Games like this make the Holy Emperor cry.
As soon as the dropship’s doors opened and the game finally raises its ugly head you soon realise that even controlling the player character alone is a chore. The machine I played this game on far exceeded the recommended requirements and yet there was still delay between clicking ‘Fire’ and Kais actually firing. Moving left and Kais moving left. Pressing ‘Reload’ and Kais reloading. Yadi yadi yada…
So, you’re thrown into the deep end of an alien invasion of a human controlled planet. A planet that only has about 100 or so grunts defending it. A planet that should have a PDF and Imperial Guard regiments with men numbering in the 6-8 digits. Where are the enemies? More to the point, the invasion force was lacking something. I’ll tell you what it was lacking; an invasion force. Straight away you find out that the scale of the game has been minimalised. Invasions in the Warhammer 40,000 universe make D-Day look like an exchange of harsh words.
Once you get past the initial problems and compensate for some of the bugs you might start to enjoy yourself. Then, forty-five minutes later, after you’ve done the same thing for the umpteenth time the charm starts to fade. Fast. All you find yourself doing is storming another corridor and vanquishing either the ignorant humans or the twisted powers of chaos. There’s only so much you can take before the ‘Uninstall’ button starts to tempt you.
Graphics
Where to start? Well, let’s take the enemies shall we? There must be about 30 character models in total throughout the whole game. Every Guardsman is the same model. Every Stormtrooper is the same model. Every Space Marine is the same model. I could go on forever. Where are the individualisations such as purity seals, mechanical limbs and marks of rank? No-where to be seen.
You’d swear you were playing the game on minimum settings even though you’ve cranked that graphics level up to the bleeding point. It really is that bad. Games like this make the Holy Emperor cry.
A slight redeeming quality is the fact the weapon models look quite good. Not amazing, just good.
Sound
One of the only positive things I can say about the sound is the use of Sean Pertwee. He is a brilliant actor and voice artist so it’s a shame that his talents were wasted here.
Another good aspect was the Stormtrooper voices. They were very gritty and made the humans seem like the bad guys they actually are.
What’s so wrong with the sound? I’ll tell you. The weapon sounds, the environment sounds, the reloading sounds, the vehicle sounds and the continuing sound of disappointment. None of it seemed to jump out and grab you by the chutzpahs and engross you into the universe.
Value
Unlike many people I know who played this, I paid full whack on day of release for this. I had been waiting a good while for this game to surface, following its progress in various magazines, forums and websites. But when I first jumped out of the dropship, boy did I regret parting with my cash. As a huge Warhammer 40k fan I played on just for the experience (and the hope it might get better). The multiplayer was extremely lacking. Only a handful of maps and game modes. No mapping or mod tools to speak of so this game had a non-existent multiplayer scene.
If you’re a WH40k fan and don’t own this, buy it if you feel the need to own it. But don’t spend a large amount. This is clearly a bargain bin only title nowadays.
Personal Opinion
I actually read the novelisation of this game before the games release. I bloody loved the book, it was incredible. Probably one of the better books from the Black Library. And to say that I enjoyed the book more than the game just dumbfounds me.
As bad and as disappointing as the game is, it did have some fun moments. My favourite to date is on the Tau ship and the fire fight with the Imperial Stormtroopers in the dark. All you could see were the nightvision eyes. That was a moment of pure coolness. If only the rest of the game was like that.
What really wowed me about the game were the stunning cut scenes. They blew me away completely. And the vision of 41st millennium Terra was a sight to behold. It reminded me of Coruscant from the Star Wars prequels.