So, I caved and bought Space Hulk. Even after my complaints about it (in this post). What can I say - I'm weak, and after reading through the stuff GW was putting online each day I decided to take the plunge and place a pre order.
On arriving at work yesterday I found a large box sitting on my desk. Somehow i restrained myself through the day, and then spent a pleasurable evening popping card sections of board out of the packaging!
Some pictures of the "un-boxing" (have i spent too much time on Engadget??!)
So, now that I have Space Hulk, have i changed my opinion about the price and the idea of GW doing a limited edition. Well, yes - GW have done an excellent job with this reissue. The entire package oozes quality from the moment you pop the box lid.
For a start we have the quality of the actual box - its substantial thick card and very heavy. Unlike the older boxes (blood bowl, I'm thinking of you), I have some confidence that this box will withstand being taken to friends houses, on trains and chucked in to cupboards!
Next up we have the models. Im sure by now you have all seen the pictures on the web. Well the models are even nicer in real life. The sculptors really did an excellent job with these models.
Then there is the part that i was the most impressed with - the card components. My experience on GW card components in the past has never been good. I was expecting the card components to be like the old Warhammer card templates, thin card, no thicker than cereal card. But GW have actually done really well on this one using card that is very thick and lustrously glossy for the board pieces. I've included a picture below to show the thickness - That's a 1p piece its sat next to, and I'm sure you can see the thickness of the card!
All the extras are nicely presented and its nice that you get zip lock bags in the box for storing the counters!
The rules are (as far as I can see) the original rules with all of the expansions rolled in. This is good news as it means all the user generated missions available online (of which a lot are available) can still be used! They are presented in two lovely soft booklets (A4 size), one for the main rules and one for the mission book.
I'm not normally one to congratulate GW (indeed sometimes it seems like all I do is complain about GW!), but credit where credit is due, GW have produced an excellent product here, one which I feel is worth every penny of the £60 I spent on it. Every part of the packaging and game appears to have had much love lavished on it, and this comes across. I would even go so far as to say that this is the best "standalone" boxed game that GW has ever done (possible even best presented game all round). So well done to GW. Other manufacturers should take note!
