Sinclair User
29th November 1991
Author: Alan Dykes
Publisher: Gremlin
Machine: Spectrum 128K
Published in Sinclair User #121
Space Crusade
Message received from other ship; "Dreadnought located on space-hulk, seek out and destroy". Suddenly a massive combat robot stomps into your squad's sector of the ship. A Dreadnought. You take careful aim with the Plasma Gun and... whoosh, a big flag with 'BANG' written on it appears from the muzzle, oh no that darn prankster Jones has been up to his tricks again!
Not the grooviest situation to be in and no mistake. However with careful planning and fearless elimination of the wrong people this should never happen in Space Crusade the computer game. I hope.
Space Crusade involves leading a team of five Space Marines through twelve demanding missions, seeking out and destroying the enemies of mankind (and womankind, sexist pig - Yvette). and all followers of chaos and other alien evil doers. (Surely this means that the producers of that spaced out TV program "The Word" will finally be hunted down and disposed of).
You get to play the Marine Commander, and a big hurrah for that because it means that you've become a member of an elite group of the most skillful and devastating warriors the galaxy has ever known. In plain game terms being a Marine Commander means having a lot of fun and never having to say you're sorry as you'll have more life-points and potentially more armour protection than any other character in the game. Fortunate really as the Commander must return to base if the mission is to succeed, even if all the marines under his command are Terminated.Mission objectives vary but all include one primary goal (disable defence shield, diversionary actions etc.) and various secondary ones which pop up like unexpected pimples when you're getting ready for a party. Yes, just when you think everything is going O.K. additional orders can arrive from the mother ship or extra nasty objects suddenly pop up on the way to the main objective. And believe me you'll need more than a tube of Oxy 10 to clear some of these messes up.
The computer can control up to forty aliens on any one mission so be careful out there mahn! These alien chappies are all quite intelligent and you could find yourself in a one versus ten situation very quickly unless you've got plenty of support. During the game you can search for aliens with each marine's scanner. There's even an equipment card which allows you to identify aliens anywhere on the playing screen. Likewise the aliens can track and follow you.
Space Crusade allows up to three players to participate (or you can cheat and play with three marine teams) which brings the total amount of Space Marines available to fifteen which, if you're good at team work should see you through the game. However teamwork isn't always possible as some missions cleverly pit Marine Chapters against each other. Thus you end up fighting against your friends as well as the computer which means that you have to be meaner and sneakier than a rattlesnake with super-glue on it's tail to finally win through.Gameplay is easy as pie (and almost as yummy) since the computer manages all the complicated rule structures which normally slow down the board game letting you get on with the mission. Each player can move all five marines, in any order, once per go and engage each one in combat (hand to hand or with a weapon) once in a single turn. You can take as much time as you want to decide what to do and when you're finished simply press a 'forward' icon to activate the next player's squad or the computer's alien turn.
The computer will take about thirty seconds to complete it's play then the current round is complete. Each mission allows thirty rounds to complete all objectives and return to base. This limit means that an awful lot of thought has to be put into formulating game strategies, and remember, the computer is just as likely to put banana skins under your feet as a human opponent is (the dirty dastard)..
When a mission has been completed your score is calculated by measuring how successful you've been in completing ALL your objectives, how many enemies you've bumped off, how many rounds you've managed to complete the game in and how many of your own men have been been killed in the process. Failure or low scores result in nasty screaming messages from the Emperor and your Commanders, telling you that you are a disgrace and a downright idiot. High scores will result in 'honour', 'exhaltation' and, more importantly, extra 'order' and equipment cards which will enable you to complete later, more difficult missions.Graphics look very good and there is an option on 2D or 3D play. 2D is all colour and action is quite fast, whilst the monochrome 3D is a little slower but has better sound which adds to a more realistic atmosphere which includes footsteps, lasers and explosions.
Space Crusade will take a long time to both to learn and to master but I'll bet that most people will enjoy every minute of it. Just remember, learning this sort of game is like completing your potty training. a bit hit and miss, but a lot of satisfaction once you actually get stuck right into it.
Label: Gremlin Memory: 128K Price: £10.99 Tape, £15.99 Disk Reviewer: Big Al DykesGraphics: 89 Sound: 87 Playability: 91 Lastability: 93 Overall: 91
The follow up to the Hero Quest series of games, Space Crusader is once again a superb example of how well a complicated role playing game can be transferred onto computer. Unfortunately it is 128K only but I can't imagine any complaints from +2 or +3 owners when they see this game. It is accurate, absorbing and totally addictive. Zap those aliens, destroy the fearful dreadnought, complete your mission and collect imperial honours, what a game!
OTHER COMMENTGARTH: Wow! I've played the board version of Space Crusade before now and Gremlin have taken all the pain from the game with this excellent conversion. No Crusade fans should be without it and anyone who like strategy board games should try it. It's even a reasonable blast too but you've GOT to use your brain if you want to stick around for any time.
/OTHER COMMENT
BANNERSPACE FAX
Space Marines are a warrior caste raised by the Emperor of Human Space 25 centuries from now to smash the power of chaos wherever it raises it's ugly head in the universe. Organised into Chapters, each with it's own fleet and support ships, their numbers are small yet they Space Marines remain the most feared soldiers in the known Universe and thus small task forces can achieve a lot.
There are many aliens in Space Crusade but the largest and most feared is the Dreadnought. A gigantic combat robot that looks like one of Robocop's replacements, dreadnoughts are equipped with three heavy weapons and can use all three in one turn. They are also the toughest alien with two armour points and three life points.¬
GAME SET UP - HOW TO START KICKING BUTT
Before starting a mission you and one or two other players must choose one of the three Marine Chapters available. Then pick weapons for your commander, equipment cards (special extra equipment from which you can choose four out of eight initially) and order cards (which allow special or emergency moves, though only once during a game). Then equip the four marines under your command with the right combination of light or heavy weapons for the mission. Finally, choose one of the twelve missions available. These missions range from hard to very hard, so take your time and work out a strategy! Using a coded save option your commander's rank and position can be recalled for future use.¬
WEAPONS USE - MASTER BLASTERS
The weapons Space Marines use are divided into heavy and light categories. Naturally the amount of armour penetration and damage inflicted by the weapons differs thus the combat roll section of the screen is divided into two sections.There are two types of die used tor inflicting damage Light or close range weapons (which includes hand to hand combat), are represented by a six-sided dice, four sides of which score zero damage, the others score either one or two points. You throw two dice each lime you use light weapons. The total is the amount of damage that you do. The Heavy weapons are represented by red dice which has three zeros, a one, two and a three so there is more chance of popping someone's rivets off with a heavy weapon But you can see how complicated the game can become because of this.
Luckily, computers just love calculating things, especially random numbers so all the hard work of throwing the dice, forgetting whose turn it is and having to crawl around under the table to find the die that fell off is taken away. (Thank God and praise be!)
¬THE IMPERIAL ARMOURY
(HEAVY WEAPON) The Assault Cannon, one of the Marine's most powerful hand weapons. If you get a high combat roll it can kill several aliens.
(HEAVY WEAPON) Missile Launcher. This weapon gives a spread of fire over several squares. In short, it's devastating.(HEAVY WEAPON) Plasma Gun, a very powerful light beam weapon that's almost unstoppable in a straight line.
A Bolter, the Marine's standard short/medlum range weapon.
Short range weapons for the Commander, Bolt pistol and Power Axe.Power Glove and Power Sword, for hand to hand combat maniacs.
A Heavy Bolter Designed for long range.
/BANNERPICTURE TEXT
Space Marine Stevens steps off the docking bay and is about to venture through a door. The line of heads the bottom right hand side of the screen indicates that all the marines are active and alive. Hurrah, let's get on with it!
"Get your heavy weapons here", "Super deals available".Commander weapon and card select box. So much choice!
The three Space Marine Chapters available in Space Crusade are the imperial Fists, the Blood Angels and the Ultra Marines. Each chapter has a different choice of equipment and order cards.
A Blood Angels Commander tries to take out a dreadnought!The Imperial Fist's commander runs into an alien horde with very little backup.
A 3D view of some aliens and the Imperial Fist's Commander. The 3D works very well and combined with the sound creates atmosphere.
The 2D playing screen is a lot faster than 3D and also makes it easier to work out what square everyone's on!A 3D view of the Dreadnought and Blood Angel's Commander.
A Blood Angel turns his back on a Dreadnought. As Space Crusade is based on a board game you can actually collect plastic or lead models of all the games characters. They're wicked!!
The alien combat turn. A Dreadnought has three weapons and can use them all in one go! Watch out!/PICTURE TEXT
Overall Summary
The follow up to the Hero Quest series of games, Space Crusader is once again a superb example of how well a complicated role playing game can be transferred onto computer. Unfortunately it is 128K only but I can't imagine any complaints from +2 or +3 owners when they see this game. It is accurate, absorbing and totally addictive. Zap those aliens, destroy the fearful dreadnought, complete your mission and collect imperial honours, what a game!
