PC Game Review: Space Hulk

The original and best.
In the latest of what's been a pretty successful venture for GW, they've added to their PC Game repertoire with a remake of the classic Space Hulk board game.  I got it for my birthday and decided to type out a few words.

Firstly, it isn't a remake of the classic PC game - the one where you're inching along pixelated corridors with genuine terror as Genestealers lurk just beyond the draw distance.  It's a modern version of the board game, that feels a lot like an RPG as you move along tiles, spend actions, and roll (virtual) dice.


It's bundled up in a very nice looking package with great sound effects and visuals, as you take command of several Terminators and clear a deserted spaceship of horrid gribbly aliens.

I suspect this game won't do terribly well compared to their more well-known titles like Dawn of War, and Space Marine.  A big factor here is the nostalgia of the original game, and its heavy RPG-slant will probably not appeal to the mass-audience.  But as wargamers I suspect we've never really been interested in what mass audiences think.


First off - it has to be said, this game is very hard.  I consider myself at least semi-proficient on these sorts of games and I struggled.  Shooting a Genestealer (one action), only gives a kill on a 5+, meaning you can often spend three or four actions killing one gribbly.  The Overwatch rule is well represented (and almost indispensable).  Close combat is an absolute no-no: you can easily loose three or four Terminators in one turn to a single rogue Genestealer.  Many's the time I've lost half my team like that and angrily quit the game.

However, frustrating though the game is at times, it does capture a little of the raised heartbeat that wargamers get when we pick up the dice for a crucial roll.  Particularly with the hotseat and multiplayer versions, you get a little of the social aspect as well.  And the graphics/sounds combine with the tough opponents to make an engaging and interesting experience, that will probably get your heart pacing.



If you're still interested, this video is excellent.  No spotty teenager's or dubious Russian's rambling voice track - just the game.  Well worth a look.  It's just been launched, so via Steam it's currently £23.  I suspect that if you wait that will be at least half price, probably better, within a month.

In short, well worth a wargamer taking a look.  Frustrating, certainly, and perhaps repetitive too, but particularly if you have friends on it it's a very nice afternoon spent.

Ed

(Sorry to those expecting the WWI rules today - they're taking a little while to get into legible/understandable format so they've been pushed back a bit.  Will have them done by the start of next week.)

Comments

  1. Loved the original board and video (Amiga?) game, but I don't love the memories of just how hard it was to win playing the terminators.

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    1. You might be right with the game there - I used to have a copy but unfortunately it's long since been lost. That's the beauty of this adaptation, all the mechanics and dice rolls are the same, so you have exactly the same odds as with the board game.

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  2. That looks like a LOT of fun....especially when the Terminators start rasping "Cleanse and Burn". Very therapeutic! I like the clanging metallic corridor sound effect as well.

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    Replies
    1. It's pretty atmospheric, and despite the fact it's turn based (and so pretty slow) it can get rater nail-biting at times.

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  3. Hey, colonel, Do you own a copy of dawn of war?

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