Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Before we go any further into this, we all know why Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine flopped. Its publisher, THQ, died a monumental death and all of its licenses went up in the air. So that’s one problem. The second reason why this title died was the sales figures. It launched in Europe the same week that Dead Island was first birthed into the world. Now when you put a franchise that much of the gaming audience hasn’t really heard about up against the advertising behemoth – which also had zombies – of Dead Island, the battle was only going to come out one way.
So Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine died a horrible yet honorable death. Here’s why it shouldn’t have. The game was a huge risk that sort of paid off for developers Relic. It scored fairly well among critics with a Metascore of 74, but it scored a complete win with fans of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Up until the launch of Space Marine, Warhammer 40,000 fans had to make do with recreations of their favorite tabletop hobby.
This was far from a bad thing because Dawn of War – also made by Relic -was widely regarded as a good game. What Space Marine did was bring the franchise to life with an almost-terrifying level of attention to detail. Every building and every character was made to fit into the lore perfectly. Nothing felt out of place and, most importantly, you actually felt like a Space Marine while playing it.
You never dodged behind cover to avoid damage. You instead took the damage and ran headlong into your enemies, slaughtering them in visceral executions to regain health. There wasn’t a blocking mechanic for melee, just pure unhinged chainsword-grinding combat. Add to that a surprisingly fun multiplayer element which allowed players to create their own Space Marine with customization options using parts unlocked during gameplay and you had a near-perfect rendition of a much-loved universe that broke the boundaries of tabletop gaming.
It simply wasn’t to be it seems, which is a shame since Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine finished on a surprise cliffhanger which may now never be finished. We think we speak for every Warhammer 40,000 fan out there when we say that this is one of the most tragic gaming flops of the last generation of gaming.
