Saber Interactive’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 once again puts you inside of the Ultramarine power armor of Lieutenant Titus as he commands the deadliest soldiers in the Imperium of Man against galactic horrors. While the game does have a single-player mode–with AI teammates–it also has a three-player co-op campaign mode where players can band together to take on Tyranid swarms.
Speaking to GameSpot, Space Marine 2 creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick explained how Saber Interactive designed the co-op portion of the game to make players feel like they were part of a Space Marine brotherhood. “On a fundamental level, the co-op aspect is about quality of experience. The Space Marines are a brotherhood and playing as a team of three, you get that vibe straight away, you start to feel this protective element and you start to share in the glory,” Hollis-Leick said.
“It’s an experiential quality first and foremost, in terms of tactics and strategy. When you’re fighting a swarm and the battlefield situation can change very rapidly, it’s all about responsiveness and spotting where your ally needs assistance. You can tag an enemy so that you can all focus your fire on one specific target, you can highlight weapons and equipment that might be useful to your teammates, but it’s mostly about finding a rhythm. You’re working together to take down the most difficult enemies, and of course, the better you do, the more the AI director will start to challenge you. So it finds that sweet spot, you’re always just riding the wave.”
That AI director is a persistent presence that’ll test player skills, as it’ll throw thick swarms of Tyranids at your team and constantly test your strength as a squad. “It’s not just the rendered enemies on the level; you’re fighting that AI director on how thick those swarms are,” Hollis-Leick added. “It’s appropriate that you’ve got a hive-mind behind the system, which is knowing where to push where to pull and all that stuff.”
Publisher Focus Interactive has confirmed that more updates on Space Marine 2 will be revealed on August 30, and for a closer look at the sequel, you can check out how the game turns you into an Ultramarine powerhouse and how Saber Interactive has put its own creative stamp on the game.
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