[RPG]: Hot War, reviewed by San Dee Jota (5/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13909.phtml

Shelby "D.J." Babb's Summary:

Hot War wasn't the monster filled, mad science fueled apocalypse I was hoping for. But it won me over anyway.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Malcolm Craig]

Thanks very much for the review, much appreciated. I'm glad that, despite the fact the game wasn't quite what you were expecting, you enjoyed it. If people are interested in looking further, there's all sorts of preview information, links to actual play threads, background resources and so on available at our website

Oh, and for anyone who's interested, the game is available from Indie Press Revolution. It's currently listed as pre-order, but the books are arriving in stock today! Exciting! There's three different ways you can get your hands on it:

The PDF, at $13
The hardcopy, at $28
The hardcopy and PDF bundle, at $33

If there any questions on the game that come out of this review, I'll be delighted to answer them here, in RPGopen or by PM.

Cheers
Malcolm

[San Dee Jota]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Craig

I'm glad that, despite the fact the game wasn't quite what you were expecting, you enjoyed it.

What can I say. I went in hoping for a good pizza and instead got a steak so good I didn't mind not getting pizza.

Put another way: I got a free review copy of the PDF. I intend to purchase a physical copy later this year. The game is that good.

[Hogscape]

Folks, is there an adventure scenario included in the book? I understand there is in Cold City (still waiting for that).

Cheers

[The Unshaven]

Thanks for the excellent review.

I too was expecting more of what you were regarding monsters and mad science, but it still sounds interesting.

Ah well. A lower priority than it had been, but nonetheless an item of interest for the postapocalyptic London/propaganda elements, even with less monster content than I'd hoped...

- The Unshaven.

[Malcolm Craig]

Originally Posted by Hogscape

Folks, is there an adventure scenario included in the book? I understand there is in Cold City (still waiting for that).

Cheers

There are 4 pre-fill game creation sheets included in the back of the book, plus plenty of ideas scattered throughout. Because of the nature of the game, a full, scripted adventure probably isn't so appropriate, but the game creation sheets should easily serve your needs. I've certainly used them for one-off games where we didn't have time to go through the collaborative creation process.

Cheers
Malcolm

[Malcolm Craig]

Originally Posted by The Unshaven

Thanks for the excellent review.

I too was expecting more of what you were regarding monsters and mad science, but it still sounds interesting.

Ah well. A lower priority than it had been, but nonetheless an item of interest for the postapocalyptic London/propaganda elements, even with less monster content than I'd hoped...

- The Unshaven.

There is a lot of deliberate ambiguity regarding that kind of thing. There is a massive amount of room for interpretation and the creation of your own, personal Hot War, where the strangeness (or otherwise) of the technology and monsters is left to your own interpretation.

Once we get the Hot War wiki fully up and running, I'd be delighted to see people adding their own monsters and other creations to it.

edit: And for those interested in other reviews of the game, there's one from Bruce Baugh available to look at here.

Cheers
Malcolm

[silenceindigo]

Great review! As a happy owner of Cold City, it made me consider seriously buying this one, if only for the improved Agenda mechanics. Great job highlighting the core points of Hot War and what new things it brings.

From your review, I really think the game's designers/publisher should put more emphasis on the mechanics' innovations in their presentation of it, because it's really worth understanding.