Kill Off the Space Marine

Koku writes: "The almighty space marine is a character archetype that is used far too frequently by lazy developers. Whether landing on hostile planets, defending a ship, shooting aliens with an over-sized weapon, or hiding and waiting for their armor to cool down after being hit, these clods often do little more than to push an average game to its credits screen. Any video game with even the slightest sci-fi bent is guaranteed to be stuffed with these nameless and featureless stiffs and it would be nice if it stopped immediately."

[Ziriux]

Yea, dont know which developers out there still think that Space Marines are cool, it's been over done like WWII games.

[ConnorSmith]

WWII, that is another gametype that has been milked beyond belief.

I agree Ziriux

[Ziriux]

Well even if they were good that would be ok, but a ton are sub-par games.

[Blaze929]

Like WWII games? Not even close. We've been getting WWII games since 1999 - 12 years now and still counting. THAT is over done. I enjoy the WW2 games though but man I remember last generation it was WW2 after WW2 games.

[Aphe]

Ziriux, here's a challenge for you - name every game you can think of that has space marines. Only mention a game of a series though, I don't want you naming every Halo game.

[Baka-akaB]

Metroid , starfire , wing commander , doom , command and conquer , quake , Outwars , starcraft , Ground control , Red faction , Natural selection , Timesplitters , deadspace , killzone , Turok , Eat lead , Warhammer 40k , Halo etc ...

93 games at least featuring it . WW2 games are at least 159 totals , but some of them are about subject as diverse as aviation , submarines , wargames etc ...
Most sci fi games are about making you land on foreign planets as a marine , and only a few actually about space flight and battles and wars .

But well might as well count the amount of heroic fantasy games too .

It is only overdone when in a generic fashion

[Rocket Sauce]

I think space marine is synonymous with "boring." You know, it's the square head, buzz cut character you see all over the place.

That's not really what the article is getting at, but it's something that pisses me off anyway.

[Baka-akaB]

Well i just feel that one particular type of space marine is overdone :

the cussing moron and his "guetto" sidekick . It's already overbearing in movies without the need to copy it perfectly .

When i hear those guys from killzone and gears of war , among many , i just feel like rooting for the other side .

[HolyOrangeCows]

I think uninteresting characters like space suits with flesh inside, and buff men who curse like sailors or 14-year-olds who think it's funny/cool, should be left as multiplayer skins....at best.

[Aphe]

The games that 'space marines' are used in are pretty few and far between. The term 'space marines' apparently can be used for any game that has a military character in a future setting. Hmm, ok. So any games set in the future should not use anyone in a military setting, we should just have social workers. Or newsagents.

Let's make it easier on game developers, any game that's set in the future should only have playable characters that are in the telecommunications industry.

I want to be a cable engineer saving the world.

[Fanb0y]

I honestly don't think space marines are overused - or at least, in shooters?

The only shooters I can think of that are related:
Halo
Doom
Killzone
Mass Effect

Maybe Resistance, but I don't understand the story very well.

[Baka-akaB]

@Aphe
i gave you at least a list of games extensively using the term AND the usual archetype . For those i'm pretty sure , and most of what i've listed are series of games .

it's one thing to use in obviously violence related games , a military structure and personal in a space setting , but it's another to have the same base default behavior and personality

[Aphe]

In Dead Space you are not a marine. I'm tired and I'll look tomorrow, but you just seemed to mention any game set in the future where you shot someone. Maybe you're right in most of them, but even so, how many games have been made in the last twenty years, and how many games have you mentioned involving 'space marines'? Not that many, a very very tiny percentage.

[Hellsvacancy]

Rocket Sauce, how could u not like Mr47? (hes included in that pic of yours)

[Baka-akaB]

@Aphe
I never said the hero was a marine in dead space , nor in some of the titles i even mentioned . They just have a documented presence of space marines , be it playable or not .

IN Dead space you do see USM Marine Corps from the Valor ship .

A list was requested , i just gave a few example in a pretty long list of them .

If you feel that i listed everything that shoot in space , well that's probably because most sci-fi and space based titles do feature them , that should tell you why my list seems so arbitrarily exhaustive to you .

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

thats been around a long time.

I COULDNT CARE LESS a game is about some generic character. Why? because I could find a whole crap load of over used characters in ANY GENRA OF GAME.

How about kill off the girly many with crazy hair in JRPGS. Or my favorite: Kill off the horrible, and mosstly animal, characters in games that try to rip off mario.

All I care about is if the game is fun.

I think gordon freeman is pretty cool for a shooter. He went to MIT and has never been to space.

[Rocket Sauce]

I didn't put that pic together, I just found it on the interwebs to use as an example. Never really played Hitman, though, so I don't have much of an opinion on him.

[Government Cheese]

Master Chief wasn't the first 'Space Marine', not even close, but I think his success in the Halo series is the reason it seems so overused lately, people trying to copy that persona.

[DelbertGrady]

I couldn't care less as long as the games are fun to play.

[Tony P]

I don't have a problem with that archetype. It's the lacklustre, hackneyed writing that makes me hate it.

[DelbertGrady]

Yes. When playing certain games I sometimes wonder if they let the developers write the manuscripts.

[Raz]

Don't you dare include Dead Space in that. Firstly, you're an engineer, not a marine; and second, there is always a good reason for you to be in a particular room. There is almost no dialogue whatsoever, and yet it creates a strong sense of story and character as you go along. All survival horror games should be as good.

[ConnorSmith]

I agree, this is becoming way to common amongst games, and really does show Dev's laziness.

thanks for pointing it out, and ya, it would be nice to be stopped immediately

[stoppre]

so you guys don't want mass effect 3 then? since commander shepard is a "space-marine"? Hasn't all "soldiers" whether it be ninja's, assassin's, marines, mages, swordsman, and mercenaries all been overdone to somepoint? Article makes no sense to me at all.

[FragMnTagM]

The whole article was basically a stealth troll hating on Halo...lol.

[TheColbertinator]

Modern Hero:Guitar Warfare

[Aphe]

Every character archetype has been milked apparently. We should be careful what we wish for, I hear gun toting dinner ladies haven't been done yet. Surely there's a market?

[xoxideu]

Take out Halo, and Gears and what do you have?

Jack sh!t? and milo..

[mcnablejr]

rather be a space marine than

http://kokugamer.com/wp-con...

[C L O U D]

I guess some point in the future we'll have boring marines in space.

[Brklynty1]

He's badically saying Halo is being milked. Because when I here space marine not many come to mind. There the Mass effect crew but they ony had 2 games, then there's......um, guys help me out here....

[The BS Police]

DOOM
Killzone
Crysis
Quake.. ect.

Pretty much every Sci Fi/Fanatasy FPS game.

[Baka-akaB]

Why can't we finally get "space navy " ? Wouldnt space navies be more important in space anyway , and marines mostly used for land and on site deployments ?

[The BS Police]

If it's done well it isn't a problem, Star Wars borrows alot from these architects and even from WWII and that worked pretty well.

[Pumbli]

I want to see more Viking games. :P

[Walrus]

I liked the Killone "Space marines" because they weren't space marines. They were just soldiers. In my opinion, they were believable.
As for that person who was like "We've been dealing with WWII games since 1999, they are worse"; I play Warhammer40k (not the videogame) Trust me, space marines have been overused a lot worse than WWII videogames. If not more, than it isn't as bad because at least WWII is historical (some of the time)

[The BS Police]

That the Master Chief isn't even a Space Marine due to one fact and that is he is not even a Marine... he is in the Navy.

[Fanb0y]

True.

We must define then. What is a space marine?

[Pumbli]

This, is a space marine.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

that looks more like a space mercenary to me.

[bjornbear]

just stop milking the poor bastard...he's running out of milk =/

[coldfoot]

A MIT grad in a bio-hazard suit and a crowbar = win

[Letros]

Never enough Space Marines, 40K is a great universe which has inspired a lot of of games, Starcraft being the big one.

[Genki]

At least they get the clear cut distinction of Marine, as opposed to today's Marines who are all too often called "soldiers" left and right.

[RedPawn]

Nobody's done a gay intergalatic space janitor, who was originally from Guam.

What!

[sashimi]

The only kind of space marine i like is from Starcraft.

[JazzyKK]

Space Marines!! 5mil+ will be enjoying Halo Reach soon..oh no i can't get it cause it has Space Marines. Maybe I should get Toy Story 3, oh no that has a space marine too. Maybe I should get Killzone, Resistance, Red Faction or Deadspace..oh NO,Space Marines everywhere!!!I could care less what they character they use in a game and ho many times!! I just want a good game.

[AliTheBrit19]

Never been a fan of Sci-Fi games myself

Although Mass Effect 2 is excellent.

[palaeomerus]

This article is just a lot of dumb whining. Next we'll probably hear whining about the overabundance of zombies, cops, thugs, angels, demons, aliens, robots, cowboys, mobsters, rockstars, race cars, aircraft, wars, vampires, animals, cartoon characters, abstract board game pieces, plants, dirt, water, swords, wings, clouds, cameras, colors, sounds, dead bodies, angles, curves, polygons, post processing filters, tires, park benches, windows, shadows, guns, everyman characters, normal people, anti-heroes, textures, super powers, movement, boots, rocks, power-ups, dialogue, HUDS, armor, text, numbers, shapes, and music.