player, different Space Marine classes, more weapon loadouts, thousands of enemies on-screen. When you list it all down like that, it could sound like Saber Interactive was destined to come up short on at least a few aspects of this game. However, I am consistently blown away by Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II and how it has managed to do it all. It's a bombastic action fest that reminds you of the best games of yore. A triumphant achievement as not just a Warhammer 40,000 game, but an action game for the ages.