Expect a challenge from the turn-based Space Hulk video game
"You have to be a little bit lucky."
Players can expect a tough challenge from the Space Hulk video game, its creators have said.
Full Control CEO Thomas Hentschel Lund demoed Space Hulk to Eurogamer at the Game Developers Conference today, showing off the claustrophobic, turn-based gameplay fans of the Warhammer 40k board game will have expected.
"It's a challenging game," Lund said. "We really want to keep that. We want to reach that old, hardcore feeling of beating the game. Too many games these days are like rail movies, in my opinion. This is one of those challenging games that you just want to keep trying until you beat it.
"That's part of the fun of playing it. You have to crack the nut of what tactics work. You have to be a little bit lucky. And you have to execute your plan.
"But since the AI also knows what you have to do, it's going to try to ruin it for you, and you have to react.
"The core rules are simple, but there are a lot of tactical options."
The demo began with deployment, with the mission charging our Terminators with flaming a room deep within the Space Hulk in order to prevent the Genestealers from escaping.
Lund had his Terminator Sergeant at the front of his formation, and a Terminator Flamer and three grunt Terminators who use the classic Power Fist/Storm Bolter combination bringing up the rear.
It was then a case of clicking on a unit and then clicking on the tile he wanted it to move to. Abilities include Overwatch, so Terminators automatically fire when a Genestealer comes into view.
Each unit has four action points. Moving one tile costs one action point. Rotating 90 degrees costs one action point. Shooting with regular Bolters cost one action point. More powerful actions cost more points. Shooting the Flamer, for example, costs two action points.
Additionally, during each turn you have access to Command Points, which is a free pool of additional action points you can use as you see fit.
Radar blips show you Genestealer movement, but do not indicate how many Genestealers are in a particular area. Blips can represent one, two or three enemies.
Although the build we saw didn't include Terminator movement animations (they'll be added later), there was an action camera that showed a short cinematic, similar to that seen in Firaxis' XCOM remake, when Terminators fire on enemies.
You can move the camera as you wish, zooming in for close ups, and zooming out to a strategic view, which lets you see the entire level as a 2D representation.
Full Motion is targeting an autumn 2013 release window for PC and Mac via Steam, with a Linux version possible. There's a tablet version, too, with cross-platform multiplayer, so iPad players can play against PC players.
Expect 12 missions based on the third edition of the board game campaign, called The Sin of Damnation. This depicts the Blood Angels chapter of Space Marines against the Genestealer infestation.
Full Control will make additional campaigns for new Space Marine chapters and release them as DLC expansions after the launch of the main game.
Meanwhile, there are unique co-op levels so two players, each controlling a squad of Terminators, can team up to fight the Genestealers.
