The plot: kill all the Orcs. Stomp their pea-green noggins into the ground and rub the resultant brain-paste over your erect nipples. Trust me, there's simply no other way to approach this game. I was five minutes into Space Marine before I unlocked the ‘kill 100 enemies’ achievement. And that, dear reader, should give you a clear indication of the gratuitous levels of murder you're expected to perform.
Do you remember that epic battle from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, where the besieged inhabitants of Helms Deep have to fend off a gazillion Uruk-Hai? Well, that's pretty much what you'll be doing for the entirety of the game, except in this instance you'll be cutting swathes through hordes of Orcs. Wave after wave of 'em, each one baying for your blood in delightful barrow-boy cockney: "Kill those spayce mah-reens!"
Every aspect of the game is geared towards the relentless decimation of the oncoming hordes. Unlike almost every other third person shooter, Space Marine offers no cover mechanic. There's literally nowhere to hide. And so you'll adopt very specific tactics to stop those encroaching Orc blades from meeting with your flesh.
I whittled away the stampeding green bastards with machine gun fire and grenades before finishing off the stragglers with a frenzied bout of hand-to-hand combat. Run ‘n gun, hack ‘n slash – the ease with which you’re able to combine these two play styles is without doubt Space Marine’s greatest strength. The left and right trigger take care of the shooty action while the face buttons control the close quarter combat. And it works beautifully.
The brutal executions are worth a mention too. Stun an enemy for the chance to perform a deliciously violent finisher, a personal favourite being the body-slam-head-stomp. The impressive draw distance allows for some sweet sniper action too. Felling a fleeing Orc with a bullet to his spine is devilish fun.
But not as fun as the jetpack.
Oh dear sweet jetpack, how I yearn for thee. At certain points in the game you’ll happen upon this exhilarating bit of kit. Strap it on and you're instantly transformed from a lumbering front-line soldier into an aeronautical angel of death. Launch high above the marauding hordes of Orcs before propelling yourself at devastating speed into their fleshy green ranks. Death from above, fuckers.
Space Marine’s campaign mode is like the lifespan of an average Orc: brutal, short and crammed with wanton ultra-violence. Ignore Edge magazine's snooty 5/10 review and give this a try. At the very least download the demo from Xbox Live and make an informed decision. You never know, this could be just the thing to tide you over until Gears of War 3 launches.
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