[RPG]: UNTIL Superpowers Database, reviewed by Will Mistretta (4/5)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9437.phtml

Will Mistretta's Summary:

Possibly the most overdue product in the roleplaying history, this colossal premade collection of Champions superpowers neatly surpasses TSR's old Ultimate Powers Books and opens Champions up at last to the division and multiplication-phobic.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by Yamo at 2003-06-20 10:10:18
Converted from Phorums BB System

I should have proofread this a little better...

a) First off, my intro. "...most overdue product in the roleplaying history...?" That's just wonky English. Oops.

b) "Everburning Fire Burst" should be "Everburning Fire Blast."

c) The final chapter contains two extended character creation examples, not three.

Of course, this was only my first review. I'll hopefully do a little better next time.

Thanks for reading!

Post originally by PumpinIt at 2003-06-20 10:18:30
Converted from Phorums BB System

This is not your first review - it says right on the page that you have written 3 ...

Post originally by Yamo at 2003-06-20 10:23:12
Converted from Phorums BB System

Huh?

Weird. They must have me confused with somebody else. Those other reviews are by another guy named Will.

For what it's worth, I submitted this one as "Will 'Yamo' Mistretta."

Odd.

I'll email the RPG.Net guys about getting this corrected.

Thanks.

Post originally by Breklor at 2003-06-20 12:15:09
Converted from Phorums BB System

<i>a perfect rating for "Style" isn't really feasable as long as color interior art is still a no-no. </i>

I dunno about you lot, but:

a) I've seen "perfect" B&W interior art;
b) I'd rather see B&W art and more content for my money, than a slick colourful product with little content.

Post originally by Steve Long at 2003-06-20 12:41:16
Converted from Phorums BB System

Unlike Yamo, I have counted the powers in the USPD, so I thought I'd pass along the information.

There are 750 "base" powers in the USPD. Most of those have variants, and if you count the variants, it comes to a total of over 3,300 superpowers.

Additionally, we have an Online USPD available on the Hero Games website (www.herogames.com). It features a few powers I couldn't fit into the book, but mostly it takes contributions from fans. It already has over 50 powers, and we post new ones once every week or two.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled review discussion.

Post originally by CelticCowboy at 2003-06-20 14:18:13
Converted from Phorums BB System

This is a tough call and I often find myself sitting on the fence of this subject.

One one hand I look at the artwork in a product like "Freedom City" and think it is visually stunning.

But then when I compare the price and page count of Hero Games products to anything else on the market - no contest.

I guess since I'm a gamer on a tight budget right now I've got to side with value per page over color content.

Post originally by Scorpio Rising at 2003-06-20 17:11:36
Converted from Phorums BB System


I don't find interior colour to be a big deal, as long as the pictures are nice. And I'd rather see good B+W artwork than ugly colour any day.

To be fair to Yamo, he still gave the book a 4 out of 5 for Style, which ain't exactly stingey.

- Scorpio commenting.

Post originally by Brand Robins at 2003-06-20 20:03:47
Converted from Phorums BB System

Even with the few small typos, which you've already noted and corrected in your errata, this was a very nice review. It was balanced, informative, and easy to read.

I look forward to seeing more reviews from you in the future.

Post originally by Yamo at 2003-06-20 20:42:33
Converted from Phorums BB System

...in a limited fashion.

As I said, I don't like flashy art. For the most part, I don't even like color art.

However, there are genre concerns at stake here. The comic medium is almost entirely a visual one and the superhero comics that Champions is based on tends to be an especially vibrantly colorful one.

Thus, I think color art is more of an ideal here in and of itself here than it might be in, say, a sci-fi or modern action game.

Hence my comments.