This is gonna be a long-ass day...
Graia- a forgeworld of the Imperium of Man- has come under attack by the green-skinned hordes of the Orks. The planet is of critical importance to the war effort. With no other viable option to maintain control of the planet, it's resources, and the Titan war machines manufactured there, the Imperium has dispatched the Ultramarines chapter of the Space Marines to halt the invasion and retake the planet.
Enter Captain Titus: Hero. Tool of the Imperium. Angel of Death. A one-man wrecking crew to whom "fear" is a word known, but only in the context of it's effect on his enemies. He's on a mission and no damnable Ork is going to stop him.
That's about all the information you get before starting Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. At that point you're dropped(quite literally) into the fray and the rest of the game's exposition will take the form of cutscenes and audiologs.
The cutscenes expound on the immediate story- the next objective, the next obstacle, the next step toward victory. The audiologs, however, present more of the view of 'how we came to this,' and in some cases give a rather chilling account of the initial invasion from the point-of-view of the civillian populace and the factory workforce. When walking through one of the Manufactorums that construct the massive Warlord class Titans, the automated PA system(which is about the only thing still running after the Orks have torn through) also sheds some light on the conditions imposed on the factory workers, and thereby the state of the Imperium itself.
Titus' stoic, nearly robotic demeanor might have alienated the character from the player were it not for his interaction with his subordinates and the common footsoldiers: when the Imperial Guardsmen make audio contact with the Ultramarine captain, there is a quiet sense of awe when they address him as 'my lord;' When Titus passes through an outpost that isn't currently under siege, the guardsmen snap to attention at his approach. All these details serve to ground the uninitiated in the fact that the Ultramarines are much more than mere soldiers- they're something approaching royalty -or even gods- in the eyes of the common imperial guardsman.
When dealing with his subordinates- or battle brothers, as he refers to them- Titus will make it perfectly clear that he is in charge, but never with scorn or sarcasm. All his dealings- with his equals or his inferiors- are conducted with quiet respect, and the unspoken understanding that he is undeniably in charge.
The gameplay can best be described as powerful- from the feel of the melee combat, to the satisfyingly meaty THWOCK of explosive-tipped rounds slamming into ork flesh, right down to the clomping of your ridiculously huge metal boots pounding the pavement. This game seems to take pride in portraying the Space Marines as more of a force of nature than actual soldiers when on the battlefield.
The combat itself is a curious mix of Gears of War, Koei's multitudinous Warriors titles and Halo. With Gears' oversized Manly-Men with Guns and focus on bloody death to the enemy, Warriors' myriad enemies lined up to water the battlefield with their lifeblood, and Halo's then-revolutionary recharging shield, non recharging health mechanic. But at the same time, it refrains from being mired in it's gameplay inspiration, while luxuriating in it's source material. This game is obviously built by Warhammer fans for Warhammer fans and to create new Warhammer fans.
For a game that will never be mistaken for a Triple-A blockbuster, it shows a remarkable amount of heart and attention to detail- from the guardsman who breathes his last thanking the emperor that he got to see a Space Marine before he died to the 2nd Lieutenant who delivers Patton-esque ass-chewing to a soldier about to break under the strain. 38,000 years in the future when the entire galaxy is locked in a never ending war and it can still tell a very human story.
Bravo.
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