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Amazon THQ sale: Metro 2033, Red Faction Guerrilla, more for 91% off
The Tantalizing THQ Medley on Amazon includes downloads of Metro 2033, Homefront, Red Faction Armageddon, Red Faction Guerrilla, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, all for $12. Regularly priced, this bundle comes out to $118, so that's a savings of 91 percent. Buying all six games is cheaper than getting one by itself, so if you're in the market for any of these, it's your lucky day.Actually, it's your lucky days: The Tantalizing THQ Medley will be on sale through January 20 as Amazon's Deal of the Week.
Best of the Rest: Mike's picks of 2011
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine This game was listed right after Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, and Portal 2 at number four in my top five of the year, and I think it deserves that spot, even over higher-profile contenders like Gears of War 3 and Modern Warfare 3. The pitch-perfect pacing and incredible setting (I am now a die-hard Black Library reader -- start with the great Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett) elevate this one from just another third-person action game to one of the best video games of the year.
Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011
Battlefield 3 I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players. At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3? But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.
Best of the Rest: Alexander's picks of 2011
Dead Space 2 I am a passionate man. When Dead Space 2 was overlooked by several of my fellow editors, preventing it from attaining a rightful place in our top ten, I briefly contemplated a multi-city tour. The plan was simple: ring their doorbell, smack them across the face, cross their name off a list and move on to the next deserving victim. My main reason Dead Space 2 deserved a spot in our top ten: At times, I forgot to breathe. Dead Space 2 was a game of tension and release. I found myself gasping for air after several scenes, so focused on whatever new necromorph horror was trying to splay me that the part of my brain regulating natural respiration was overridden by the section screaming, "SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT WITH SO MUCH QUICKNESS AND RUN!" For the sake of levity, if I had it my way, there would have been several moments where protagonist Isaac Clarke pulled out Handi-Snacks, lifted his visor and pouted about whatever danger he'd face beyond the next airlock.
Space Marine Twitter teases Dreadnought
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine will receive a "big metal surprise" in January, according to the game's official Twitter feed. Game Informer took note of the tweet and its accompanying picture of a space marine (SPACE MARINE!) serving the eternal will of The Emperor against a Dreadnought. As fans of the Warhammer 40K universe and Relic's Dawn of War RTS know, the Dreadnought is actually a battle sarcophagus, where the barely living body of an invaluable warrior is entombed to live out existence in the massive armed mech. Relic gave no indication of how the Dreadnought will be added to the game, but expect some kind of DLC announcement come January.
Space Marine DLC unleashes chaos this December for $10
Fall in, marines! As you know, the war on the Orks goes well -- we're gigantic, chainsword-wielding monstrosities and those green bastards slice up nice. As such, the Emperor has seen fit to bolster our Exterminatus efforts with a new mode, called Chaos Unleashed. The Emperor's dispatch promises "new boss rounds, new co-op arenas and new enemy units like the Imperial Sanctioned Psyker" in December. But here's the catch: Our war is costly, and the Emperor is asking every marine to come up with, uh -- wait, $10 or 800 Microsoft Points? This has to be a typo, because out here in space we've never heard of these things. We'll have to get back to you on that one. Chaos Unleashed also brings with it three new warzone operations across Habs Ablaze, Station Tertius and Aquila Canyon, plus a -- wait, this has to be a typo, too. A new "Capture the Flag mode" for multiplayer available to all players outside of Chaos Unleashed? Frankly, we're starting to doubt the Emperor is of sound mind. [Thanks, Copybass.] %Gallery-138253%
THQ's sales 'exceeded expectations' in Q2, Space Marine sold 1.2 million
THQ has announced financial figures for the second quarter (July through September) of its 2012 fiscal year. Despite having a release schedule that any company would consider light, it managed to bring in net sales of $146 million. That's a pretty significant increase over the $77.1 million it brought in during the same period last year. Of course, its losses nearly doubled year-over-year as well. Easy come, easy go. The top performer was Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, which managed to sell 1.2 million units across all platforms during the quarter, a little under half of which were sold in North America. Brian Farrell, THQ's CEO, explained during a conference call that older catalog titles also sold well, specifically mentioning Saints Row 2. We guess people are eager to get back into the swing of (blowing up) things. Farrell added, "We are encouraged that our second quarter performance exceeded our expectations, particularly in a quarter with a light release schedule." We imagine he'll be pretty darn encouraged next quarter, which sees the release of the ridiculous Saints Row: The Third, and the somehow even more ridiculous WWE '12.
THQ's Bilson 'not sure there's room' for Space Marine sequel alongside MMO
Joystiq got a chance to chat with THQ's Executive Vice President of Core Games, Danny Bilson, at a Saints Row: The Third event earlier this week. He spoke to us about Space Marine's chances for a sequel, and what he plans for THQ this holiday and beyond. Bilson says Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is "doing okay," and that "40K fans in particular" were pleased. "It's a really good game, it's doing pretty well. In this world, honestly, you have to do exceptionally well to make any money, because the games are so expensive." Bilson hopes the game keeps selling, and expects the impending release of co-op DLC and "more DLC after that" to help maintain its momentum. He balks at promising a sequel, however, saying that the Space Marine gameplay may bump up against THQ's planned Warhammer 40K MMO, Dark Millennium, in 2013. "We've already announced the Imperium in the MMO as a class you can play," he says, "and if you combine that it's very active, as opposed to the more turn-based stuff. I'm not sure there's room for Space Marine." But there is more coming for you, battle brothers: "We are heavily invested in the 40K universe, so there's more stuff coming in the 40K universe, absolutely. We extended the deal for quite a while."
Dark Millennium Online has conflict of interest with potential Space Marine sequel
If you've been waiting for the upcoming Warhammer 40k MMO Dark Millennium Online, you may have checked out recent single-player title Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. In an interview on the two games with Shacknews last night, THQ's VP of Core Games Danny Bilson described a potential conflict of interest between the upcoming MMO and any potential Space Marine sequel. When asked whether the single-player title deserved a sequel, Bilson described an interesting creative overlap between the game and its upcoming MMO counterpart. Revealing that the MMO would contain more action-based gameplay than the MMO norm, Bilson painted a picture of Dark Millennium Online as an online spiritual successor to Space Marine but with the other 40k factions similarly explored. "It may be that the next iteration of Space Marine is a much bigger universe, where if you love Space Marines you can play that way," he told Shacknews, adding that "there was a creative overlap going on with Dark Millennium Online's development" and "there's not room in the world for that overlap."
Relic reflects on Warhammer 40K: Space Marine reception
"Was it our best work?" Warhammer 40K: Space Marine producer Andy Lang asked Eurogamer. "It was our best console work." Relic, best known for PC real-time strategy games like Company of Heroes and Dawn of War, took a risk by attacking the third-person shooter genre so late in the console cycle. We enjoyed Space Marine, noting it showed Relic's "expertise can extend far past the RTS genre they've already conquered," but critical reception has been varied. "I'm pretty humble; I don't look at [criticism] and get all upset. I thought most of the reviews were fairly on the mark with what they had to say," Lang admitted. "The character design does get a bit repetitive and certain parts of it, just how the game plays - we didn't have time to really polish that stuff to where we wanted to get to. There wasn't anything that was oh-my-god shocking in the game." Head on over to Eurogamer for more Space Marine postmortem.
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 'Exterminatus' DLC drops Oct. 25
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine's free "Exterminatus" co-op DLC will kill in service to the Emperor on October 25, according to Eurogamer. The DLC includes two, four-player scenarios that pit the Space Marines (or "SPACE MARINES!" as is incessantly shouted throughout the whole game) against Orks and Chaos. Relic is reportedly working on more content for the game, which will be released as free and premium DLC sometime in the future -- certainly sometime before 40K. Relic is better known for using the Warhammer 40K universe in its Dawn of War real-time strategy series. Space Marine, Relic's new, more action-oriented take, fittingly launched into the hell of end-of-year game retail and is apparently surviving. In our review we found the studio's "expertise can extend far past the RTS genre they've already conquered," and the game has held steady on the UK sales charts.
Dead Island, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine continue fight atop UK charts
Zombie RPG Dead Island continues feasting on money and tourists in its second week atop the UK all formats sales chart. Chart-Track notes (to the surprise of no one) that Deep Silver's two weeks of Dead Island sales have eclipsed the lifetime sales of any other title in the publisher's catalog. That includes and Nail'd and Prison Break: The Conspiracy. Another unexpected development on the charts: Warhammer 40K Space Marine maintained its second place position again this past week. Despite a 52 percent drops in sales, the Emperor's fist kept the aliens of Resistance 3 in third. The only "new" title to break the Top 40 last week was God of War Collection Volume 2, which bludgeoned everything below the 35th spot. Price promotions moved Red Faction: Armageddon up 246 percent into 11th, while Kinect's Rise of Nightmares had a better second week, running up from 37th place to 18th.
Dead Island shambles up UK charts, Space Marine drops in second
Love it or leave it zombie RPG Dead Island has consumed the top of the UK sales chart in its debut week. Another premiere expounded righteous force for the Emperor: Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. Chart-Track notes the PC sales for Space Marine were actually higher than Dead Island, which it believes is due to the former not being available on UK's Steam at launch. Driver: San Francisco shifted down into third in its second week on the charts, while Resistance 3 invaded the UK, nabbing fourth place in its first week available. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, currently in fifth, is doing its part to suppress the Zumba Fitness conspiracy, by keeping the dance fitness simulator in sixth. Other notable premieres were 3DS's Star Fox 64 3D and Kinect's Rise of Nightmares in ninth and a brisk 37th place, respectively. Check out the drying paint of a fresh UK top ten after the break.
Relic Entertainment holds charity auction to mark developer Brian Wood's death
If you've finished the game, you'll know that Relic Entertainment's recently released Warhammer 40000: Space Marine is dedicated to developer Brian Wood, who passed away in a car accident last year (but not before turning the car so that his pregnant wife would survive the wreck). This week happens to mark the one year anniversary of Wood's death, and to honor him, Relic has started up a set of eBay auctions featuring a number of Space Marine and Relic-related goodies, from signed posters and game copies to even consoles and other promotional items. Most of the auctions end in about four days on Sunday, and plenty of the items only have a few bids so far. All of the money will go to setting up a memorial bench for Wood in Vancouver, where his wife and now 9-month old daughter live. The company has also set up a memorial trust in his honor, as well as an in-company internship. This auction is a great way to show your support for Wood's legacy, and get some one-of-a-kind Relic gear to boot.
Warhammer 40K Space Marine review: The smarter side of slaughter
Games Workshop's Warhammer universe hasn't really gotten the respect in the video game realm that it deserves. Blizzard liberally borrowed from the line for both its StarCraft and WarCraft universes, and those have obviously been quite successful among the mouse-and-keyboard crowd. And even on consoles, the concept of a "space marine" is almost cliched at this point; almost every major developer has churned out a third-person shooter featuring a big bad dude with a bunch of big, bad guns. But Warhammer (and this, its sci-fi, year 40,000 variant) really is the grandfather of the genre, the prototype for all of those gruff space warriors and the green-skinned and slimy hordes they battle against. Marcus Fenix and his ilk may have grabbed some headlines and sold some games, but it's about time the Ultramarines got some credit for being the original killing machines and wearers of huge shoulder plates. And thanks to the talented designers at Relic Entertainment and their pitch-perfect use of the Warhammer universe in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, they deserve to get that credit. %Gallery-124485%
Space Marine gets 'Exterminatus' co-op DLC in October, free for everyone
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine may be pushing its meaty shoulders into retail this coming week, but its co-op mode won't arrive until "early October" says THQ. The mode, with the Latin-derived name "Exterminatus," will be made free as a download to "all players" according to THQ's release. Exterminatus contains two separate "scenarios" in which four-player groups can maneuver their bulky trio of classes around, chainsawing through everything in their path. Global leaderboards are also included, posing "dynamic challenges" to players and supporting additional "score modifiers" (read: Skulls). Some confusion was raised over the game's co-op back in August when a GameStop advert pinned the co-op mode exclusively to GameStop pre-orders, but today's announcement clearly refutes that information.%Gallery-132494%
NHL 12, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine demos assault Xbox Live
Sticks and giant hockey players may break some bones, sure, but chainswords will rip flesh asunder. Today's high-profile and violent demo additions to the Xbox Live marketplace include hockey simulator NHL 12 and bulked-up shooter Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. Don't forget, if you play the competently created downloadable game, Warhammer 40K: Kill Team, you'll unlock the "Power Sword" when Space Marine starts its orbital assault on September 6.%Gallery-124485%
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine bombards your brain with four trailers
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine isn't about to do anything in a small way, and this batch of four new trailers is no exception. Get details on the Space Marine universe, relationships, weapons and enemies right here, right now. That's an order.
Space Marine single-player demo set for this month
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine will receive a demo later this month. THQ has announced that a demo for the upcoming Ork-slayer will arrive on PC and Xbox 360 on August 22. The PlayStation 3 version of the demo will arrive the following day, August 23. The single-player demo will feature two levels, including a battle outside a munitions factory and "a taste of the exhilarating Jump Pack sequences." The press release also notes that players who pre-order Space Marine on Steam will receive early access to the title during the weekend of August 18 (not to mention a free copy of Darksiders). During the promotion, Steam will be offering a sale on bundled Warhammer 40,000 titles.
Space Marine dev diary aims to disect the blockbuster
Apparently, Relic's Space Marine will "use action and awesome, awe-inspiring moments to really drive people through the narrative." Translated into English, we think that means: it's got some cool stuff in it. Good to know!
