REVIEW: Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team
Hey BoLS fans. AdamHarry here with a game review for THQ’s Warhammer 40k: Kill Team.
For the record I’m not a professional game reviewer — I just play one on the interwebz. I’m not looking to review the game as a professional, but as a fan of tabletop gaming and a fan of video games in general. These are my opinions on the game based on my experiences with it. Your mileage may vary 🙂
So with that in mind let’s take a look at the game!
Cool Stuff!
1-2 Player Co-op
Leaderboards with Xbox live Friends
Unlockable reward for Space Marine Game
2 different game modes with both single and co-op support
4 Playable classes
6 Different Chapters to play
Fun perks and upgrades
Lots of Weapons to purge Xenos with
200 Xbox achievement points for bragging rights
‘Codex’ style entries with voice acting
Caestus Assault Ram in action!
STOMPA in action!
This game is most definitely an Xbox Live Arcade game. It’s around 800-900 MB to download so it’s pretty quick with a typical high speed connection. There is lots of background info for everything 40k, so it’s a great entry point for anyone new to the universe as well.
I asked my friend who was playing Co-op with me about his thoughts. For all intents and purposes, he’s a 40k greenhorn and it’s only vaguely familiar with the subject matter. He does like video games and here is what he had to say:
“It’s a guilty-pleasure, button-masher. Extremely noob friendly and easy to get into. I didn’t need to know about the entire background of the universe to enjoy this game.”
That pretty much sums it up. If you want to introduce someone to the universe and also kill about a bajillion Orks along the way, this is your ticket to Good-timesville. Go Emperor!
 |
| Did someone call the Exterminator? |
What I Liked
Gauntlet style game with Dawn of War II graphics- If you enjoyed either of those games, you’ll like this one. As a table top gamer for years, I always wondered just what a Melta-gun’s hiss sounded like. Now I know it sounds like a vacuum cleaner… if that vacuum cleaner was a jet engine that could shoot a super heated beam of death! MWAHAHAHAHA!
 |
| Death Ray? Oi Vey! |
The heroes in this game are wonderfully animated and the game highlights that with these “slow-mo kill sequences” that cause the camera to zoom-in. They use almost the exact same models as the Dawn of War II series, sothey nailed the look for sure. It’s throwback to those arcade games of yester-year with great graphics to back up the mindless slaughter–what’s not to like?!
Deathwatch-style Story – There is an Ork Kill-krooza inbound to a planet in the Imperium. Only small squad of Marines are able to respond to the threat. Can they disable the ship and stop the Warboss’ WAAAGH before it reaches the planet and takes countless Imperial lives?
When the Deathwatch RPG was released, my gaming ground and I played out this exact scenario! It’s a great launching platform for a truly epic throw down. As soon as I watched the intro movie (which was well done, btw), I was hooked.
Marines being Marines- Pretty straight forward and easy to play. The heroes in the game are the Marines we read about. They smash-face and don’t let up. Infinite ammo? Check. Awesome close-combat weapons? Roger. Endless hordes of Orks that need purging? Oh yeah. It’s the A-Team in power armor and Michael Bay is directing! (That means it’s not going to win an Oscar but there will be lots of explosions.)
Lots of re-playability – Between the single player, co-op, the campaign and the survival mode, there is lots of game to be had. Plus the leaderboards let you see how you stack up against your buddies on XBOX live. If you just want to blow off some steam and smash some face, this is a great way to do that!
 |
| That’s the smell of Victory! |
What I Didn’t Like
No Multi-player via Internet support – This was my #1 complaint. It’s local co-op only! How am I supposed to talk smack strategy with Goatboy and Darkwynn when we’re playing the game? I have to invite them over to my house and play with them in person? Lame. They really should have included the ability to setup 1-4 co-op via XBOX live. Missed opportunity there.
Controls were…wonky- They were not what I was expecting and there was no option to customize them. They took about 30 seconds to get used to, so whatever. But the XBOX controllers do have triggers on them for shooting – I’m just not a huge fan of SMASH TV style analog shooting, but it does lend itself to the game play.
TOO SHORT!- It’s 5 missions with 4 different classes and co-op support for each mission. Plus the 5 different survival missions with the 4 classes and co-op support. That’s only 40 different play troughs if you’re playing solo. Clearly, not enough game… /sarcasm off
No Deathwatch Scheme- This would have been cool. It felt like a Deathwatch mission anyways, it would have been awesome to get to play as a Kill Team member.
 |
| Next time Gadget, next time. |
Bottom Line
Are you looking for mindless entertainment with lots of explosions set in an Ork Kill-Krooza?
Do you have friends interested in 40k, but don’t know how to get them started?
Did/Do you enjoy Gauntlet and/or Dawn of War II?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I would recommend this game to you. For 800 Microsoft points, it’s worth it. Plus if you beat 1 mission, you unlock a power sword in Space Marine when that comes out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got more waves of Orks to Heavy Bolter…For the Emperor!
4 outta 5 bolter rounds to the face! (why no multi-player co-op support, WHY?!)
What’s your take fellow gamers?
