This game won’t win any awards, oh sorry, it’s hard to not blurt that out while playing this game. This commercial on TV for this “treadclimber” says it’s fast, easy, and makes me feel good. Evil Dead doesn’t make me feel any of these, it makes me feel bored, annoyed, and sick. First the CG’s, the pre-rendered’s are pretty good, not OddWorld good, but good none the less. But there are only like 3 of them. Speaking of 3’s, that’s how many bosses are in the whole game, 3, and that’s including the end boss. The game has 5 levels which are massive though.

How did you get into gaming? Many years ago, before my voice changed, I got the green box D&D set from… man, somewhere. I think I was in fourth or fifth grade. I think it had an Errol Otis cover and the sample characters had names like Morgan Ironwolf and Gutboy Barrelhouse. I also recall […]

The cover continues the usage of a stark white background, which stands out on the FLGS shelving. On which the picture of the back of a rough looking sort with his back covered in tattoos stands. The cover is made of (and I don’t know the technical term) Shiny thick paper or thin cardboard. (I’m sure someone will inform me).

Aiken watched the gun. The muzzle was drifting to and fro, but always covering him, cutting down his options. He was trying hard to sober up. The little man was talking away in his fast, clipped voice, but Aiken was having difficulty concentrating on the words. Before the pair had arrived he had been busy drinking himself unconscious, but now that was a distant memory. The big one had come in first, the muscle, waving his vicious-looking sparklock languidly about, indicating to the clientele of this particular dive that they would be better off not getting involved.

A tale for the a/state setting from Contested Ground Studios, written by Greg Saunders.

In this interview Wil talks to us about working on the Midnight RPG from Fantasy Flight Games. He also tells us a little about Dawnforge and other projects he has been working on.

At first glance, Cursed Empire is a lot of information. I would even go so far as to say that this book holds more information and mechanics than a lot of the D20 products out there on the market. Steven Preston, a fan who’s played Cursed Empire writes, “The system is much more in depth than your standard d20 types. It is very realistic.” Realism is the core of this game. The mechanics, while not D20, are based on percentages. For someone who plays games that are not mechanics-intensive, Cursed Empire can appear intimidating. The rules system covers everything you can imagine, from the weight of your satchel to the effects of weather (p. 167). However, the percentage mechanics has an appeal to many D20 players. James Holden, another fan who’s played Cursed Empire writes, “As far as the percentile system goes it is superb. We had no probs as d20 gamers getting into this and have picked it up really easily.”

I’ll be honest; this book snared me as an impulse buy for 2 reasons. First, I needed something to read on the bus ride home from the mall; second, well, I love werewolves and it’s so painfully rare to find a half-decent werewolf story. I’m not sure why it is, but nobody seems to be able to really nail the heart and soul of the werewolf story. The original Howling did it; An American Werewolf in London was a classic, despite its camp, and An American Werewolf in Paris to this reviewer’s mind was a very underrated werewolf film. But other than those three films, good werewolf stories seem to be slim pickin’s. I didn’t expect much better from Bitten, but I picked it up simply because I love werewolves.

Vampire: Gehenna, the Final Night is the first act of the Time of Judgment, telling the story of a wide-ranging Armageddon among the supernatural entities of the World of Darkness.

The end of the line for Vampire: the Masquerade and the Kindred characters of that part of the World of Darkness. Several signature characters, such as Lucita and Theo Bell and make a final appearance in this book. As Ari Marmell’s first novel, this is quite an undertaking. How do you sum up all those years of books, characters and events in the plot of Vampire: the Masquerade? Quite simply, you can’t. There is simply too much. So many characters and plots have been introduced over the years that it would take volumes to cover them all. What Ari Marmell does with this book is tell a great story of a select few of the characters we’ve known over the years.

How did you get into gaming? Well my first experience was with a choose your own adventure type book which had a character sheet and everything. All I remember about it was that it had a crazy looking snake-man on the cover with a scimitar and a black cover. Then in high school I met […]

How did you get into gaming? Well, when I graduated from college in late 2000 I wanted to do concept art for the movie industry, but I quickly came to realize that my abilities were far too underdeveloped for that to occur; so I began searching the internet for companies that hired freelance artists hoping […]

The cover is beautiful, the main figure is of a night caste called Harmonious Jade, in the background you might be able to see the faces or other exalted, each one of them as a life and a personality of it’s own.

White wolf’s favorite theme is transformation, and here is not the exception, but the world of exalted is much more than that.

How did you get into gaming? I started roleplaying in college, mainly GURPS. I had been trying my hand at writing fiction for a while, and amassed a nice collection of rejection letters; my girlfriend suggested I tried submitting a gaming article, and next thing I knew I was writing GURPS Martial Arts for Steve […]

I woke up before sunrise this morning and could not get back to sleep, no matter how much I tossed and turned. The sky was changing from black to grey when I left the house. It was so early that almost nothing was open save for the newspaper kiosk by Cafe Station (I am sure you are laughing hard right now at the image of me waking before dawn!). Because the weather was pleasant for this time of year and because I felt like doing so I was dressed in a light coat and simple leather shoes. This is not important to the story but I feel compelled to discuss these kinds of details.

Written by Jared Sorensen

JW: Will you please summarise the Darkness Rising setting? What makes it particularly interesting and exciting? SR: The Darkness Rising setting is an old story: evil fighting evil with the PCs caught in between. It’s interesting because it focuses exclusively on a number of warring factions: the minions of the Void, the forces of Creation, […]

Derek tells us about his work on All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Eden Studios Presents gives us a break-down on good vs. bad conventions.

In recent years a host of post-apocalyptic games have flung themselves at the mercy of the gaming market. Rapture: The Second Coming is a setting created by William Spencer-Hale. Its post-apocalyptic echoes have strong religious overtones. While some games with a religious feel have lent themselves to popular Christian theology, Rapture flies in the face of such traditions through its conspiracy and depiction of the Vatican as the basis for all evil. The writers of Rapture are aware of its controversy, “Rapture does not attempt to embrace a religious ideal or promote one form of theology over another. On the contrary, in the context of the game, all religions have their truth, no matter what their view of God may be.” (Page 24) The game is no less controversial for having the explanation, however. Its character classes span the realm of modern-day religion and stereotypes.

Normally I’m not one who likes many D20 products on the market, as I am not a regular user of that system. Also due to the fact that many of the products out there are not of the highest quality that they should be, more of an attempt to make a few dollars off of the D20 logo with a halfway thought out ideas done with shoddy writing.

However this particular book does not fall among the ranks of those.

Without even reading a word of text, this book is gorgeous. Crimson red cover, portraying a hand dipping into blood, with red rose petals drifting atop; it’s easily one of White Wolf’s best. Internally, the art is the usual Gothic fair. Some of the art is more mature in nature, which is becoming a trend, even in mainstream Wizards of the Coast books.

The book is mostly black and white, with a touch of red here and there, which technically makes this a full-color book. That being the case, $34.95 for 302 color pages is not a bad deal. The presentation for this book is great, and I could recommend it on a completely separate aesthetic level.

Review by David Akers

In this interview we discuss Wraith: the Oblivion and Forgotten Realms fiction. Richard also hands out a little advice for up-and-coming authors and tells us about some of his other work.

Public synopsis: A powerful virus escapes from a British research facility. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them.

Well that’s just the blurb that is given to the general audience via the back of the video box. But this movie amounts to so much more than most people could have anticipated. A very finely crafted movie with a cast that delivers some top-notch performances and a story that’s sure to keep you in your seat. I’ll try not to give away too much in the way of spoilers but I’m sure a few will leak their way in.

Review by Peter Amthor