Nuketown

April 2009

Wizards launches D&D 4E Test Drive

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 6:42pm

Thinking of trying out Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, but don't want to layout money for books? Then check out Wizards of the Coast's new D&D Test Drive, a free set of downloads that includes:

  • Quicstart Rules
  • H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
  • Pregenerated characters
  • The free version of the D&D Character Builder (for character levels 1-3)

Quickstart editions are nothing new -- most of the big games out there (and many of the small ones) have such creatures available for download. The nice thing here is that they've coupled the quickstart rules with a full commerical-grade module in the form of Keep on the Shadowfell. Without having checked out the rules or the module, I'll go out on a limb and say giving would-be players a quick-and-easy way to jump into the world's most popular RPG is a good thing for the game and the industry.

Is this the Golden Age of Scifi RPGs?

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 5:31am

A strange thing is happening in RPGs: science fiction is popular again. While there have always been science fiction RPGs, they've always been a distant second (or more often, a distant third) to fantasy and even horror RPGs.

Right now though we have three major scifi RPGs in print: Star Wars: Saga Edition, Warhammer 40k, and Traveller. There are also a host of smaller RPGs, including Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, Paranoia XP, Alpha Omega, the Slipstream pulp scifi setting for Savage Worlds and newcomer Thousand Suns.

SciFiWire.com: Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on the Dark Athena

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 9:30pm

My review of Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on the Dark Athena is up on SciFiWire.com. Dark Athena is a follow-up to the classic Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay for the original Xbox. The game is a double feature, including the original Butcher Bay with updated, next-gen graphics, and the new Dark Athena chapter.

Both follow similar storylines: in Butcher Bay, Riddick is attempting to fight his way out of a maximum security prison. In Dark Athena, he's captured by mercenary slavers and must fight his way off their ship. Unfortunately, these are both Chronicles prequels; there's no mention of the Necromongers or the Underverse. Read the full review on SciFiWire.com.

Universe of Babylon 5 arrives for Traveller

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 9:19am

Mongoose Publishing has released The Universe of Babylon 5 source book for Traveller:

"Bringing the universe of Babylon 5 to the Traveller system, this book is a one-stop resource for Babylon 5 fans. Combining setting information with new rules, players can learn how jump gates and hyperspace works, play Narn, Minbari or Centauri characters and explore the space station that changed the fate of an entire galaxy."

I've never played Traveller but from what I've read about it, this seems like a good fit. Traveller's character generation system, which spawns a deep, detailed character history, should be great for B5. I imagine that the starship rules are also another logical convergence point between game and setting.All in all, this looks like yet another good reason to pick up a copy of those Traveller rules that I've been thinking about getting for the last six months or so...

GameCryer.com: Star Wars Legacy Era Campaign Guide

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 2:48pm

My review of the Star Wars: Legacy Era Campaign Guide is up at GameCryer.com. As I mentioned in the review, the Legacy Era is a real hodgepodge of Star Wars tropes, species, technology and heroes. I was skeptical about it at first -- did we need yet another Sith Empire? Did the Jedi need to be extinguished again? But as I've read through the graphic novels and reviewed this campaign guide, I came to the conclusion that the answer is a "yes".

Legacy is a great time period for a sandbox-style game where you want to be able to draw on an entire galaxy's worth of stuff. It's perfect for those who find themselves unable to commit to any one era when running a game, as well as those who don't want to muck about with continuity. Check out the review or buy the book on Amazon.com.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures introduces social hack'n'slash

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 4:30am

Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures is that rarest of WotC digital products: one that actually delivers.

Wizards of the Coast's litany of digital failure is long. D&D Master Tools. D&D eTools. D&D Insider. Gleemax. All  overhyped, and under delivered. Yet here's Tiny Adventures for Facebook, an simple but surprisingly addictive little app that no one saw coming.

The app embraces D&D 4th Edition's "Points of Light" philosophy. You create an avatar based on one of the core 4th edition classes, such as fighter, cleric, warlord, etc. Your options are limited to certain race/class combinations (e.g. dwarven warlord) and stats are pre-rolled. Once you make your pick, you head out into the vast wilderness to combat threats including royal usurpers, scheming witches, and goblin raiders.

Radio Active #77: Footsteps in the Night

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 7:42am

On this episode of Nuketown Radio Active, Neutron Lad gives up diapers for good, StarGirl and I get in a game of Settlers of Catan, I head back to the gym (again) and set some goals and I share my reviews of a bunch of new games, including Resident Evil 5, Star Ocean and Ticket to Ride.

In Netheads, I take a look at the Launchy fast-application launcher for Windows and Linux, and share some Tor.com-inspired thoughts about the future of comic books.

Misremembering the Legends of Zork

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 04/06/2009 - 6:58am

One of the first computer games I remember playing was Adventure!, a text-based RPG that was based on Colossal Cave, a piece of interactive fiction developed at MIT in the early 1970s. It shared its DNA with what would become one of the most popular IF franchise: Zork.

I played Zork I, but not its sequels, choosing instead to play other Infocom games like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Once those were done, I moved on to Sierra's KingsQuest/PoliceQuest/SpaceQuest games and the early Ultima games (which had similar text-interfaces, but added graphics!)

When I heard about Legends of Zork, a new online iteration of the franchise, I was skeptical, but hopeful. The artwork instantly brought me back to what I imagined Zork and its kin would look like -- the mirage of zany and heroic is exactly the sort of thing my 12 year old self loved.

Signs & Portents 67: RuneQuest, Traveller, Victory at Sea

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sat, 04/04/2009 - 9:03am

Signs & Portents 67 includes "The Drakh Plague" for Babylon 5/Traveller, a scenario for RuneQuest, Part two of the Levall Affair for Traveller, an article on adding the fog of war to naval battles for Victory at Sea, entertainment and diversions for the Conan RPG, and a how-to survival horror guide for Spycraft.

SF SIte for April 2009: Zombie Survival, The Accord, Little Brother, Biohell

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sat, 04/04/2009 - 12:18am

The April edition of SF Site is up, with reviews of The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, The Accord by Keith Brooke, Biohell by Andy Remic, Star Trek TNG: Lost Souls by David Mack, and Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. They've also go reviews of the movie Knowing and the series finale of Battlestar Galactica.