I used to be midway by means of the opening degree of Warhammer 40,000: Area Marine 2’s marketing campaign, unloading bolt rifle rounds alongside my two squadmates, when I discovered myself smiling at simply how good it feels to be again on this futuristic grimdark fray. It’s been over a decade for the reason that authentic, however Area Marine 2 reinvigorates the squad-based shooter collection with seeming ease. The environments are diversified and breathtaking, the running-and-gunning feels nice, and the sense of comradeship whereas combating along with your staff, be they bots or mates, will be exhilarating. It might not break a lot new floor in its style, nevertheless it didn’t must for me to have a blast taking part in by means of its dozen-hour marketing campaign.
Let’s get this out of the best way early: The unique Area Marine clearly took inspiration from Gears of Battle, and this sequel follows go well with. It’s a squad-based shooter starring closely armored dudes who growl their dialog whereas both capturing weapons or revving Chainswords to beat back invading aliens. The similarities don’t hassle me a bit (particularly when one may make the case that Gears borrowed from Warhammer first). It’s been years since I’ve performed a sport that scratched that exact itch, and Area Marine 2 makes use of the wealthy lore of Warhammer 40k to carve out its personal identification. That’s true in each the meaty marketing campaign that may be performed solo or co-op, in addition to two further modes that allow you to improve your weapons and customise your armor between rounds, which are supposed to maintain you coming again after the credit roll.
The marketing campaign drops you again into the appreciable boots of Demetrian Titus, the hero of the primary installment. It picks up over 100 years later, and does job of explaining the whole lot you could know, whether or not you performed the unique or not. Regardless of the century-long hole, not a lot has modified for our dour hero since we final noticed him. He’s nonetheless a gravelly-voiced, seasoned soldier who doesn’t seem to have aged in any respect due to his genetically-engineered longevity. He’s spent the final century serving within the Area Marines’ Deathwatch chapter, which fits on probably the most harmful of missions. After an intense opening degree that has you deploying a “Virus Bomb,” you’re rewarded on your bravery and dedication by being introduced again into the fold as a blue-armored Ultramarine.
The story is greater than serviceable, and it strikes at a quick clip, sending your squad to fascinating areas throughout a number of planets. It has just a few twists and turns that deliver it to shocking locations, and there’s even some intriguing inter-squad battle to spice issues up. That stated, the entire thing is fairly one-note: it’s all very critical. I get that there’s a conflict happening and lives are on the road, however only a sprint of humor – even the gallows humor many different 40k video games use – would have added a welcome additional dimension.
You are accompanied in your missions by two squadmates who’re bots by default, however you possibly can invite mates to take their place. The bots are serviceable comrades, able to doing their half to fend off enemies and revive you if you fall in battle. However as with most video games like this, it’s extra enjoyable to play with mates, which you’ll coordinate from your own home base, known as the Battle Barge.
Gone are the Orks from the primary Area Marine, and of their place is humanity’s newest intergalactic enemy: the Tyranids. These alien monstrosities are available in many varieties, from hulking Carnifex beasts to hordes of smaller creatures that appear to be xenomorphs or velociraptors. Some can fly, whereas others swarm throughout the bottom, piling on prime of one another to scale cliffs to be able to assault you and the remainder of the Imperial Guard’s forces. You’ll encounter different enemy varieties as you progress by means of the marketing campaign as effectively, which supplies sufficient selection that I hardly ever received bored of blasting them to the shreds with an array of Imperial and alien weaponry.
It’s factor the weapons and melee weapons really feel nice to make use of, as a result of that’s the way you’ll spend the majority of your time in Area Marine 2. You’ll be able to customise your loadout between missions, selecting a main weapon, sidearm, and close-combat accent to begin out with. You additionally discover loads of weapon caches scattered all through the degrees, letting you swap in flamethrowers, plasma blasters, sniper rifles, energy swords, and all method of explosives, from sticky bombs to shock grenades that deploy an electrical area-of-effect. There’s a weapon for each type of encounter – although you normally don’t know what’s forward when you must select. Checkpoints are frequent, although, so in case you get wiped you can also make a extra knowledgeable selection the following time.
Hitting an enemy with any of these weapons produces a satisfying splatter of blood. Bigger enemies on the point of demise flash crimson, indicating you possibly can execute them with a grotesque ending transfer. Performing executions recharges your shields, which is useful, and you may choose up Medicae Stimms to heal, or allow Titus’s Righteous Fury particular capability, which boosts your well being bar as you slice by means of enemies along with your melee weapon. I all the time respect it when recovering well being in a shooter is tied to placing the damage in your enemies.
In reality, simply shifting round feels nice in Area Marine 2. You’re a hulking, closely armored soldier, and strolling feels appropriately chunky – however your character can be extra nimble than he was within the earlier outing, in order that weight isn’t aggravating. It feels excellent.
One of many major drawbacks of the unique Area Marine was its drab brown-and-gray colour palette – an ill-advised development of the period it got here out in. Fortunately, that’s gone in favor of far more colourful and full of life environments within the sequel. Some ranges have you ever tromping by means of alien worlds which are inexperienced and purple and plush with extra-terrestrial flora. Others are set in towering city areas stuffed with gothic buildings with stained-glass home windows. Wherever your squad is deployed, the artwork design is uniformly gorgeous, beautiful sufficient to justify leaving the earlier era of consoles behind.
Most areas are energetic conflict zones, with human troopers combating hordes of enemies each within the foreground and the background. Generally you’re following a tank by means of the ruins of a metropolis, backing up squads of Astra Militarum troopers. Different occasions you’ll see flying Tyranids swarm by means of the sky like a murmuration of starlings whereas platoons of troopers blast projectiles at them. Greater than most navy video games, Area Marine 2 makes it really feel like there actually is a conflict happening, and also you’re just one a part of the hassle. I’m normally not vulnerable to taking screenshots, however right here I discovered myself switching to picture mode in virtually each degree so I may seize the wonder.
The marketing campaign is a fantastic sufficient chunk of sport by itself, however that’s not all you get in Area Marine 2. Along with Titus’s saga, you possibly can play two different modes that aren’t so linear, every related to the opposite: Operations and Everlasting Battle.
Everlasting Battle is a PvP mode, however sadly the pre-launch inhabitants was so low that I wasn’t capable of try it out for this evaluate – I’ll add an replace later with my impressions. I used to be capable of spend time with Operations, nonetheless, which helps you to play aspect missions which are immediately referenced in the primary story however are carried out by different groups whereas Titus does his factor.
In each Operations and Everlasting Battle, you get to select from six courses of Area Marine, every with completely different loadout choices and particular skills. There’s Tactical, which might use an Auspex Scan to focus on and weaken enemies; Sniper has a limited-use camo cloak; Bulwark crops a banner flag that restores the shields of any close by squad mates; Vanguard has a grapnel launcher to drag himself into the motion for shut fight; Assault has the Soar Pack that Titus makes use of often within the marketing campaign; and Heavy get a bubble defend. The entire skills are helpful and enjoyable to make use of in fight.
Taking part in these modes additionally earns you varied currencies you possibly can spend to improve your weapons and customise your armor with cosmetics, which seems to be nice enjoyable. You’ll be able to unlock a ton of neat emblems and charms for each bit of your armor, in addition to new colours that signify the completely different Area Marine chapters. Just about the entire colours look cool as hell, and the decoration choices allow you to adorn your dude with chains, skulls, and different particulars that wouldn’t be misplaced on the quilt of a heavy steel album.
The Operations ranges themselves aren’t all that completely different from those within the marketing campaign, even happening in the identical environments, which does make them somewhat bit much less thrilling. There are at the moment six missions, and whereas taking part in by means of them as soon as was enjoyable – particularly with a staff of co-op companions – I don’t actually really feel compelled to replay them, even to earn forex to improve my weapons and customise my armor. I’m nonetheless desperate to check out the Everlasting Battle PvP mode, in addition to the extra modes promised in developer Saber Interactive’s post-launch roadmap, however at the least at launch the PvE choices are extra a short however amusing distraction relatively than a mode I’ll maintain returning to.