Space Hulk (1993 video game)
Lead Space Marines against Genestealers aboard derelict space hulks.
Space Hulk is a 1993 real-time tactical video game for MS-DOS, Amiga and PC-98, based on Games Workshop's 1989 board game of the same name. Set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, it tasks the player with directing squads of genetically enhanced Space Marines aboard derelict starships infested with alien Genestealers. Developed and published by Electronic Arts with support from Games Workshop, the game was noted for its frantic gameplay and atmospheric tension.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Electronic Arts
- Series
- Warhammer 40,000
- Platforms
- MS-DOS 3.3 or higher, Amiga, PC-98
- Designer
- Nick Wilson; Kevin Shrapnell; Andy Jones
- Released
- June 1993 (MS-DOS); Autumn 1993 (Amiga)
- Genre
- Real-time tactical first-person shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Space Hulk contains 51 missions, including exterminations, object retrievals, and rearguard actions. A campaign of 21 sequential missions follows a story about a Space Marine investigation of a distress beacon in a region threatened by Genestealers; the remaining missions are tutorials and standalone scenarios. Before each mission, the player receives a briefing and a small map of the operational area. Marines typically carry a Storm Bolter for ranged combat and a Power Fist for hand-to-hand fighting, and in certain missions the player can customize squads with 10 other weapons such as Heavy Flamers and Chainfists. Surviving Marines in the campaign gain experience that improves their abilities. Each mission begins with Marines grouped at one or two starting points while Genestealers enter from marked entry points. The player uses two interfaces: the Terminator View Screen for direct control of individual Marines, and the Planning Screen for issuing orders via command icons. The Planning Screen shows two maps—a small overview of the operational area and a larger close-up view—with continuously updated positions of Marines and enemies. Fog of war blacks out unexplored areas and represents unseen Genestealers as blips that are unveiled when Marines come within sight.
Synopsis
In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Space Hulk puts you in command of genetically engineered Space Marines wearing Terminator Armor. These veteran soldiers board derelict starships known as space hulks, which drift through the Warp—a dimension used for rapid interstellar travel. These ships are overrun by four-armed Genestealers, aliens that attack worlds the hulks pass. The Marines must wipe out this threat. The campaign’s story unfolds mainly through briefings before each mission. The manual’s prologue explains that centuries earlier, the Dark Angels Space Marine force stopped a Genestealer invasion in the Tolevi system. A Dark Angel hero led his troops onto the space hulk Sin of Damnation, but the ship vanished into the Warp. The first mission sends your squad to the Tolevi system to answer a distress call from the Dark Angels. On the planet Ma’Caellia, they find a Genestealer nest and are ordered to destroy the aliens’ Hive Mind. Overwhelmed, the Marines retreat and then use virus bombs to wipe out all life on the planet in an exterminatus. As this happens, the Sin of Damnation reappears in the system, and you are ordered to board it. Inside, your squads destroy the Genestealers’ gene banks and their Patriarch. The campaign ends with you controlling a single Marine who ventures deep into the hulk to locate the source of the distress call.
Development
The original Space Hulk board game was published by Games Workshop and was the company's third board game adapted as a video game, following HeroQuest and Space Crusade. The board game is played between two players assuming the roles of Marines and Genestealers, taking turns to move pieces; the Marines' player has a time limit for each turn. The game encourages different tactics: slow-moving Space Marines with long-range guns versus fast-moving Genestealers that fight hand-to-hand. Conversion to a video game was initiated in 1991 by Electronic Arts, who managed development. Rather than creating exact digital copies of the board game, Electronic Arts and Games Workshop opted to develop a video game with features that leveraged personal computer technology. Interior walls of the space hulks were rendered by ray tracing, reducing the time to introduce new wall sets from two weeks to twelve hours. The team used sound card technologies to produce alien screeches, roars, and warning cries from Marines under attack. The opening tune, 'Get Out Of My Way', was recorded by British hard rock band D-Rok with Brian May of Queen as guest guitarist. Games Workshop provided writers with materials and answers on the Warhammer 40,000 universe to keep the game true to its roots. The development team created the tutorial missions but adapted the other missions from the board game and the Deathwing Campaign expansion set.
Reception
Reviewers compared the atmosphere of Space Hulk to the science-fiction film Aliens (1986), noting the concept of heavily armed soldiers fighting aliens resembling H. R. Giger's exo-skeletal nightmares and the Terminator View Screen's similarity to a scene where a marine lieutenant monitors his troops in a dark environment. Critics found handling slow, cumbersome Marines against fast, deadly Genestealers to be intense sessions of panic and fear, stressed from monitoring multiple Marines while Genestealers probed flanks and sent decoys. David Upchurch of The One said the game scared the pants off him, and Jeff James of Computer Gaming World stated that the combination of excellent digitized sound and Genestealers rendered in sickening purple hue made him jump out of his command chair. A February 1994 survey of space war games gave the game a grade of B, praising graphics and gore but comparing non-controlled squad members to Star Trek redshirts. A May 1994 survey gave it three-plus stars out of five, calling it authentic with great graphics and sound. CU Amiga's Tony Dillon believed the game was not for those with a weak heart, and Compute!'s Scott May declared it a bug blaster's nightmare come true. Amiga User International noted the game evoked esprit de corps with its monastic-style briefings, though video game journalist Alec Meer remembered the briefings as one of videogame history's greatest atmosphere-spoilers for their flat deliveries.
Frequently Asked Questions
What platforms is Space Hulk (1993 video game) available on?
Space Hulk was released for MS-DOS 3.3 or higher, Amiga and PC-98.
Who designed Space Hulk (1993 video game)?
Space Hulk was designed by Nick Wilson, Kevin Shrapnell and Andy Jones.
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