Some people may argue that this type of game doesn't fall in line with the other greats in the Horror Genre. In some ways I do agree that this type of game doesn't hold a candle to the atmosphere and terror in Arkham Horror (my favorite game of all time and soon to be reviewed in October!) or Mansions of Madness. On the other hand though, what would horror video games be like without Doom or Dead Space. What would horror movies be like without Alien or Event Horizon? Simply put, classical science fiction horror has a place even among board games. (Also, there is a fantasy horror sub-genre that is very fascinating.) Therefore, we have Space Hulk: Death Angel!
Death Angel is a card game version of an old Games Workshop board game that is difficult to acquire and rather high in price due to limited availability. A similar game made off the theme of Doom (the PC game) was released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2005 but is now also out of print and extremely hard to find for a decent price. I bought Doom when it first came out so in my house Death Angel is Doom mini. all these games revolve around a set of space marines who infiltrate an abandoned or derelict ship/space station. The purpose of the game is to run the space marines through the entire set of rooms, killing alien scum as you go, until you get to the end and escape.
Death Angel is the kind of game that I call a "card-board game." This is because there is a deck of cards that represent rooms, there is a deck of cards that represent characters, and there is a deck of cards that represent baddies. So instead of a board and pawns the game uses cards to replace some or all of these game elements. In Death Angel everyone works together to kill all the evil Genestealers and get through all the rooms.
At the beginning of the game each player chooses one team made up of two space marines. Each team has their own set of cards and their own special abilities. Everyone lines up their marines in a tactical formation and prepares to run through the Space Hulk. At the top of the line-up is a set of rooms (represented by cards) that the marines have to proceed through. Each room has a different set up and a different number of Genestealers waiting inside.
Death Angel is a card game version of an old Games Workshop board game that is difficult to acquire and rather high in price due to limited availability. A similar game made off the theme of Doom (the PC game) was released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2005 but is now also out of print and extremely hard to find for a decent price. I bought Doom when it first came out so in my house Death Angel is Doom mini. all these games revolve around a set of space marines who infiltrate an abandoned or derelict ship/space station. The purpose of the game is to run the space marines through the entire set of rooms, killing alien scum as you go, until you get to the end and escape.
Death Angel is the kind of game that I call a "card-board game." This is because there is a deck of cards that represent rooms, there is a deck of cards that represent characters, and there is a deck of cards that represent baddies. So instead of a board and pawns the game uses cards to replace some or all of these game elements. In Death Angel everyone works together to kill all the evil Genestealers and get through all the rooms.
At the beginning of the game each player chooses one team made up of two space marines. Each team has their own set of cards and their own special abilities. Everyone lines up their marines in a tactical formation and prepares to run through the Space Hulk. At the top of the line-up is a set of rooms (represented by cards) that the marines have to proceed through. Each room has a different set up and a different number of Genestealers waiting inside.
Genestealers move down on the formation and attack individual Space Marines. Throughout the game global events will take place that cause much distress among the ranks. It will take everything they have to survive the horrors of the dark and abandoned derelict ship.
In playing Death Angel gamers will quickly get used to the fact that this game is HARD. Your marines get picked off one by one at a very fast rate. The event cards that spawn more Genestealers and create bad circumstance only make it more difficult. Now, as I said earlier, my favorite board game is Arkham Horror. So I'm used to getting a beating in cooperative games. In fact, I like to lose! It makes it an intense and nail biting experience which reflects the horror genre in a more realistic way. Death Angel on the other hand makes me frustrated when I don't win. Often I feel that I barley put up a fight before my teams are getting beaten down to a bloody pulp. I have yet to win a game of Death Angel and I have owned it for almost a year now.
There have been a few times where I have gotten close to winning and those games were much more satisfying. It's great to get almost to the end and finally lose! I feel like I struggled through the hours of horror, that I almost survived "the night." It is reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead where our protagonist thinks he's won when morning arrives but ends up just getting a bullet in the head at the last second. That makes for a good Horror experience. Unfortunately, I usually just loose within the first five to ten rounds and I feel cheated out of the true horror experience.
One thing I do love about this game is that it can be played solo. I'm a huge solo gamer. I currently own seven different games I can play on my own. Often times it is hard to find a group of people to play a game. Schedules conflict and so do tastes. So having a game I can play alone makes me very satisfied. Death Angel is small and relatively quick to set up and play. So I find myself pulling this one out when I don't have as much time as I would like. Often times I lose alone at the game. I wonder if I played this one with a group more often if we would win more.
The few times I have played it with a group, the players get quickly frustrated and don't want to play again afterwards. This is especially hard if both of a player's team members are killed early on. That player is basically out of the game and has to sit there until the end. That sucks and I hate games like that. (Even in Doom your character respawns) It's okay if you play alone because if you're out the game is over. I mainly got this game to play alone.
In playing Death Angel gamers will quickly get used to the fact that this game is HARD. Your marines get picked off one by one at a very fast rate. The event cards that spawn more Genestealers and create bad circumstance only make it more difficult. Now, as I said earlier, my favorite board game is Arkham Horror. So I'm used to getting a beating in cooperative games. In fact, I like to lose! It makes it an intense and nail biting experience which reflects the horror genre in a more realistic way. Death Angel on the other hand makes me frustrated when I don't win. Often I feel that I barley put up a fight before my teams are getting beaten down to a bloody pulp. I have yet to win a game of Death Angel and I have owned it for almost a year now.
There have been a few times where I have gotten close to winning and those games were much more satisfying. It's great to get almost to the end and finally lose! I feel like I struggled through the hours of horror, that I almost survived "the night." It is reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead where our protagonist thinks he's won when morning arrives but ends up just getting a bullet in the head at the last second. That makes for a good Horror experience. Unfortunately, I usually just loose within the first five to ten rounds and I feel cheated out of the true horror experience.
One thing I do love about this game is that it can be played solo. I'm a huge solo gamer. I currently own seven different games I can play on my own. Often times it is hard to find a group of people to play a game. Schedules conflict and so do tastes. So having a game I can play alone makes me very satisfied. Death Angel is small and relatively quick to set up and play. So I find myself pulling this one out when I don't have as much time as I would like. Often times I lose alone at the game. I wonder if I played this one with a group more often if we would win more.
The few times I have played it with a group, the players get quickly frustrated and don't want to play again afterwards. This is especially hard if both of a player's team members are killed early on. That player is basically out of the game and has to sit there until the end. That sucks and I hate games like that. (Even in Doom your character respawns) It's okay if you play alone because if you're out the game is over. I mainly got this game to play alone.
Summing it Up
Death Angel isn't the best game in the world. Often times sci-fi horror games are a little tedious and unpopular. I think it's a hard genre to sell to purist gamers. I do enjoy the game when I am able to plan and do well in battle. The cards and pieces are great quality and the artwork is atmospheric and creepy. However, it is very hard to win and often gets frustrating when your team all dies off within the first twenty minutes of play.
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 2
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 3
Overall Rating: 3
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 2
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 3
Overall Rating: 3