this was my first exposure to the W40K mythos, and my overarching impression based on what little i know is that it probably functions a bit better in RTS or tabletop form. that permeating sense of hostility and indifference afforded by all those mechanical abstractions as you make callous tactical and strategic decisions with the lives of your units, in theory, would go a long way in selling just how brutish and expendable life in this ultrafascist universe is.
having said that, there's merit in a straightlaced and threadbare third person shooter campaign in this world too, precisely because it instead operates on a starship troopers-esque wavelength. space marine isn't nearly as subversive or seductive as it could be - certainly failing to reach true verhoeven heights - but by so warmly embracing form (both that of the archetypal 7th gen corridor shooter and the 6th gen hack and slash power fantasy), and so doggedly committing to its faux-noble glorification of brotherhood, combat, and military service, space marine inadvertently slots itself a few notches above spec ops: the line with regards to relative intelligence. its simplistic suite of mechanics, familarized through genre convention and repetition, only underlines how effortless it is to embody the psychologically stunted role of the space marine, whose subservience to a 'greater' cause, emotionless affect, and death-drive fueled tenacity makes for a suitable one-man-army. the vistas you reach and the environments you inhabit all carry symbolic value, with architectural achievements (and their subsequent destruction/'defilement' post-invasion) frequently serving as justification for further escalation of bloodshed. each and every imperial guard is beyond awestruck by your mere presence, as if to further drive home the hopelessness of this conflict without intrepid intervenors such as yourself. it's a game constantly striving for a catharsis that never really comes.
naturally, divergences from scripture and codex are punished in the religious ultranationalist imperial cult W40K depicts, so it's only fitting that by the campaign's end tidus (and by association, the player) is castigated and incarcerated precisely for the 'valor' that singlehandedly thwarted the hostile takeover of an entire arms manufacturing planet. glory to the machine god, i guess.
having said that, there's merit in a straightlaced and threadbare third person shooter campaign in this world too, precisely because it instead operates on a starship troopers-esque wavelength. space marine isn't nearly as subversive or seductive as it could be - certainly failing to reach true verhoeven heights - but by so warmly embracing form (both that of the archetypal 7th gen corridor shooter and the 6th gen hack and slash power fantasy), and so doggedly committing to its faux-noble glorification of brotherhood, combat, and military service, space marine inadvertently slots itself a few notches above spec ops: the line with regards to relative intelligence. its simplistic suite of mechanics, familarized through genre convention and repetition, only underlines how effortless it is to embody the psychologically stunted role of the space marine, whose subservience to a 'greater' cause, emotionless affect, and death-drive fueled tenacity makes for a suitable one-man-army. the vistas you reach and the environments you inhabit all carry symbolic value, with architectural achievements (and their subsequent destruction/'defilement' post-invasion) frequently serving as justification for further escalation of bloodshed. each and every imperial guard is beyond awestruck by your mere presence, as if to further drive home the hopelessness of this conflict without intrepid intervenors such as yourself. it's a game constantly striving for a catharsis that never really comes.
naturally, divergences from scripture and codex are punished in the religious ultranationalist imperial cult W40K depicts, so it's only fitting that by the campaign's end tidus (and by association, the player) is castigated and incarcerated precisely for the 'valor' that singlehandedly thwarted the hostile takeover of an entire arms manufacturing planet. glory to the machine god, i guess.