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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Roleplaying Buck Roger's pulp roots,
This review is from: Buck Rogers: Adventure Game : Adventure, Excitement, Thrills : High Adventure Cliffhangers, No 3587 (Hardcover)
Unlike the earlier XXVc Buck Rogers game -- which threw out most of the traditional BR backstory -- The High Adventure Cliffhangers box set returns back to the pulp roots of Buck Rogers.Set contains: * 32-page Rule Book * 32-page World Book * 48 page Adventure Book * 2 poster maps * sheet of die-cut counters * 10 six-sided dice * 40 Experience Chips
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Authentic Setting Hampered by Game Mechanics,
By Seneschal (Tulsa, OK, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Buck Rogers: Adventure Game : Adventure, Excitement, Thrills : High Adventure Cliffhangers, No 3587 (Hardcover)
The Buck Rogers Adventure Game is a mixed bag.On the one hand, its got the authentic 1929 Buck Rogers setting and vibe -- characters, gonzo gadgetry, people groups -- just as they appeared in the early comics and presented in reasonable but tantalizingly incomplete detail. The lone supplement, War Against the Han, shows how TSR would have filled in those details had the line continued. To me, the retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting is a plus. Yes, the Han are the evil invaders, but it isn't a racial thing. The game (and Armageddon 2419 A.D., the novel that inspired the newspaper strip# would work just as well if the invaders were Russian, or Martian. In fact, the non-player character descriptions in War Against the Han take pains not to paint all Han with the same brush. There are good guys and bad guys among them just as there are among the Americans. My chief regret about the setting is that the game didn't last long enough to bring in the Tiger Men from Mars, whose advent changed the focus of the newspaper strip from post-apocalyptic espionage to outer space exploration. Given that Tiger Man weaponry was listed in the existing material, they probably would have been the subject of the second module had one been published. On the other hand, Buck Rogers' game mechanics are simple to the point of being limiting for a potential Game Master. Now, they're definitely easy to learn and use, perfect for introducing children or other new players to role-playing. And I give TSR kudos for including in workable rules for vehicles, robots, and inventing new gadgets. But the simplicity also means that a Game Master doesn't have the tools he needs to create animals or aliens to challenge his players with. The core rules do include write-ups for eight assorted critters. But mechanically they're not much different from a write-up for a human. If you want to come up with a dinosaur, sea monster, or shape-shifting alien spy from Uranus, you'll have to wing it. You'd have trouble using the Buck Rogers rules for running a game of Flash Gordon or John Carter of Mars instead. Another complaint I've had from some players is that game characters have no hit points. Survival during combat or other dangerous situations depends on a single Mortality save roll. Blow your roll, and you're dead, period. Physically, the game is attractively presented. The box art for both Buck Rogers and War Against the Han is gorgeous and evocative. Inside the box are three slim books totaling 111 pages, a set of ten six-sided dice, and a bag of miniature poker chips to use as experience tokens during play. Also included are a colorful two-sided map poster and cardboard character counters similar to those included in TSR's Gangbusters! game. The game booklets are Rules, World of the 25th Century #the setting information#, and the Adventures Book #which contains a multi-part adventure scenario and lots of advice for neophyte Game Masters#. War Against the Han includes a 32-page setting book providing additional background information, locations, weapons, and non-player characters and a 48-page campaign book with more Game Master guidance on how to create adventures. It also contains cardboard character counters and a two-sided color map poster. The books are illustrated throughout with black and white blow-ups of Buck Rogers newspaper strip panels and line art portraits of important characters and gear. The heavy box, by the way, is huge compared to the volume of content inside. I've found that mine can contain the core product, the War Against the Han module box, my Eternity Comics Buck Rogers reprints, my paperback copy of Philip Nowlan's original Buck Rogers novels, and a stack of photocopied character sheets. So Buck Rogers is a physically attractive game with a unique period science fiction setting. The rules are useful for teaching new gamers how to play but for longer-term action I'd probably port the setting and my players over to a more full-featured role-playing system. Also, once the players are done battling the Han, the Game Master will have to research the rest of the Buck Rogers universe for himself. Fortunately, the entire run of newspaper strip is currently being reprinted in a book series. So this is a good time to jump into High Adventure Cliffhangers.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay system, but the setting...,
By David Michael Cohen (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Buck Rogers: Adventure Game : Adventure, Excitement, Thrills : High Adventure Cliffhangers, No 3587 (Hardcover)
When this game was published in 1993, most people associated "Buck Rogers" with the 80's TV series starring Gil Gerrard. A few people may have associated it with TSR's "Buck Rogers XXV" series. Buck's historic origins, however, date back to two pulp novels and a spin-off comic strip beginning in 1929. It is on this that the BR Adventure Game was based on.Although most people in the late teen/young adult age bracket (the primary buyers of RPG's) would not have known it, the original BR was not out fighting aliens or interplanetary fascists. No, he was defending an embattled America against a world-conquering China. I can see that going over well in 1929 when "The Yellow Peril" was a staple in popular fiction, but in 1993? Didn't we renew China's status as a "most favored trading nation" that year? Frankly, in this day and age setting my players against "yellow foreign devils" (a quote from the comic strip) seems rather awkward and embarassing. The game system is fairly simple and straightforward. There are four stats; strength, aim, brains and health. Each is given a descriptor with a ranking order; OK, good, better or best. Each level gives youm a certain number of dice for use when you make a check (OK gives you two, good gives you three, etc.). There are also skills which can be learned at basic or master levels, and experience chips you can earn in play, to give you additional dice. The system is easy to learn and moves quickly (essential for a high action game). At the same time, however, it feels rather sparse. Plus, the descriptors way it down more than they enhance the feel. Why not just list an OK strength as "2 dice?" Sure it doesn't sound as pretty, but it's more useful. My final analysis is this: the game system is good for simple, high action games, but not the best. I much prefer "Story Engine" (also descriptor based) or "Cartoon Action Hour." As for the setting, it may appeal to hardcore nostalgia fans or KKK members, but that's about all.
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