Warhammer 40k: Space Marine II

Before there was Gears of War, there was Warhammer 40,000. Big beefy space marines in oversized armour shooting each other up against the backdrop of a grimdark science fiction shooter. Then Epic Games borrowed the aesthetic and built a hit squad-based shoot-'em-up, complete with chainswords for bloody close-quarters combat, out of it. THEN Saber Interactive borrowed some of those gameplay choices and built Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine out of it. And then everyone seemed to forget about the whole thing for a while. Except they didn't - Saber has been beavering away, refining their gameplay mechanics and prettying everything up, and they're back with Space Marine II! Demetrian Titus, the gravelly-voiced hero of the first game, returns for seconds. In case you were worried about getting up to speed, however, a century has passed since the first game. He's spent most of it doing the usual stuff - killing people, in the name of the Space Marines' Deathwatch chapter. After deploying a virus bomb in a particularly full-on opening scene, however, he's rewarded with a promotion into the Ultramarines and things are looking up (or as 'up' as they get in the Warhammer 40K universe). The far flung corners of the galaxy you'll be shooting your way through (in solo or multiplayer modes) are strangely beautiful, at least until Tyranid swarms start covering the screen and you, in turn, start covering everything in blood. Space Marine II is not for the faint of heart, but for those with a strong constitution there's lots of brutal combat to be enjoyed.