W40k: Space Marine, aka GoW

[waywardOne]

Dean Takahashi

deantaka@gmail.com

 

[DwarvenFood]

How is that relevant to our interests ?

 

[SCO]

It even looks like trollface.

 

[Berekän]

The blood spatters are also quite similar

And the apology update it's four times the size of the original article

(TL;DR)

 

[Morkar Left]

Why's it always about spess mehrens. I don't know much about the 40K lore but compared to the other armies they look lame as hell.

Space marines ARE 40k, they're basically GW's call of duty that keeps the company afloat.

There was a time when that little 10man box of tactical marines accounted for 50% of all their revenue.

This. Many moons ago, when I was a young and impressionable teenager, I played 40K.

I had a nice Ulthwé army and some tyranids, but when I took them to my friendly local gaming store to find opponents, there was an 80% chance of whoever I played against fielding some form of Speez Mahreen army. There's something about them that appeals immensely to the 13-16 year old mind, and those make up the biggest segment of players.

Also, for the same reason that pretty much every Modern or WW2 FPS features Kwanzanian soldiers because the Kwa find them easier to identify with, it's harder to sell a game to non-40K-geeks if what you're playing is recognizably (super)human. Fire Warrior tried to hook the weeaboos with their faggy animu-armor, but was a flop. Personally, I'd love to see an x-com-style TBS game where the player controlled a small group of imperial guardsmen (complete with a commisar to shoot grunts to restore morale). Sadly that isn't likely to happen, since 40K=speez Mahreens in the eyes of THQ.

That said, this looks like it might be a moderately entertaining buttonmasher. Depending on reviews, I may get the special offer versio nof this from Privateer Cove.

Space Marine models had the best stats, best equipment and superior rules ("stand and fight" or how it was called). They were also pretty unexpensive compared to other armies; plastic kits were available relatively cheap for GW and the WH40K starter box had already models of it. Plus they were the good guys (they always sell better) and you could paint them how you wanted. And if you liked the bad guys more you could still use the original models. The backlore encouraged you to invent your own order of space marines plus the lore was interesting.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I appreciate all of the comments here. I've expressed a strong opinion here and I'll stand by it. I hoped to defuse the reaction a little with a sense of humor and by acknowledging the flaws in my own argument. Critics have to take the same stuff that they dish out. You're all entitled to your opinion.

I actually appreciate people who pay close attention to the whole post. I'm the first one to point out that Warhammer's canon pre-dates Gears of War. But you have to acknowledge that the outstanding third-person shooter game play of Gears of War predates any similar outstanding Warhammer 40k video game. So forgive me if I am cynical about the executive decisions here. Video game company A makes a big hit game. Executives at company B say, "we want some of that and we've got the franchise to do it." So they commission a similar game in a different universe. I'd expect this is the kind of thinking that led EA to create an "original" game like Dante's Inferno, which felt an awful lot like God of War.

Now the proof will be in the actual game play, where I expect the Gears-Space Marine comparison will become more obvious. I've seen that game play in a live demo. Now let's see who wants to step forward and say that Space Marine is the most original game they've seen in a long time.

TEH BACKPEDALLIN' HAS BEGUN.

Check the article again for an 'update' section. It's also p lulzy

I've read through the comments and I'd like to set a few things as straight as I can. I don't mind disagreeing with people when it comes to matters of opinion. But I don't want to play too casual with the language here and start the wrong argument. So let me clarify what the post says, what the post didn't say, what the post means to say, and what the post ought to say. Let me first apologize for being vague, imprecise, and casual with my words, for obviously a lot of you care about these words. This is not an apology where I say "I'm sorry" when I really mean to say "fuck off." I am genuinely sorry about being imprecise.

First, this post is not research-backed journalism. I walked into a room, looked at a game, and offered what I thought about it. I've been doing that professionally for around 15 years.

I had the same feeling when I played Dante's Inferno, which was based on a very different Christian mythology than the Greek-focused God of War.

 

[Johannes]

Apparently space marines aren't taught proper firearms handling.

They also don't appear to be accurate size, unless that is a gigantic woman.

She'd have to be near 6.5 feet/2 meters to be around their (Minimum?) general height, so yeah, either pretty big or someone just didn't look into their SM stuff.

Can't really blame him, look at the GW miniatures of a marine and a guardsman, the height difference really isn't much, no matter what their fluff books might say.

Though somebody did correct this mistake a bit, and build some bigger marines:

http://www.sotavasara.net/keskustelu/vi ... hp?t=33433

 

[Destroid]

First, this post is not research-backed journalism. I walked into a room, looked at a game, and offered what I thought about it. I've been doing that professionally for around 15 years.

Videogame journalism right there, what a waste.

 

[Hamster]

Tell me more about guardswomen.

IG has mixed gender but guardswomen figures aren't sold outside special characters.

Wut? Since when? The only human women I remember from WH40k lore were either Bolter Bitches or working for Inquisition directly. Don't remember IG having women at all. Though I stopped following GW's stuff closely since the introduction of 3rd edition - if that was the one where squats got killed off?

Each regiment of IG is formed according to traditions of it's home planet and some may allow women. i even remember reading something about all-female regiments.

 

[Hamster]

Btw, why is every game using boring cadians?

Who wants those boring assholes, when you have Vostroyans:

Armageddon Steel Legion:

Death Korps of Krieg:

 

[Commissar Draco]

They've been recycling assets since first DoW, that's why you had guardsmen breathing fog in tropical jungles of Kronos. Those other more Soviet/WWI Russians from Caiphas Cain novels (Walhalans?) looks intresting too, and BTW they're often gender mixed. RPG about IG woud be pointless as you're realy railroaded and constrined by orders and harsh military discipline, only Inquistion/Rogue trader or detective branch of Adeptus Arbites offer real role playing and C&C. Retribution was nice playing as IG/I though.

 

[kris]

The blood spatters are also quite similar

And the apology update it's four times the size of the original article

(TL;DR)

He was certainly ripped to pieces in the comments.

 

[anus_pounder]

They've been recycling assets since first DoW, that's why you had guardsmen breathing fog in tropical jungles of Kronos. Those other more Soviet/WWI Russians from Caiphas Cain novels (Walhalans?) looks intresting too, and BTW they're often gender mixed. RPG about IG woud be pointless as you're realy railroaded and constrined by orders and harsh military discipline, only Inquistion/Rogue trader or detective branch of Adeptus Arbites offer real role playing and C&C. Retribution was nice playing as IG/I though.

 

[Lesifoere]

I wanted Inquisitor RPG yesterday.

Make it happen. Make it happen right the fuck now.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

Btw, why is every game using boring cadians?

cadians are the ultramarines of the IG

they look the most like future soldiers to non 40k people

and on the fluff side vost are awesome and all that but you shouldn't forget that cadia is right next to the eye of terror which can toughen children right the fuck up

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I wanted Inquisitor RPG yesterday.

Make it happen. Make it happen right the fuck now.

Bioware makes inquisitor RPG, shows Slaanesh in sympathetic light.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

Bioware makes inquisitor RPG

gay eldrad romance

 

[Lesifoere]

I wanted Inquisitor RPG yesterday.

Make it happen. Make it happen right the fuck now.

Bioware makes inquisitor RPG, shows Slaanesh in sympathetic light.

Die in a fire, bovine of many heads.

...oh shit Slaanesh romance and sex scene. Fuck. Or rather let's not fuck that.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

Even their pre picked PR samples are fucked.

Citadel Poorcast
.........LOLcast
.........Shitecast
.........Flashcast
.........Dustcast
.........Concast
.........Ourdoomiscast
.........Swinecast

 

[sgc_meltdown]

games workshop model quality is second only to their commitment to timely and well thought out rules updates

 

[Destroid]

Wow, those are awful. But honestly you'd be foolish to buy the first batch from a new process applied on such a large range.

 

[ComradeCommissar]

I wanted Inquisitor RPG yesterday.

Make it happen. Make it happen right the fuck now.

Bioware makes inquisitor RPG, shows Slaanesh in sympathetic light.

Khorne was really just misunderstood and joins teh good fight against his old Chaos bros.

Orks are now progressing as a scholarly and diplomatic race, that want to abandon their savage and fewlish old ways to get along with everybody, but you gotta convince a few old Warbosses with a high enough Negotiate/Intimidate skill to...

Spoiler

If I keep going I think I might kill myself

 

[Johannes]

They've been recycling assets since first DoW, that's why you had guardsmen breathing fog in tropical jungles of Kronos. Those other more Soviet/WWI Russians from Caiphas Cain novels (Walhalans?) looks intresting too, and BTW they're often gender mixed. RPG about IG woud be pointless as you're realy railroaded and constrined by orders and harsh military discipline, only Inquistion/Rogue trader or detective branch of Adeptus Arbites offer real role playing and C&C. Retribution was nice playing as IG/I though.

Just depends on the world and assignment you're on. Not that you necessarily need "real role playing"/C&C to make an RPG.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I try to RP a Fallout playthrough as an Inquisitor every now and then.

Now you must make an LP of it.

 

[Morkar Left]

pics

Even their pre picked PR samples are fucked.


Citadel Poorcast
.........LOLcast
.........Shitecast
.........Flashcast
.........Dustcast
.........Concast
.........Ourdoomiscast
.........Swinecast

I didn't know that their quality is fucked up with the time. I remembered the models very expensive but of high quality

 

[Gragt]

Or maybe ask Blizzard to do a WH40K game.