Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine demo showdown

By Richard Leadbetter Published 30 August, 2011

Digital Foundry analysis of the PS3/360 demos.

THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine may well have picked up some bizarre, unflattering press recently for its superficial similarities to Gears of War, but our experience of the recently released playable demo is almost entirely positive with the game offering up an intriguing spin on the established third person shooter formula.

In terms of the core gameplay, Space Marine's approach is almost completely at odds with Epic's franchise: for a start it's not a cover-based shooter, instead melding third person blasting with highly satisfying melee combat a touch reminiscent of Dynasty Warriors. Visually, the game may not have the same level of technical finesse as the Gears of War 3, but it has its own charms - like an unshakably solid in-game frame-rate, a core component in why the game feels so good to play.

The majority of console games target 30 frames per second, but it's safe to say that some are more successful than others. A lot of the time we see screen-tear, dropped frames or both, depending on engine load - fitting the rendering of the frame into a strict 33.33ms window isn't easy.

Edited highlights of Space Marine's first demo level, establishing its rock-solid performance.

Space Marine is remarkable in that in our tests we saw a locked 30FPS with v-sync throughout the entirety of the in-game action. The game doesn't really seem to be too ambitious in terms of environmental detail, but it can throw a hell of a lot of enemies at the player, and there are some pleasing blending effects that kick in during the heat of the melee action. The locked frame-rate remains no matter which console you're playing on: both 360 and PS3 are remarkably solid throughout.

Space Marine's sheer consistency is a great asset: controller response feels good and there's no lag regardless of how much is happening on-screen. The developers understand that the more enemies there are on-screen, the more annoying frame-rate drops can be: when the action is at its most intense, consistency in update and response becomes that much more important to the player.

Another differentiating factor between the various 30FPS games we see on console comes down to the implementation of motion blur. Blending frames together produces a more lifelike, smoother image, mimicking the kind of look we see in TV shows (many of which are shot on film at 24 or 25FPS). In this regards, Space Marine also delivers a smooth, polished presentation with a very nice motion blur implementation.

The jetpack stage suggests that Space Marine has some interesting tricks up its sleeve to add some variety to the gameplay.

The demo offers up two different levels, the second of which sees you equipped with a jetpack-style contrivance you can use to jump, glide and power smash down on opponents, which adds some variety to the gameplay - either pick off enemies from afar or swoop down and annihilate the horde with some gravity-assisted justice. Once again, performance is remarkably solid on both platforms.

We spent a little time comparing the two versions of the game outside of basic performance. We saw some minor lighting differences, and some odd, very minor differences in the way that textures are handled, none of which are in any way noticeable during the run of play. Overall image quality is good, though the post-process anti-aliasing seemed a little old-skool compared to the FXAAs and MLAAs we've been spoiled with recently, and sub-pixel detail didn't look so great in the demo. Resolution-wise, it seems that 360 does have the advantage here - we reckon it's 1200x720 on the Microsoft console, while PS3 seems to be closer to 1152x640. Perhaps it's down to the anti-aliasing which in some ways actually seems to emphasise "jaggies", but in motion both versions do look very similar.

In all, we had a good time with the Space Marine demo on both platforms. The overall experience is as close to like-for-like as we've seen in recent times - a good sign for the final game, which is set for release on September 9.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (43) Latest comment 9 months ago

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  • telboy007 #1 9 months ago

    Did enjoy the demo quite a lot, although the second level with the jet pack was far too short - quite enjoyed flying about and smashing the green guys into mush.

  • billy-beauts #2 9 months ago

    Ha! In your face Xbots. Don't you know parity means PS3 wins because their games don't come in queer green boxes.

  • chaywa #3 9 months ago

    "while PS2 seems to be closer to 1152x640."

    I'd be very surprised if a PS2 could output at 640p

  • GamesConnoisseur #4 9 months ago

    Demo was ok, yes quite smooth (X360), but my concern if there are enough gameplay and wide variety of challenges in it to attract me. As felt as if you played five mins and that all you need to know?

    Same can be actually said of Gears of War but the fun every minute of the game attracted me.

    Strangely I prefers Fire Team shooter approach to this, but does look like this may have more to show and so ll keep my eyes on this.

  • nemesisND1derboy #5 9 months ago

    Didn't realise there was a PS2 version. Might have to bust out the ol' hog.

    :D

  • Der_tolle_Emil #6 9 months ago

    I played the demo on PC because I don't have gold and the demo is a gold member exclusive but I enjoyed it a lot more than I should have. It's actually much less of a Gears of War clone that I was afraid it would be. There are quite a few nuances to the game that I really like, for example that there is no auto fire for your gun and you have to press the trigger repeatedly to fire it. The boss melee fights were also quite entertaining and I found the game to be remarkebly difficult for today's standards. And the best of all: No recharging health! I will buy the game for that reason alone.

    On topic though: I hope the PS3 version catches up in terms of resolution (though I suppose it is barely noticeable) until final release although I think this is highly unlikely. I cannot thank Digital Foundry enough for this early showdown though because as with Deus Ex I have yet to decide wether to get this for the PC or the 360. Couch + Big TV still beats 1080p60 if you ask me.

  • HugePS3Fan #7 9 months ago

    @billy-beauts

    Aren't we better than that?

  • thesombrerokid #8 9 months ago

    lol wtf did you write this on the toilet, 2 versions? there's 3 ps2 resolution is 1152x640? lolwut

  • CaptainQuint #9 9 months ago

    Surprisingly enjoyed the demo very much. The controls are tight and satisfying. I reckon this'll be a gem in the vain of Transformers: War for Cybertron. Here's hoping the multiplayer is just as good as it was in that game.

  • The-Jack-Burton #10 9 months ago

    I downloaded both PS3/360 demos and the 360 seems to look slightly better, as was detailed in the analysis.

    I was surprised at how much fun the demo was, and it has a very polished feel to the gameplay. The camera gets wonky when you get cornered by a bunch of enemies though. I just may pick this up.

  • Sharzam #11 9 months ago

    Tried the demo on both PS3 and PC, ok i knew that PC would be better but the shear amount of difference i was surprised about.

    It really feels like a better game on PC not just the extra shiny but the fps boost really made the combat more fun and less clunky also despite being a third person game i rather liked the mouse in melee combat.

  • Ryuken #12 9 months ago

    News flash: there was also a PC demo, a brilliantly executed one at that.

  • xuiton #13 9 months ago

    I tried the PC and PS3 version. The PC version by far was the best, not only looked more colourful etc, it never once dropped from 60fps. Games feel so much better at 60fps. I'll be buying it on the PS3 though, to play with my friends.

  • bcxixa10 #14 9 months ago

    I never played an WarHammer game , but this one impressed me a lot. Fun, lots of enemies to destroy , Hack and slash with shooter ... very cool

  • curryking3 #15 9 months ago

    Where's the PC version in the comparison...? This game runs better on my laptop than my PS3 (not a Razor 'gaming laptop' either). 1366x768, highest settings, and runs plenty smooth! :-)

    Great game nonetheless! Space Marines don't need silly cover! :-D

  • riseer #16 9 months ago

    I downloaded the Pc version runs like a dream on my old Pc.4Gigs 450gts core 2 duo.Runs the game maxed with everything cranked up.I thought the Ps3 version was fine just theirs are so many games this year and i gotta get Resistance 3 Uncharted 3 atleast.

  • riseer #17 9 months ago

    Yea i run at 1680x1050 which pwns any console atm..

  • syra #18 9 months ago

    Oddly I expected this to run much better on my ps3 than laptop (core2duo 2.13ghz, 4gb ram, ati mobility 4500) but it was almost identical playing on low/medium settings, with a better framerate on my laptop. Console versions have ugly shadows and quite sketchy aliasing. Pushing it up to high on pc is far far superior.

    edit - running it at 1366x768 on the low spec laptop
    Edited by syra at 30/08/11 @ 21:15

  • spiderignacio #19 9 months ago


    I really loved the Demo, in fact I finished it 3 times... Hope the game is released soon. Must-have for me.

  • Totza #20 9 months ago

    I'm suprised so many people liked this game :| I played it on the 360 and the gameplay was very boring...

  • Badassbab #21 9 months ago

    Steam says I already have the demo downloaded and installed which is bullshit. Anyway around this?

  • CaptainQuint #22 9 months ago

    @riseer

    Did you play it with your Captain Obvious helmet on?

  • MrHuk #23 9 months ago

    It's nice to see a console game actually maintaining 30fps solid for a change. I played the console demo's and they both felt smooth, which is a rarity these days. I have the game pre-ordered for PC though, you just can't beat 60fps solid (vSync) @ 1080p, plus I much preferred using KB/M, especially when using the jet pack. My pick for 2011 sleeper hit.

  • Seoh #24 9 months ago

    PC version is not officially available in the UK which is probably what stopped them comparing.

    I tried PC and 360, conclusion; its a console game that has to be played with a joypad but runs better, looks prettier and is cheaper on the PC

  • TheGuvernor #25 9 months ago


    Great demo on PC - different to GoW & more enjoyable imo.
    Here come the negs...

  • BouncingOffClouds #26 9 months ago

    Disturbing when achieving a solid 30fps is not common. This is not a diss, nor troll. Given an EA exec's comment about not being sure what they could do on PS4, and the comments that often encapsulated "full direct 11-12, at fixed 60 fps at true 1080", I do feel there are far too many games on the current gen that struggle with a constant 30fps. I downloaded the demo of this on my laptop, and it was smooth at 30 fps mostly maxed, but camera in corners leapt to 60 fps (wish there was a fps limiter that I could fins worked....-prefer rock solid 30 as my pc can't always get 60 minimum and i hate tear to v-synch is de rigeur for me). PC owners can usually tweak enough to get something at 30fps, but console owners usually are stuck with what they are given. I feel 30fps locked should be the least they deserved and if devs are struglling with that and certain effects, let console owners have them as optional and make the trade off between fps and effects like we can on PC (although I doubt it's easy to do it to the same level).

    Regarding the game, ecstatic it had a demo, really keen on this title, but felt disappointed playing it. I'll give it another bash, but....just hasn't clicked with me, at least not yet. I can see it's got a lot of strong points so for those who enjoy the feel of it I think it should be good.
    Edited by BouncingOffClouds at 31/08/11 @ 06:15

  • UncleLou #27 9 months ago

    Why do PC nerd fanboys

    PC nerds have fanboys? Cool.

  • UncleLou #28 9 months ago

    Yeah it does, kb/m felt more natural to me, though. Always nice to have a choice.

  • taurus82 #29 9 months ago

    Loved the PS3 demo, though it would've been nice if the camera was at a wider angle during melee combat.

  • jedi99 #30 9 months ago

    Downloaded the PS3 demo which was great but also found a link, which is supposed to be on Steam, for the PC demo. I just wanted to find out how it handled with mouse and keyboard. With months of sparse games this is a joy. Runs so smoothly set at 1280x1024 with everything on high and great graphics. I'll be getting this!!!

  • SpaceMonkey77 #31 9 months ago

    Who wins? Who really cares? I don't. I'm just glad that this 40K demo was a lot of fun, and i've added it to my buy list.

    Busy month. Deus Ex, Dead Island, Space Marine, Gears 3 and Fifa 2012.

  • telboy007 #32 9 months ago

    When you're running about, the vibrations and heavly clanking noise, the blood and guts flying about, embedding power axes in heads, chainsword slicing and dicing, the weapon noises... it just works really nicely.

  • ShovelyJoe #33 9 months ago

    I loved the demo. Not over by the Gears 'shiny shiny' argument - it is all about game mechanics. This has the perfect balance of gunning and stabbing for me and it also looks like it caters for different people's appetites quite nicely. Like my mate would rather sit back and pop headshots off whilst I would rather run in and charge the b*stards. I also love the game mechanic of forcing you into combat in order to regain health. It is extremely unforgiving, even on medium difficulty but at the same time so rewarding, as you rip the jaw off the Nobs, as you see your health rapidly depleting.

    What I am even more excited about, is that there is such a variety of characters, history, and fantastic stroyline in the 40k universe that if they pull this off and it is successful - we could be witnessing the beginning of a really successful franchise that will only grow and improve over time.

    I would still love the idea of a game following the life of one space wolvf/ black templar as he grows from no one to hero to eventually coming close to dying in battle and then being entombed in a dreadnought to fight on. Could be made into a really powerful story about personal sacrifice and would make for natural progression through the game in terms of mechanics (access to different weapons and powers etc as you develop as space marine).

    Also - throw is some Grey Knights and Inquisitors, the ability to customise appearance to resemble armies I painted as a kid, battles with Dark Eldar....oh god the options are endless. Imagine, eventually massive sprawling battles with dreadnoughts, titans, chaos daemons, it could be more epic than Epic.

    Christ, is it wrong to be 30+ and this excited about a 40k game?

  • hiscore #34 9 months ago

    "THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine may well have picked up some bizarre, unflattering press recently for its superficial similarities to Gears of War"

    Let's get the record straight here:

    1. Games Workshop has been giving us Space Marines since ages. As a matter of fact, their tabletop 40k-game is more likely to be a source for Epic's Gears of War than vice versa. Check your (release/retail) dates!
    2. I don't see any 'superficial' similarities, apart from the fact that the Space Marines in THQ's WH 40k-game are no beefed up soldiers like their counterparts in GoW, rather their Space Marine armour is what makes these characters powerful, not their BMI.
    3. Maybe the 'professional' review community should apply a strict minimum age for their employees. It seems some people have no sufficient memory for facts older than 1 generation of hardware.

  • FanBoysSuck #35 9 months ago

    That article linked at the start is a joke. I'd advise you take down the link, the clueless cunt doesn't deserve the page hits.

    The comments section on it was quite good though, I doubt he'll be writing for that site again anytime soon lmao

  • Rack #36 9 months ago

    The PC version deserves much love as it's a really great port for once, runs silky smooth on older hardware and has loads of options too.

  • curryking3 #37 9 months ago

    ^Yep, it's a great port. The performance is really good even on mid-range systems. PC also gets to choose control scheme, which has already been mentioned.

    I felt the melee aspect was much more comfortable with a gamepad, but the shooting was definitely better with the mouse. But the good thing is both are perfectly fine with either!

  • suhawk75 #38 9 months ago

    @hiscore

    "rather their Space Marine armour is what makes these characters powerful"

    Sorry to be a total nerd but W40K Space Marines are supposed to be genetically modified super soldiers. Even without their power armour they would, apparently, be fearsome (about 8' tall, massively powerful, able to spit venom, go without sleep)

    Actually if you believed the sum total of all the W40K fluff about them there wouldn't be any point in the other races even turning up at the tabletop. And their BMI must be well over 26.

    :)

  • RichyRichh77 #39 9 months ago

    Loved the XBox360 demo and was impressed with the complete lack of slow down particularly on the hangar section with the masses of Orks around your character, the shootaz blazing away from the gantries and the Nobz charging around.

    @ShovelyJoe: 31/08/11 @ 14:51 You're not the only 30yr old getting excited over this I can assure you. :) As you rightly point out the combination of fighting styles is quite refreshing considering the amount of clip-to-cover 3rd person games around, being able to pile into a close quarters melee fight then drop back blasting heads was stunning.

    @hiscore: 31/08/11 @ 16:34 If it were possible to give more than a +1 then you'd be swimming in points! I am constantly consumed with nerd rage whenever articales regarding the WH40K franchise suggest that its content has been poached from other games, certain game mechanics maybe but not the concept/background.

  • BlinkeredAxis #40 9 months ago

    I agree, the demo is a big success - it feels great to play, and the enemies are numerous and well modelled.

    Also, the sound the chain sword makes is brilliant.

  • NeoTechni #41 9 months ago

    "I'd be very surprised if a PS2 could output at 640p "

    PS2 can do 1080i.

  • Scaper #42 9 months ago

    Would have liked a more detailed analysis

  • brod #43 9 months ago

    PC?