“We then went back and looked at the actual game and, of course, it didn’t quite marry up. All those elements were there, but games have moved on a lot in that time. So then we thought, OK, well, how can we take everybody’s memories of what that game was and honor them, while taking them to the next level of current day gaming?”
The answers are myriad. Space Marine 2 feels gratifyingly similar to the original when it comes to ranged combat – Bolters fire with a satisfying thud, your Marines move with real weight, and enemies arrive thick and fast (and die just as quickly). But Saber has injected action game mechanics into the mix – improved melee, parries, finisher moves, and more. Tweaks have also been made to make the game challenging while still offering the sense of playing as a superhuman soldier:
“We always try to place the Space Marines in a context that makes them seem powerful. We begin the game with manageable enemies – we set the stage with, ‘Wow, this guy’s tough. He can take on 20 enemies at a time and succeed.’ Once we’ve set that tone, we increase the pressure, so it goes from 20 enemies to 50, or 60, or 100. Then we add 2 extra Space Marines – you’re always fighting with two brothers – so then that allows us to increase the pressure even further. Now, you’ve got three guys fighting 200 enemies.”
Saber’s bringing its own experience to bear with those huge numbers – where the first game saw sizeable Ork hordes, the switch to a Tyranid invasion allowed the team to go so, so much further.