I’m a huge fan of Relic Studios and their work on strategy games; particularly the Warhammer 40,000 set Dawn of War series. When I learned they were working on a third person action game for consoles I was apprehensive. But Space Marine is a title that will win them new fans and drive existing fans wild. The tabletop Warhammer universe has finally arrived on consoles with a blood splashing bang. (We'll pretend Fire Warrior never happened)

When you think about it Space Marine is all ready a game that’s defied the odds. It’s technically a shooter adaptation of a popular RTS game, previous attempts at series genre jumping with Starcraft Ghost and Command and Conquer never even got released. It's also a surprisingly good title, considering the last time Relic had a bash at third person shooter games we got the mediocre The Outfit. They’ve done well challenging the big boys at Epic and Capcom.

You don't get a good idea just how hulking Space Marines are till you see them next to regular folk

Space Marine casts you as Ultramarine commander Titus, sent with two comrades to reinforce the army of a local planet under attack by the alien Orks. The planet is a forge world where ships and huge war weapons are manufactured, but the presence of the secretive Inquisition on the indicates there may be greater forces at work.

While not particularly deep the characters are well drawn and engaging. Especially Ultramarine captain Titus, voiced by Mark Strong, as the archetypal hero; loyal to his order but not afraid to bend the rules when he sees the need too. Flanked by the characteristically dogmatic young soldier and the equally identifiable faithful old veteran soldier type, these characters help to put Titus on the hero pedestal.

Always remember, thin the ranks with guns before you start swinging melee weapons

Space Marine starts with a terrific opening, setting you up for a game of chaotic action and violence. The gameplay blends shooting with hack and slash action. For most of the game you’re beset by swarms of melee charging enemies while shooter enemies hang in the back and pick away at you. Most battles require you to hold the line with your two battle brothers, attempting to pick off long range enemies before thinning the ranks of the charging enemies and then ending the battle up close with chainsaw sword or power axe. Most battles boil down to these scenarios and compared to similar titles combat is pretty unforgiving of mistakes. Even at normal difficulty you can be killed frequently if you try and charge ahead. For a game that promotes its lack of cover shooting as evidence of it’s hardcore action, success comes from conservative and defensive play.

The world of Space Marine is unconventionally colourful, even the super powered Marines themselves wear ornate and bright blue and gold power armour. The world around them is dusty yellow and looks rusted and collapsed during the early encounters against the green skinned Orks. When the real enemies show up later in the game the world palette changes to a sickly purple and violet adding a creepier mood to the proceedings. The sound is suitably brutal and clanky; but the Orks cockney British accents can be a bit grating, making them seem goofy rather than fearsome.

Did everything just taste purple for a second there?

The controls are smooth and effective and switching between shooting and melee is delightfully easy. Players have a rechargeable shield and a health bar that can only be restocked by an execution move or entering rage mode. The execution moves are glorious, quick cut scenes of you crushing and eviscerating enemies. Unfortunately you’re not immune from harm during these execution animations, which sometimes go for several seconds, so an attack from a nearby enemy can easily kill you before you can recover that health. This is definitely an issue with the gameplay as often waves of enemies just keep coming and it’s pretty frustrating trying to recover health this way when rockets are flying all around you. You’re not given a lot of option to mix up your tactics as a result, first take out the shooting enemies, then the regular enemies, then the big bad enemies, and then execute a few stragglers for health, rinse and repeat. Mixing things up gets you killed quickly. Rage mode, in addition to restoring health, doubles you’re melee damage and allows you to shoot in slow motion. Rage mode is really your emergency ‘get out of trouble’ when you need it.

The tougher Ork enemies are identified as Nobs, try not to laugh

Space Marine suffers for being an amateur effort, lacking the perfect balance and flow of a title like Gears that’s had every encounter fine tuned and tested. Parts of Space Marine feel linear, and at times the constant swarm of Orks can be repetitive. A change in enemy forces late in the game happens too late to be savored and certain battles feel frustratingly cheap; especially when bazooka armed Orks are involved. But there are a few moments, such as a battle across a bridge where other Space Marines are getting dropped into the fray around you or the fantastic but too few jump pack levels, when Space Marine really sings. The action is pure anarchy, blasts and laser shots fly in every direction and you’re just firing wildly, slamming your power axe into the head of anyone who gets close enough, stopping to tear a mounted gun from it’s moorings to blast apart a group of enemies. The game has some fantastic battles and set pieces that fry your senses like the best game moments can, but too many just okay moments between them.

The Metlagun is like a shotgun that fires burning blasts of plasma, definitely and emergency clearing weapon

As of writing multiplayer versus is the only mode available with the familiar match types such as death match and territories available, but a coop survival mode will be available at the end of October. The multiplayer has a lot of content, with dozens of challenges and unlockable weapons and armour items for players to work towards. Three Space Marine classes can be chosen from, a basic melee shooting class, a heavy weapon class, and the jump pack enabled class. The unlockable weapons factor means newbie players will have some trouble competing against heavily equipped veterans but levelling is swift thanks to challenges. Overall the multiplayer feels alarming similar to a third person Halo Reach with multileveled complex arenas and armour abilities that allow attacks from every direction. In keeping with the games hand painted model origins, the customisation and colouring options are very comprehensive allowing you to recreate one of the existing chapter appearances or create your own colour scheme, hot pink and orange maybe.

It's hammer time, but they don't show much sign of stopping

If you’re a long time fan of Warhammer 40,000 this is the game you’ve been waiting for. It perfectly captures and translates the table top universe into a shooter without dumbing it down or making it overly complicated for newcomers. Players don’t need to know about the Horus Heresy to enjoy Space Marine, but those in the know will get a wonderful kick out of seeing a fallen chapter make an appearance. The faults with Space Marine, missing coop and uneven pacing, can be excused as a novice effort by a studio untested in the genre. Especially as overall, Space Marine can comfortably stand shoulder to shoulder with its contemporary shooters this year. Glory to the Imperium!