The tunnels are a dangerous place...

Metro 2033 does what Hellgate: London set out to do. It is a fantastic combination of FPS and Survival Horror.

The game is set in post-apocalyptic Russia, mostly within the metro tunnels. You, playing a character names Artyom, must make your way across Russia travelling through the metro tunnels and sometimes on the irradiated surface.

The game is very immersive by reducing the HUD elements and with some fantastic sound assets it really makes you feel like you are in the world. I found myself at times crouched down in real-life, while waiting for an enemy to pass in-game. The lack of a HUD is immersive without being a hindrance, in most cases, all the information you need is pretty much visual. You can see on your gun when ammo is running low and your flash light starts to get dimmer when the battery is running low.

There are some points in the game where you are involved in cut scenes. Usually these really pull you out of the game and are rather jarring but in Metro2033 they are done really well slipping easily from cut scene to gameplay and back again with no loading screens or sudden cuts from the action.
The only loading screens are between levels or missions and are all very short with a diary type entry, from Artyom, at each one.

One major aspect of the game is the fact that "military grade ammo" is currency, while also still being usable ammo. This means that if you find yourself running low on ammo you can "shoot money". This all helps to build the sense that scavenging is a necessity in this world and again helps with the immersion.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game with its dark atmosphere and terrifying sequences and while being scared to continue on at some points, really wanting to progress through the story. The world is fantastically immersive and well thought out and in my opinion well worth a play.

In the Emperor's Name!

A game that I have had my eye on for a long time now is Space Marine. While I loved the Dawn of War series (I mean the first ones because the second one sucked...) I found they lacked that visceral edge that Space Marine appears to have.

I haven't had the chance to play the full game yet so I can only base this off of playing the demo.
You start the game with a basic set of weapons, Bolt Pistol and Chainsword (which are awesome by the way) and you are pretty much thrown into the story, and more importantly into the hordes of enemies.

The first time you fire your Bolt Pistol, you feel like You are ACTUALLY FIRING your Bolt Pistol. The sound is absolute perfection, there are plenty of war games that have the sound of a gun and that's great they sound like guns. This sounds like a Bolt Pistol, a fictional futuristic weapon that fires a uranium slug.
Yea... That's how good they made it sound...

The combat in general is really good as it throws you, a somewhat indestructible Space Marine, against Hordes of weaker Orks. This lets you throw yourself into the fights and really get into the action, rather than the duck and cover combat that seems to have become the standard for most shooters...

The game is pretty much linear as far as I can tell, with a few side paths that may contain ammo or collectables.

The voice acting is very good. The graphics while not amazing are quite detailed and the blood and gore while fighting makes up for any lacking graphics...

Overall it is a quite enjoyable hack and slash/third person shooter game and it is even more enjoyable for someone really interested in 40k. However I don't know if it is worth the asking price right now I would say to definately play the demo if you have any interest in it and then decide for yourself if it is worth the investment.