Graphics

Reminiscent of Dawn of War 2 in many ways, Kill Team is quickly recognisable to both fans of 40K and Dawn of War in general. The graphics have that perfect Games Workshop look and match the designs for the new figures quite well. They’re bright and colourful which is a good change in an industry dominated by grim and grey space marines, brown and grey Gears, and other warriors from equally drab (but effective) colour schemes. The bottom line is that for a downloadable game, it’s a nice looking package.

Animations

Once again the animations for the game are on a par with some of the ones in Dawn of War 2. They have kept the flavour of the 40K Universe alive and managed to provide a fun and frenetic experience that comes through in the animations. The Space Marines attack with a variety of weapons and the Orks are full of grotty character. Melee animations are quite nice and whilst they don’t seem to impact as well as they could do, the slow-mo camera that sometimes triggers when you put down the last enemy in a wave provides a nice frame for the action and a satisfying capstone to the carnage.

Physics

There are lots of ancillary objects in the game that go boom, when the dakka starts flying. These explosions can have an effect on your health, or decimate the enemy around them sending Ork and Gretchins flying in a satisfying explosion of soaring bodies. Weapons like the missile launcher cause a lot of splash damage and are great for crowd control.

AI

The AI is pretty good, the enemy will use various tactics and enemies like the Gretchin love to rush in and hack away at you, whilst the Ork ranged bad guys will pepper you with gunfire from a distance and move away if you try and get too close. In boss battles there are various attack patterns and the AI remains fairly smart throughout.

Sound

By now THQ and their various dev-teams have a wide library of Warhammer 40,000 sounds to draw from, these are all excellently implemented in Kill Team and the game sounds fantastic.

Music

The soundtrack is militaristic and stirring, matching the on-screen carnage perfectly and providing a nice backdrop to hunt Orks to.

Multiplayer

The game can be played offline couch-co-op with a friend, taking a different class to provide a second gun or ability in combat with the massed warriors of the enemy. In co-op mode the game allows you to revive a fallen comrade, share the effects of power ups by standing and fighting within a certain distance and pooling your scores at the end to help the primary player unlock more cool perks for both characters. The experience is a great one and highly recommended if you want an extra level of tactics since you can deploy perks that complement each other, and use the power ups intelligently to maximise your kill potential.

WAaaaaaaaaaGH!

The sheer amounts of Orks upon screen in combat, the carnage, the attention to detail from the developer and the pure fun factor all add up to make this a great 800 point downloadable title. Having the Power Sword unlock for Space Marine is the cherry upon the really well designed and developed cake that is Kill Team. If you’re looking for a good quality twin-stick shooter that’s got 40K just right, then Kill Team is it.