War, death, and demons are just a way of life in the Warhammer 40k universe. It's a crappy place to live, but makes an awesome setting for the third-person action game, Space Marine. Developer Relic Entertainment does the 40k franchise justice, telling a great Warhammer story that's enjoyable whether or not you're familiar with the world. Disappointing games like Warhammer 40k: Fire Warrior taught me to expect the worst, but Space Marine is a satisfyingly violent shooter/hack-n-slash combo. If it didn't have a number of polish issues and some problematic pacing it'd be even better, but is still a good start for the Space Marine series and a nice treat for Warhammer fans. In Space Marine you play as Captain Titus, leader of a contingent of space marines known as Ultramarines. Sent to a world besieged by millions of Orks, you and a scarce few of your battle brothers go in to see if you can stymie the overwhelming invading horde. Not exactly an original story, but it succeeds in giving your character proper motivation to start dismembering foes. It eventually develops into a genuinely interesting yarn, filled with betrayal, tragedy and a number of other twists. In short: it turns into a good, fun story, whether or not you're familiar with the franchise. The cut-scenes do tend to be irriating, however. They look great, but also interrupt the gameplay so frequently that it makes it hard to just settle in and enjoy the ride. It isn't uncommon in Space Marine to have two cut-scenes spaced out only seconds apart, connected by nothing of interest. It's not necessary, and it takes me out of the experience.
