A Look Through The Eyes Of Two Heretics
Space Marine 2 has arrived, 13 years after the original was released, in a sequel that was truly designed for multiplayer but can be played on your lonesome with two AI powered squad mates theoretically helping you out. There were two reviews of interest, both written by people not overly familiar with the grimdark world of Warhammer 40K nor any particular interest in the vast amounts of fluff which accompany any game set in that universe. The second incarnation takes the hordes of the first game and makes them much bigger, after all Tyranids are probably the only thing wut breeds fasta dan de Orks!
Over at Ars Technica you will read about the impressive feel that the in house “Swarm Tech” design gives you as you watch a river of enemies rushing at you from the distance. They were also impressed at how well multi-platform support was implemented, letting you play with anyone on whatever hardware they happen to have, plus the utler lack of invasive DRM like Denuvo interfering with that play. All in all, it felt “like Gears of War, minus the cover, but with heavier characters, more melee combat, and somehow even fewer women.“
The feeling was similar at Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN albeit with a bit more love of the scenery. There are a lot of skulls of course, but so much more to look at while you aren’t adding the skulls of your enemies to the surrounding decor. As with Ars Technica they did see some minor technical glitches but there is also a huge patch dropping on September 9th, the same day the game is actually released. You will find out a bit more about the gameplay at RPS, with mention of their impressions of the block mechanism and dodging during combat. They agree with Ars that Space Marine 2 is best played with friends, but you can handle it on your own if you prefer.
Just remember, you probably played the last one at least ten years ago so you may or may not enjoy Space Marine 2 as much as you recall enjoying the first. Whatever you do, don’t hit that pre-order, wait until it launches!
