This is a tale about undertaking green-skinned genocide with a sword (that is also a chainsaw) that holds a promise of much action. Compared to the Imperial Guard soldiers you come across, you are a giant armored behemoth of a soldier wielding weapons that are conceivably the size of your allies.
I have played this game before. When I first bought it many moons ago, I sunk several hours in to it before finally giving up from the tedium of combat. The game was responsive enough but beyond killing more orcs than a hungry hungry hippo could choke down, there wasn't much reason to stay. Returning to it now (and sinking a few more hours in) and I'm surprised I even stuck with it this long.
I've already covered its good point so let me cover the remainder of the game. After the initial rush of getting in to the story and unlocking weapons, there is a HUGE amount of running between checkpoints for story updates. This would be okay if your movement wasn't that of the lumbering tank that you appear to be. The issue is amplified when using a controller because when you're using a keyboard and mouse, the digital input throws you automatically in to run mode. For some reason, when playing with a controller you end up in a form of "runners limbo" - not really running, being animated with the running animation but moving as slowly as if every limb was coated in treacle.
And this feeds nicely in to the combat. What can I say about it? You're a walking gun platform. There is no subtlety to the action, no nuance of expression in how you slaughter the horde of opponents. You can choose several methods of dealing damage through the weapons available but it is much of the same. Melta guns do damage in a cone (shotgun), grenade launcher is a grenade launcher, heavy bolter is a machine gun... you get the drift. You stand there firing your guns and throwing grenades until some poor Orcs are finally close enough to be subjected to your melee weapon.
Now, once you've cleared the horde, time to run some more to pick up that next bit of story. Hell, While entering the Imperial Manufactorium I think I spent 10 minutes running between story updates. It would be somewhat impressive to see if there is a speed run of this game because unless there are some serious glitches available, I doubt you'd see the end credits before everyone had already left.
Pros:
- So many ways to kill Orcs
- Looks very very good
- The closest you'll ever come to being an actual Space Marine
Cons:
- All you do is kill Orcs
- Troublesome controls
- Story updates are not enough of a payoff for time spent getting them
