Game Review | July 25, 2011 6:47 pm

By Meta

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team is a twin-stick run-and-gun shooter developed and published by THQ. It was released in July 2011 for 800 MS points / $10 USD.

The quickest way to sum up this game is to say if you're a fan of WH40k, buy it. If you're a fan of twin-stick shooters like Geometry Wars, Mutant Storm Empire, etc., then try it. If you are a fan of none of these, don't bother with this game.

All around it is a fun title with some decent action gameplay but poor design decisions and minimal replay value. You choose from 1 of 4 Space Marine types and proceed through 5 missions that have you assaulting various parts of an Ork Kroozer space ship. You will also encounter Tyranids along the way, which were the inspiration for the Zerg from Star Craft.

Gameplay mostly involves using the right analog stick to aim & fire at things, although melee attacks can also play a large role depending on which of the 4 characters you use. Each character has a main weapon that is swapped out for upgrades as you progress, and you can also choose your Space Marine's Chapter although this is purely a cosmetic choice here.

My biggest issue with this game is the lack of replay value. Besides the 5 "story" missions of the campaign, you also get 5 survival missions which are basically arena/horde wave-type affairs, and that's all. My second problem with the game is that the only option for multiplayer is local 2 player co-op. The lack of 4 player and competitive options is a glaring omission in a game as small as this.

The visuals are nice overall, with great character models & textures and vibrant lighting. The levels are sort of low-poly and blocky, and generic-feeling, and there are a few glitches here and there.

The sound is spot-on for the Warhammer 40k atmosphere with epic music, an imperious British commander giving orders, cockney Ork nonsense, and plenty of different explosions. Small details like the Sternguard Veteran's revving chainsword are a nice touch.

The gameplay is simple and fun and the only problem here is that some of the checkpoints are in incredibly stupid spots, often before over-long, uninformative cutscenes. The difficulty feels a little off because some spots are very unforgiving when you are alone and the entire game is too fast and easy when you have a local co-op partner.

Extras & Achievements: The game has no avatar awards or gamer pics. The Achievements are easy but bear in mind that playing through a level with another person will only count as 1 of the 2 plays with different Space Marine characters on each level.

Reviewed: Kill Team

Keywords: None