Hands On: Space Hulk

This weekend Brandon and I were in Memphis for Games Workshop’s convention, Games Day.  I’ve been very excited about Full Control’s version of Space Hulk.  Space Hulk was a board game originally released in 1989.  It borrows heavily from the paranoia and endless hallways in Alien.  You control a squad of Blood Angel Terminators as they investigate ancient ships or asteroids.  Hidden in all of those corridors are Genestealers, four armed xenos that would love to devour the Blood Angels.  It’s a very difficult game but it’s also very fun.

 

Full Control had demo stations set up and I jumped into the first seat I saw available.  There were a number of small demos to choose from, but as soon as the person running the demo said the second mission had the flame thrower I knew I had to try it.  The flamer is very, very satisfying.  From what I saw, the game is also pretty clunky.  During the game I was playing I had to break down a malfunctioning door.  I walked my marine up to the door and hit the button to swing my power fist.  I looked at the screen in confusion.  Did I hit the door?  Did I miss?  After two or three hits the door did break open, but until then I wasn’t sure my actions affecting anything. 

 

It is entirely possible that there is some form of dialogue box that was hidden during the demos.  I only got a few minutes with the game instead of going through all the tutorials so it is very likely I am missing something.  Cyanide’s version of Blood Bowl hid all of the good stuff too, but it is possible for players to display all the rolls behind the game’s animations.  I’m hoping Space Hulk will do the same.  The game is currently up for pre-order on Steam for 29.99 and the mobile version will be following at a later date.  Expect multiplayer and the ability to create your own levels.  I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to, but the game is still a pre-order for me.