Here's where I'm just gonna post quick brief blurbs about various things from this month.
Tabletop Games:
Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game: 4/5, Mongoose Games, modified d20 OGL, overpriced, so get it used or pick up the pocket edition. It's a good read, but unless it's gonna be your only d20 book, it's not worth $35.
Robotech: The Roleplaying Game: 5/5, Palladium Games, loads of art, good for fans of the series. Takes a fair amount of experience with the setting (read as Hulu binge, 12 hours worth).
Robotech II: The Roleplaying Game: The Sentinels: 4/5, Palladium Games, lots of art, sample adventures, but requires a lot of background knowledge to understand.
Shadowrun: Germany Sourcebook: 4/5 FASA Games, good looking, lots of detail, but runs into detail overload. Not really a book for the kiddies.
Shadowrun: Sixth World Almanac: 4/5 Catalyst Game Labs, good source of information, nice typesetting, lots and lots of info, not a book for the kiddies.
Vintage Battletech Rulebooks: FASA (Released by Catalyst Game Labs): 5/5, giant collection of books, 12 dollars, nice history of Battletech, and also has a lot of gameplay potential in it.
Books:
Never Deal With A Dragon: 4/5, good Shadowrun novel, but it's got a few things that just don't feel right.
Games:
Counter-Strike: Source: 4/5, good video game, but it's got a heavy dependence on the other players; if they're boring, the game can degenerate, despite its merits.
World of Zoo: 4/5, heavily kids oriented, but as an old Catz player, I gave it a shot, and found it immersive and enjoyable.
Killing Floor: 4/5, nice game progression, but all in all fails to deliver a horror experience, atmosphere broken by some of the character voice, but other than that good. Lots of replay, and using the katana is fun (though the chainsaw needs work, it feels like a chore. Really, really not one for the kiddies.
Mass Effect: 5/5, good feel, style, art, only gripe is cookie-cutter environments. Shallow RPG play is rescued by a heavy focus on action. Awesome views, good weapons.
Supreme Commander 2: 4/5, has a decent feel and good gameplay, but has gone too heavily to shorter, simple games, unlike its Total Annihilation roots.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising: 4/5; has a fun game system, but it seems too shallow to really be enjoyable. Gains points for reckless mayhem.
Minecraft: 3/5: Good game, but is really dependent on playing with friends, gets boring quickly solo (in build mode, and survival mode is hard), and has limited in-game communication, requiring external communication (like Xfire).
Tabletop Games:
Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game: 4/5, Mongoose Games, modified d20 OGL, overpriced, so get it used or pick up the pocket edition. It's a good read, but unless it's gonna be your only d20 book, it's not worth $35.
Robotech: The Roleplaying Game: 5/5, Palladium Games, loads of art, good for fans of the series. Takes a fair amount of experience with the setting (read as Hulu binge, 12 hours worth).
Robotech II: The Roleplaying Game: The Sentinels: 4/5, Palladium Games, lots of art, sample adventures, but requires a lot of background knowledge to understand.
Shadowrun: Germany Sourcebook: 4/5 FASA Games, good looking, lots of detail, but runs into detail overload. Not really a book for the kiddies.
Shadowrun: Sixth World Almanac: 4/5 Catalyst Game Labs, good source of information, nice typesetting, lots and lots of info, not a book for the kiddies.
Vintage Battletech Rulebooks: FASA (Released by Catalyst Game Labs): 5/5, giant collection of books, 12 dollars, nice history of Battletech, and also has a lot of gameplay potential in it.
Books:
Never Deal With A Dragon: 4/5, good Shadowrun novel, but it's got a few things that just don't feel right.
Games:
Counter-Strike: Source: 4/5, good video game, but it's got a heavy dependence on the other players; if they're boring, the game can degenerate, despite its merits.
World of Zoo: 4/5, heavily kids oriented, but as an old Catz player, I gave it a shot, and found it immersive and enjoyable.
Killing Floor: 4/5, nice game progression, but all in all fails to deliver a horror experience, atmosphere broken by some of the character voice, but other than that good. Lots of replay, and using the katana is fun (though the chainsaw needs work, it feels like a chore. Really, really not one for the kiddies.
Mass Effect: 5/5, good feel, style, art, only gripe is cookie-cutter environments. Shallow RPG play is rescued by a heavy focus on action. Awesome views, good weapons.
Supreme Commander 2: 4/5, has a decent feel and good gameplay, but has gone too heavily to shorter, simple games, unlike its Total Annihilation roots.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising: 4/5; has a fun game system, but it seems too shallow to really be enjoyable. Gains points for reckless mayhem.
Minecraft: 3/5: Good game, but is really dependent on playing with friends, gets boring quickly solo (in build mode, and survival mode is hard), and has limited in-game communication, requiring external communication (like Xfire).