Originally released by Electronic Arts, Space Hulk has reappeared on Ocean's Hit Squad label. The Hit Squad is made up of titles that were popular (sometimes with reviewers, end users or the developers) in the past and hopefully will appeal to newcomers to the computer gaming world and those who have a limited budget.

Space Hulk takes you into an environment that has been created as a result of numerous wars, scientific advancement and mistakes, the development and misuse of psionic powers and the domination of Human space by the immortal Emperor. As an Imperial Captain, of the Dark Angel Chapter of the Space Marines, you will have to undertake various missions in the vast areas of the Space Hulks that are often home to the ruthless killing machines known as Genestealers.

The Space Hulks were the relics of old space crafts joined together to create giant monoliths of drifting monstrosities, often several kilometres long as well as wide. Occasionally these conglomerations of derelict ships were the source of priceless treasures from the past but more often were the bringers of great danger. A combination of four grasping and tearing limbs with teeth and claws, the Genestealers were driven by the desire to survive and multiply. As a single sexed race, their only method of reproduction was to use the bodies of other species as egg-carrying donors. These creatures were your enemy and their destruction was your main aim in life.

Directing your squad of powerful, bio-engineered warriors, known as Terminators, with their immense armoured suits, you have over 50 missions and campaigns that need to be completed before facing the final confrontation and discovering the hidden secrets of the Space Hulk Strategy and planning play a large part in any success that you might have in your excursions into the Space Hulk. So get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the various squads of Terminators.

To help you get started there is a nine mission tutorial which introduces you to the mission briefing section before letting you get used to the various components of the Terminator View and Planning screens. The Terminator View screen uses a combination of view monitors, Primary Terminator monitor, order indicators, freeze time allocation bar, direction controls and scanner. From this screen you can direct all your Terminators to various parts of the Hulk, view the scenes through the eyes of the Terminators and fire at Genestealers. Freeze time is a bit like a time-out option for when you need to do some planning, while the scanner gives you a grid view of the area around your designated Primary Terminator.

The Planning screen is made up of command icons along with strategic and planning maps. The command icons allow you to construct a series of movements for any of your Terminators, so that you can move through a sequence of steps, fire a number of shots and then retreat to consolidate your position. The strategic map gives you a basic outline of the various passageways and rooms that make up the Hulk. For constructing and setting out your commands you will need to use the planning map. This map gives you far more detail than the strategic map and shows your Terminators' positions, doors, teleport squares, target areas and, most important, Genestealers.

Once through the tutorial you will have the task of selecting both your squad and the weapons they will use. Choosing your squad is more a matter of selecting the Terminator sergeant and the rest of the squad comes with him.

The choice of weapons can alter the capabilities of your squad and so you will need to select weapons that are suitable for the current mission. Among the weapons that are available you will find Lightning Claws, Thunder Hammers, Storm Shields, Power Gloves and Storm Bolters - all aptly named.

Even though Space Hulk is on its second time around, you will still need a reasonably powerful system to get the best out of it. You're going to need an IBM compatible 386/25 MHz or higher, 580K free base memory, VGA display, DOS 3.3 or higher, 90MB of free hard disk space, Microsoft compatible mouse, 1MB of EMS memory for sound with support for Soundblaster, Adlib and compatibles, and a 3.5" floppy disk drive.

First time around Space Hulk received some scores as high as 90% but scores and opinions tend to decrease with the passing of time. Graphics, cut-sequences, gameplay and atmospheric sound effects have improved a lot recently but while Space Hulk does suffer some by comparison, it is still well worth looking at. It is a very playable game involving strategy, tactics and a certain amount of shoot-'em-up action. Remember this is now classed as a budget game and this shows in its price of £14.99 (inc. VAT).

If you missed Space Hulk the first time and you want something more subtle than modern blood 'n gore feast then give it a try.

The Hit Squad can be contacted at Ocean Media, 2 Castle Street, Castlefield, Manchester, M3 4LZ, Tel: 0161-832-6633. Don't forget to mention Micro Mart!