The human characters in Space Marine speak in even tones, and they rarely seem flustered by the chaos going on around them. The British accents and utter calm of those fighting the battles of the game give everything a sense of weight the game would lack if it existed in any other world. But this is Warhammer 40,000, and these are Ultramarines. One of our forum readers referred to them as the middle-managers of the galaxy, their actions guided by a text called the Codex Astartes.

You don't need to understand any of the Warhammer background to enjoy the game. The fully realized back story and years of games, books, and culture wrapped around Warhammer gives everything added weight if you're a fan, however, and there will certainly be moments and lines of dialog that will delight those who know the backstory of each character by the type of armor they wear.

The real pleasure in this game isn't in the fan service, however.

It's in the killing.

If a job's worth doing, it's worth dying for

In many ways, the world of Warhammer is exceedingly unpleasant, and you'll notice the touches of near-slavery and admonitions to make the gods happy that follow you while exploring the game's settings. While the game suffers from some bland areas of general devastation, there are also moments that show the scale of the world you're fighting for. If you can imagine what would happen if every steampunk fan was an ardent Catholic and designed buildings for a fascist government, you've got the picture. Even the bombs in this world have details that look like stained-glass windows.

It's important that a third-person action game nail the controls, and Space Marine has no problems in this area. Aiming the game's many loud, effective guns is simple with the mouse and keyboard, and your melee weapon is always available by hitting the right button on your mouse. By combining your ranged and melee attacks intelligently, you can make it through the masses of enemies the game throws at you. There is no cover system, and to recover health you have to stun enemies and then execute them. Space marines do not hide behind boxes, and they sure as hell don't fall back. To stay alive you need to press ahead relentlessly, killing everything you see.

This is what makes the game such an utter joy to play. People like to call action games—even the good ones—"dumb," but after speaking with a number of developers that have worked on this sort of game, it's clear to me that creating good, heart-pounding action takes a whole mess of brains. The controls and animations are often play-tested extensively to make sure you feel every hit and explosion in your bones, and the base combat in Space Marine is just as satisfying in the last level as it is in the first. The pacing of the game's battles and the combination of weapons you can use to destroy the Orks are honed to perfection. There was not a moment of this game that felt like work, or that left me tapping my foot, impatiently waiting for something to happen.

The game's campaign can be finished in around eight hours, but when every aspect of the game is this tight, that's not a bad thing. There is not a bit of fat to be seen. I did not wish for anything to be added. The last boss disappointed me, but the game finishes the story it set out to tell while setting up what looks to be a very intriguing sequel.

Our Velocity Micro gaming rig OS Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit CPU Intel® Core i7 2600k processor, Hyperclocked RAM Patriot 8GB 1600Mhz PXD38G1600LLK Memory Video EVGA GTX 580 1536 MB 015-P3-1580-AR Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard Storage Patriot 2 x 120GB Wildfire SATAIII SSD PW120GS25SSDR in RAID 0 Optical drive LG UH12LS28 BDROM/DVDRW

There is multiplayer, but it's rather limited compared to games like Gears of War. At least you'll certainly gain a few hours of enjoyment out of it. A new co-op mode will be added in October that allows you to team up with three other players to take down hordes of enemies, so we have that to look forward to in the future. These are things that simply add value; the main fun is found in the game's single-player campaign.

Also, the Orks are hilariously fun to kill. They yell out "SPACE MARINE!" in a cockney accent when they see you. During one brief mission when you're defending a flying ship by manning a turret, you shoot down flying Orks as they attempt to board your plane. Their flying technology? Strapping what looks to be ACME-style rockets to their backs and flailing their limbs.

The game does everything right

The world of Warhammer is tapped to great effect, although fans new to the license won't feel left behind. It's just color, and it adds to the gravity of the situations you shoot your way through. The voice acting is great, the writing is impressive, and the play itself feels great.

This is also an example of how to do a PC version correctly: there was a demo released via Steam, it launched on the same day as the console version, mouse and keyboard are supported well, and I didn't experience a single crash or moment of instability. The game looks amazing with the resolution and graphical settings maxed out.

I don't have much negativity to share here, outside of the fact it's going to be a long wait for the (hopefully) inevitable sequel. Go buy this.

Space Marine is available now for the PC, 360, and PS3.