Topic: Anyone ever played this game called Space Hulk?

[Pugnate]

I played it when I was a kid. It was unlike anything I had seen at the time, and was really frightening. It was basically a squad based shooter/strategy hybrid, where your team explored abandoned space ships infested by life forms that resembled the aliens from the "Alien" movies.

You had a command of two squads, each with up to five members. I don't remember being able to control the actual shooting, but do remember being able to control behavior, weapons, movement etc. You could also see what the squad members saw through first person, making the whole affair all the more personal.

The game went through two phases. Every couple of minutes you could freeze the game for a minute and give out orders. After the that you could do nothing but watch, often helplessly.

In the end what made the game so awesome was the opposition. They would strike suddenly, quickly and in vast numbers. Often I'd run out of ammo. There was also a map that would show some information when they were in vicinity.

It was an incredible game overall, and quite frightening for a twelve year old. Oh and it was a Warhammer game, and a tabletop by the same name was also on the market at the time.

[NatchDan]

I think I had a demo tape of that for my Spectrum. Are we talking that old, or less than that?

[Pugnate]

It was about 14 years ago I think.

[NatchDan]

If it's the game I'm thinking of, then I had it but I could never get it to work. Then again, I'm thinking the game in my mind might have just been called "Space Marines". Definitely Warhammer, whichever it was.

EDIT:

Okay, the one I had was called Space Crusade.

[Pugnate]

Here is Space Hulk on Wiki:

Space Hulk

It would be awesome if they made a new one.

[sirean_syan]

I know of it well because of its Warhammer origins, but I've never played it (tabletop or computer versions). I'm pretty sure Beo has played the thing a ton.

There's been talk in the Warhammer world of the game being revived in some fashion for a while. While it's not offically supported and produced by Games Workshop anymore, they do mention it a lot. They still have versions of the characters in their lines, although they've all been updated and look far cooler now-a-days. Even if they just rereleased a simple ruleset it would be easy for lots of new people to play.

One cool thing is that the Genestealers in Space Hulk have since be revealed to be part of the Tyranids in the Universe's fiction. That's great to me, because Tyranids are the army I'm working on. Basically Genestealers are the advanced troops working ahead of the main fleets by infiltrating potential worlds and groups of people.

[Pugnate]

Yea I looked it up a little bit and the game was recently released in its former glory on the cell phone. I might check it out. Unfortunately it is pretty impossible to find any specific cell phone game here.

Those Alien creatures were the genestealers I guess, while the marines were called the terminators.

[sirean_syan]

That's right. Terminators are basically the elite of the Space Marines (although Marine's are already pretty elite in the universe, so elite of the elite... I guess). They've earned the right to wear the special Terminator armor, which is supposed to be the toughest personal body armor in existence. It's pretty rare as things go in 40K the technology to produce it is even rarer sinec most people don't actually understand how to do it. It's so special that many Marine chapters view them as sacred relics and their supply of suits are often pretty ancient. The armor itself is supper bulky and slow moving, so it's perfect for stuff like ship bordings because the cramp quarters means maneuverability is secondary to straight out protection.

It's fun stuff really. The newer Terminators in the normal game line can look freaking awesome. Here are a couple choice examples..

http://www.coolminiornot.com/index/whatm/GW/id/114486
http://www.coolminiornot.com/index/whatm/GW/id/94137
http://www.coolminiornot.com/index/whatm/GW/id/128850

[idolminds]

Space Hulk SP is a computer version of the board game which is pretty cool.

Then I found NetHulk which is Space Hulk board game with online play.

[sirean_syan]

Ha. The graphics for Net Hulk are awesome.

[idolminds]

More stuffs. I especially like the terrain making tutorials.

[Pugnate]

Those models look really cool Sirean.

Net Hulk looks sweet hehe.

Anyway there are plenty of DOS games that I want to play for old time's sake. I am thinking of getting a dedicated machine for retro gaming going. I'd start with Space Hulk, PoP1, Monkey's Island and Quest for Glory.  

There are plenty of other old school games I'd love to try. Anyone played Elvira, Spellcasting 101, Gods, Syndicate, or Magic Candle (fantastic RPG for its time)?

Here is the mobile game preview:

http://www.gamespot.com/mobile/action/warhammerspacehulk/news.html?sid=6123328&mode=previews

The Warhammer universe is one filled with grisly interplanetary warfare, inconceivably advanced weaponry, and brutal tactics. Although it remains a thriving board game, by Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000 has also spawned a series of video games, of which Space Hulk is the first mobile example. Space Hulk focuses on the conflict between the human Space Marines, and the Tyranids, a soulless alien race that insatiably hungers for fresh genetic code. The game has two modes: an action mode, which plays like a first-person shooter, and a tactical mode, which is a turn-based game that feels a lot more like a traditional Warhammer experience.


The Genestealers need your DNA to evolve! Don't let them have it without a fight!

Space Hulk features only two main unit types: the Space Marine infantry and the Tyranid equivalent, the Genestealers. This means that the Space Marines, equipped with machine guns, have a tremendous advantage at long range, while the steel-clawed Genestealers dominate in close-quarters confrontations. In tactical mode, both teams control blips, which are pieces containing dormant units. The strategic placement of these blips is vital to your success. Once selected, units are controlled via a scrollable command sidebar.

As a Space Marine, one of your units may carry a heavy flamer, which is a special weapon that's often tied to completing mission objectives. If you're controlling the Genestealers, it's a good idea to take this guy out.

In the build we saw of the game, action mode seemed as though it wasn't quite ready for prime time. Slowdown was rampant and really crippled the gameplay, which may have otherwise resembled that of a serviceable first-person shooter. In all honesty, the action mode seems like an attempt to widen the appeal of the Warhammer series, which typically caters to a select, dedicated demographic. Accessibility is a noble goal. However, unless the quality of the action game improves considerably, the six tactical-mode missions (playable by one or two people) will be Space Hulk's main draw.

Warhammer: Space Hulk is a nice simplification of the Warhammer rule set. It's great to see this beloved series expand to mobile, where it has the potential to reclaim some old fans and garner new ones. We'd like to see sound implemented in the final build (the game was silent on our N-Gage QD) and some improvement made to the action mode. Apart from that, this game is shaping up to be a good casual take on Warhammer, even if it doesn't dig too deeply within that complex continuum.

haha I remember the flamethrower very well. My cousins and I squeezed around the monitor as we battled the aliens. I remember I was in big trouble when my cousin shouted "USE THE FLAMETHROWER!!!!"... I did and burned the rest of my squad...

[beo]

yes, as sy mentioned, i've played it quite a bit. i played both the original version on the atari st and the sequel, "space hulk: vengeance of the blood angels", on the pc.

i know this is possibly more geek than some of you can handle, but the board game really is worth a go. it's very fast paced, with someone entirely new to such things being able to pick it up in less than ten minutes. it's pure tactics, and there are clearly good ways and bad ways to play out each mission. it's genuinely nail biting when you've got blips coming towards you from all sides, and you're desperately trying to advance your squad while covering all the angles, hoping that your guns don't jam up!

i'm guessing getting your hands on the board game and another willing player is going to be pretty difficult, but the "space hulk sp" game that idol linked is as close to an exact representation as you're ever going to get. i've played through every mission on it countless times, and can highly recommend it. the way the action points work might seem a little quirky to the uninitiated, but you can message me on here or msn if you need help getting to grips with it. it's definitely worth it.

now i'm going to look into this nethulk thing. hmmm....

[Cobra951]

yes, as sy mentioned, i've played it quite a bit. i played both the original version on the atari st and the sequel, "space hulk: vengeance of the blood angels", on the pc.

That sounded familiar, and it fiinally hit me.  I had this game on the 3DO.  Actually, I still do, in a way.  It's somewhere in my ex's garage in NY, or maybe in a box in the garage right here--not sure.  It's hard to find anything other than a quick mention out there.  This is the only press I've found on the 3DO version.  All I remember is I wasn't too impressed.  Nothing on the 3DO was worth the ridiculous amount of money I paid for it.