Space marines are huge, so the Space Marine 2 development team spent a lot of time getting their running and walking animations right.

Have you ever seen a space marines legs? Have you ever looked at a space marine's legs? It's hard to imagine how a man could stand that wide. But space marines aren’t normal men. They are genetically engineered supersoldiers, and part of the surgery that makes them space Marines is letting them stand with their legs bolted to their sides.

This is fine for the tabletop. It's actually great. The space marines are easy to paint and have a powerful, imposing silhouette. The giant shoulderpads make them stand out when you look down from above. Their armor also makes them pop, in a way 32mm human miniatures cannot.

In a videogame it can be a problem. Tim Willits, Saber Interactive's chief creative officer, told PC Gamer in a recent Gamescom interview that when Games Workshop designed the first space marine mini, they didn't think about him running around and shooting while wearing all that armor. "It was a challenge getting him to run, land, jump and fight in armor that's kind of unrealistic," says Tim Willits, chief creative officer at Saber Interactive.

In footage such as the recent Angels of Death Trailer, you forget about their size and focus instead on how badass these characters look in action. How did Saber make their movements look smooth? Willits' answer is "Iteration. Iteration. Iteration." "The team began the walk cycles early. We had a space Marine walking around in gray armor, in gray rooms. The team had to concentrate on the walking, running and stopping.

The size of the marines is most important when they are swarmed by alien Tyranids. Saber, the company that developed World War Z's zombie swarm technology, has been working on Space Marine 2. Willits says that when the same director of World War Z went to make Space Marine 2 he had completely new and improved swarm engine. "In World War Z the zombies attack a certain area and then break up. They attack you individually, but are zombies. They're zombies. Then in Space Marine 2, as the swarm finally breaks and the tyranids spread out, they all are thinking and they're all planning to kick your arse."

It remains to be determined if being a big, beefy boy is enough to protect us from the tyranids. We'll know when Space Marine 2 launches September 9.