Although rumours (and leaked video footage, although Relic have now said that this came from a cancelled game and parts from it have been used for this game) have been circling around on the Internet for a while now THQ and Relic have now officially announced the existence of a new Warhammer 40k game. Warhammer 40k: Space Marine will be an “Action RPG” for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

The new game puts you in the incredibly huge boots of the Emperor’s glorious genetically engineered Adeptus Astartes (which are sometimes referred to as Space Marines, hence the title of the game); whom are fending off thousands of Orks that have decided to attack an Imperial planet. There’s not much more information apart from what you see in the video above; but apparently you will be engaging in large-scale conflicts whilst using devastating weapons like chainswords, bolters and even orbital strikes. All this will be splattered with WH40k’s trademark gore, but it wouldn’t be the dark evil future without it.

The 40k universe is a favourite of mine, but I do have some issues with the largely generic title that Relic have chosen. Yes, Games Workshop largely created the bald space marine types we see in a lot of video games today but I can’t help thinking that Relic could have chosen a more attractive title, considering how many similar games are out there for your average consumer. Similarly calling the game WH40k: Adeptus Astartes would appeal to the fans of WH40k, but the average person wouldn’t have a clue what that title meant. It’s a bit of a conundrum, but I hope that they rename the game before release.

Despite my concerns about the games name I am looking forward to this. Relic have a great history, having already used the 40k license in the excellent Dawn of War games, but are largely focused on the RTS genre. However, if they can channel the rich lore of the 40k universe into a decent action game then it may just be one of the biggest releases of the year - at least in my eyes!

Pre-E3 2009: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine First Look - IGN