Warhammer 40K: Kill Team Video Game Review

Just a few days ago THQ and Games Workshop dropped what some are calling a “Space Marine demo” available for direct download.  Kill Team is a local co-op top down arcade style game based around the idea of a small (actually much smaller than normal if you really know about kill teams) Space Marine attack force assaulting an Ork Kroozer to prevent it from making contact with an Imperial Forgeworld.  If you’re a fan of the Games Workshop Warhammer 40K world and enjoy a good ‘ol button masher Gauntlet style top down game, this is for you.  So let’s get this thing started.

Initial thoughts on the game are good.  The opening short video is quality, the graphics are very Dawn of War, and game play is simple but still offers some challenges.  Overall the game look is nice.  In game the graphics are nice and only occasionally will get a little busy with explosions to the point where things aren’t that clear.  Likewise there is one level that’s a bit darker than others and can make things a bit difficult to not fall off narrow walkways, but these are minor things.

Game play of course is the most important part, so lets look at that.  First you have two game types, both with solo and co-op options.  The campaign mode takes you through 5 different stages of your kill team penetrating deeper into the bowels of the Ork ship.  The levels are lengthy enough to make the game worthwhile to play, but as I’ve been pushing to unlock all the achievements, it can be a little repetitive.  There is also a survival mode which you play on small, almost one screen sized, parts of the larger campaign boards and the goal is simply to last.

As mentioned before the game has no Xbox Live integration and only allows local co-op. Live integration would have been nice however, I’m sure they want to save some goodies for Space Marine when it drops, not to mention the added coding I’m sure is necessary for that probably isn’t worth the price point.  If you’re not a person who lives close to, or has a means to reach, their gaming buddies, this may make an achievement or two difficult, but it’s not the end of the world.

There are four characters, all taken from the Space Marine codex.  Each character has a special ability, a melee attack, and a ranged attack.  In addition there are two slots for upgrades that you unlock as you play.  One of each character’s weapons are able to be upgraded through unlocks as well, the other you’re just stuck with.  However in most cases this isn’t really a problem as either they are pretty well balanced out or your primary attack is much stronger.

First up we have the Librarian:

He’s a psyker with a force sword that can be upgraded to the flaming force sword of sliciness (aka Epic Force Sword) and you want to get to this option asap.  His ranged weapon is a standard bolt pistol, it’s solid so make good with it.  His special ability is a psychic blast that explodes in a small radius surrounding him, good for getting lots of close baddies out of the action quick.  A word of warning though, it takes about 2-3 seconds to charge once you’ve activated it.

The Sternguard Veteran:

These are the ranged specialists of the Space Marines.  They have the option of the Heavy Bolter, Plasma Cannon, or the Missile Launcher.  Each can serve their own purpose I suppose, however it seems the PC is just a different skinned and slightly stronger HB, both of which fire in three round bursts.  I kept trying to like the ML but it seems to not do well striking enemies near by, even though there is the explosive radius.  Overall, the Heavy Bolter with ranged damage upgrade is my favorite, mostly because of the visceral feel of the gun.  His melee attack is a heavy pimp slap, it works but don’t depend on it.  Special ability is super crazy torrential hail of fire.

The Vanguard Veteran:

Here we have the close combat specialists of the Marine chapters.  The Vanguard Vets use a standard Plasma Pistol, nothing special, and begin with a Chainsword, with the options to upgrade to Power Axe, and finally Lightning Claw.  His special ability is using his jet pack to buzz around for a couple seconds before smashing into the ground.

The Techmarine:

These guys are the engineers, the blue-collar guys, of the 41^st millennium if you will.  Half mechanic and half priest, they administer all the rituals to the vehicles of the Marine fleets.  He has a servo arm attached to his backpack for melee attacks, it’s solid and with a melee perk upgrade, it’s dope.  His ranged weapons are Boltgun, Plasma Gun, or Meltagun.  Boltgun’s are solid but when you’re looking for damage the Meltagun is king.  It takes a little getting used to as it’s essentially a beam of light so it’s a little different to aim.  His special ability is perhaps the most useful in solo game, the Tarantula Sentry Gun.  He builds a huge gun emplacement that self targets.

In general all the characters are fun to play.  For co-op the Libraian\Sternguard combo is probably most balanced with the Sternguard\Techmarine for ultra killy.  Hands down the Techmarine is the best character in the game.  He’s got solid melee with extra potential, and great ranged damage, but when paired with the ability charge perk and his Tarantula gun, he becomes a damage machine.

Extras in the game include unlockable perks for Health, Melee Damage, Ranged Damage, Ability Charge, Ability Enhance, and Grenade Slots.  There are five different Marine Chapters to choose from, fifteen achievements to unlock, codex entries, and a power sword upgrade for the upcoming Space Marine game coming out.  As for replay value, it’s there but don’t expect to be on this like CoD.  It’s a simple shooter style game.  Not a lot of thinking involved, but that can be a good thing.  I like it.  It’s fun.  It’s cheap.  It’s a win as far as I’m concerned.

My only complaints are based on knowledge of the 40K universe.  The Plasma Cannon acts more like a Plasma Gun.  The Bolt Pistol is far stronger than the Plasma Pistol, and there’s no way a Chain Sword should be stronger than a Power Sword, come on.  And as far as game design, most levels require you to blast away at some targets to accomplish tasks and it can be difficult with the Librarian and Vanguards pistols to do this effectively, so there’s a little imbalance.  Grenades help, but aren’t prolific enough to be a solution.