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* this article is translated from ign us related content, the original author is chris reed, and the translation is tony. reproduction without permission is prohibited.

halfway through the first level of warhammer 40,000: space marine ii, i was smiling as my two teammates and i fired bolter bullets at each other. it felt great to be back in this dark future.

more than a decade after its predecessor, starfighter 2 seems to have effortlessly reinvigorated the squad-based shooter series. the environments are colorful and stunning, the run-and-gun feel is excellent, and it's exhilarating to fight alongside your comrades, whether they're real or ai. while starfighter 2 doesn't break the mold of the genre by inventing a new way to play, i still had a blast playing it for about 12 hours.

i want to make it clear up front that the original space marine was clearly inspired by gears of war, and the same is true of this sequel. it's a squad-based shooter featuring a bunch of hunks in heavy armor who speak in deep, raspy voices and fend off alien creatures with guns and chainswords. but the similarities don't bother me, especially when you can say "gears of war borrowed from warhammer 40,000 first."

it’s been years since a game has scratched that itch for me, and space marine 2 takes advantage of the rich setting of warhammer 40,000 and makes its own statement, both in the rich campaign (which can be played solo or in co-op) and in two bonus modes that encourage you to keep playing after you’ve finished the campaign (in which you can upgrade your weapons and customize your armor between runs).

in the campaign, players will once again play as the original protagonist demetrius titus. the plot takes place a hundred years after the previous game, but whether you have played the previous game or not, the game does a good job of explaining the background information you need to know. despite the gap of a century, our stern protagonist has not changed much.

he is still the same husky-voiced, experienced, and skilled warrior, and thanks to the extra longevity brought by genetic technology, he doesn't look any older. for the past 100 years, he has been fighting for death watch and carrying out the most dangerous missions. after a thrilling battle in the prologue level and completing the mission of deploying the "virus bomb", his bravery and loyalty were rewarded and he became a blue-armored ultramarines again.

the story is of very good quality and has a tight pace. the story takes your squad to many interesting locations on multiple planets. there are also some unexpected twists and turns along the way, and some interesting intra-squad conflicts that add a lot of fun to the process. having said that, the overall atmosphere is still relatively monotonous: very serious. i know this is wartime and every mission is a matter of life and death, but if a little humor can be added, i think the experience will be better (even if it is a hell joke like many other "40k" games).

when you're on a mission, you'll have two teammates with you, who are ai-controlled by default, but you can also invite friends to replace them. the ai ​​teammates are fairly reliable, able to pin down enemies and revive you after you're down. but like most squad-based games, it's more fun to play with friends. if you want to work together online, you can complete the coordination of the team in the battle barge base.

the enemy this time is no longer the orcs in the first generation, but the latest interstellar enemy of mankind - the tyranids. these alien monsters have various forms, from the burly and tall tyranid executioners to small zergs that look like aliens or velociraptors. there are many types.

they can fly, swarm from the ground, or even scale cliff faces in a jenga-style attempt to attack you and the rest of the imperial guard, and as you progress you encounter more enemy types, which provide plenty of variety, so i rarely got bored as i blasted them to smithereens with both imperial and alien weaponry.

guns and melee weapons feel good, which is a good thing, because you'll spend most of your time in starfighter 2 with them. you can adjust your loadout between missions, changing your starting primary, secondary, and melee gear for the next mission. you'll also find a lot of weapon crates throughout the levels, which can provide you with flamethrowers, plasma guns, sniper rifles, power swords, and more. you'll also find a variety of explosives, from sticky bombs to aoe stun grenades.

each encounter has a weapon that's best suited to it, but you often don't know what you're going to encounter when you choose your weapon. fortunately, there are many automatic save points, so if you fail, you can make a better choice next time.

no matter which weapon you use, hitting an enemy with a splash of blood is a delightful experience. large enemies that are dying will glow red, which means you can finish them off with a brutal execution. executions also recharge your shields, which is useful; you can also recover health with medkits you pick up, or if you activate titus's "rage of justice" skill, you can recover health when you hit an enemy with a melee weapon. i really like the design of restoring status by damaging the enemy.

in fact, just moving around in starfighter 2 is a joy. you're a big, armored soldier who feels heavy when you walk, but titus is more agile than in previous games and doesn't feel overly bulky, so the heaviness feels just right.

one of the downsides of the original space marine was its dull brown/grey color scheme (a popular, albeit ill-advised, trend back in the day), but the sequel doesn't follow suit and the environments are more colorful and alive.

some levels have you trekking through alien planets that are dominated by green and purple and full of lush exotic vegetation. other levels are set in tall urban areas full of gothic architecture with stained glass windows. no matter where your squad is deployed, the art design is always amazing, and it's a good reason to ditch the last generation of consoles.

most areas are battle zones, with human soldiers fighting enemy hordes in both the near and far shots. sometimes you'll follow a tank through the ruins of a city, providing reinforcements to the astra militarum. sometimes you'll see tyranids flying through the air like flocks of starlings, with human soldiers on the ground firing at them.

compared with many military-themed games, starfighter 2 makes players feel that they are really participating in a war and that they are just a part of the whole war. i generally don't like to take screenshots when playing games, but the beautiful scenery here prompted me to turn on the photo mode in almost every level.

the campaign mode offers a lot of game content, but it's not all starfighter 2. in addition to titus' story, you can also play two non-linear modes that are linked to each other: operations mode and eternal war mode.

eternal war is a pvp mode, but unfortunately, due to the small number of players before the release, i have not been able to experience it seriously. i will add my feelings in this regard after the release. but i spent a lot of time playing the pve "operation mode". this mode consists of a series of side quests mentioned in the main storyline - when titus advances the main storyline, other teams perform those combat missions, and in the action mode, you are a member of those teams.

there are six classes to choose from in operations and eternal war, each with different gear and special abilities. tacticians can use a "divine box scan" to mark and weaken enemies; snipers can use camouflage cloaks to become invisible; heavy soldiers can put up flags to restore shields for nearby friendly forces; vanguards can use grappling hooks to approach enemies; assault soldiers carry a jump pack that titus occasionally uses in the main story; and special forces can activate a bubble-shaped barrier. all of these abilities are very useful and fun to use.

playing these two modes also earns you several currencies that can be used to upgrade weapons and customize armor. after actually trying it, i found the customization system quite interesting. you can unlock a lot of interesting emblems and weapon pendants, as well as armor colors representing different chapters. almost all of the colors are cool as hell, and you can also decorate your battle brothers with small parts with heavy metal temperament such as chains, skulls, etc.

the levels in operations aren’t that different from the campaign, and even use the same environments, which is a bit of a letdown. there are currently six maps in operations, and while they were fun to play the first time (especially with friends), i really don’t have the motivation to play them over and over again, even for currency. i’m still looking forward to the pvp experience of eternal war mode, and i’m also looking forward to the new modes that developer saber interactive has promised in its update roadmap, but at least at launch, starfighter 2’s pve mode can only serve as an interesting short-term diversion rather than a mode that tempts me to play again and again.

summarize

warhammer 40,000: space marine ii is a very good third-person shooter with an engrossing story, a ton of really fun weapons, and a wide variety of enemies. it once again borrows a lot of ideas from the gears of war series, but it's a good take on what's good, and space marine ii does a great job of making it its own. while the pve "operation mode" doesn't keep me coming back for more, the space marine customization system is deep, and if the new modes planned for post-launch updates continue to support it, it has a lot of potential to unlock. plus, it's hard not to feel satisfied when you're slaughtering aliens on such a beautiful planet.

advantage

• excellent shooting feel and battlefield atmosphere creation
• the storyline is of good quality and the content is fascinating
• rich custom equipment system

• the basic gameplay lacks novelty
• the number and variety of maps are relatively small