HomeFeaturesWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

The bloody battles of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 make for a great photo modeSay cheese, my lord

Say cheese, my lord

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Focus Entertainment

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Focus Entertainment

Titus fires his rifle into an enemy horde.

I’ve already said my piece on the hulking bugstomper in ourSpace Marine 2 review, but I’d like to celebrate one more thing about it - the photo mode. This is a fairly standard feature for a lot of blockbuster games, but in the world of Warhammer 40K there are so many mega-scale battles with pitch-perfect composition that I found it hard to resist hitting pause and taking a handful of snaps every few minutes. With a keen eye (and a beefy PC) you can capture some wonderfully violent moments.

Spoiler warning:I’ll be showing stuff from later in the game. So if you can’t stand the smell of development fluid, get out of the red room.

I’m sticking to snapshotting metaphors because, at times, it does feel like you become a war photographer of sorts. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise that a franchise built on the foundations of tabletop wargaming should know how to compose a cinematic battle scene. But the dedication to the atmosphere of interstellar conflict is still admirable. For fans of Starship Troopers gung-ho-ism, there are a lot of Klendathu drops in this game.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Focus Entertainment

Units of space marines muster on the flight deck of a space ship.

Titus aims his pistol into a group of enemies appearing from a portal.

A group of soldiers stand with Titus, firing into the explosions of a battlefield.

A battalion of space marines runs toward a chaos demon on the horizon.

I said it in my review, but what gives these sequences their power is often simply the grandness of the environmental scenery. Say what you like about the zealous violence of an empire falling increasingly to ruin, they really know how to make a space cathedral (and then fill it with soldiers).

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Focus Entertainment

Many space marines kneel as they listen to a service by the chaplain in the ship’s chapel.

The priestly worshipers of 40K raise their arms to a machine in the centre of a room.

The bridge of a spaceship in Space Marine 2, with a glowing green map display.

Titus looks over the vista of a planet covered in cathedral-like spires.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Focus Entertainment

Titus and the chaplain stand in a dimly lit chapel.

A commanding officer gives his troops a command to fire on a few prisoners.

Titus stands on top of a pile of alien gore.

A cherub with cybernetic implants flies on the spot next to a space marine.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Focus Entertainment

Titus roars as he strikes an enemy heretic with a thunder hammer.

Titus struggles with an enemy in hand-to-hand combat amid the ruins of a city.

Titus raises his arm to catch a chaos enemy as it leaps on him.

A carnifex attacks Titus, glowing in the light of a nearby explosion.

So yeah, I guess all I want to do is reiterate how sumptuous the game looks, and give an appreciative nod to the pause menu polaroid. I’m still not getting into Warhammer 40K (you can’t make me) but in taking the time to stop and soak up the smoke and textures and particle effects, I have a new appreciation for this war torn world.