Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine represents a risk for Relic, the developer renowned for its outstanding Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War strategy games. It's the studio's first jab at a game on consoles game since The Outfit, a well-intentioned but misdirected tactical shooter. The chance taken on Space Marine has little to do with the developer's competence, though; it has everything to do with how hardcore fans of the tabletop game will react to it.
From the outside, Space Marine looks like your typical over-the-shoulder shooter with dudes in hulking armor. As a fan, Space Marine looks to abandon the traditional squad-centric rules of Warhammer for the sake of player empowerment. Both sides are right. It's the campaign's clever variables that should suck them in regardless of apprehensions.