BY GEORGE STRAYTON AND NIKOLA
PUBLISHED BY WEST END GAMES
144 PAGES $20.00

I'm not a fan of most big budget Hollywood vies, but I have to admit, Men in Black was loads of fun. Clever, funny, full of aliens who chain smoked, it gave science fiction a much-needed dose of levity. West End Games, who have taken the concept of licensed products, tracked it down, throttled it into submission and now parade around on its back like conquering heroes -- has rapidly capitalized on the movie's success with the official Men in Black RPG.

Using the D6 system made popular by the Star Wars RPG, MiB attempts to capture the feel of the movie while it's still fresh in filmgoers' minds. The end result is a curiously double-edged sword: witty and faithful to the material, but also rushed and smacking a bit too much of naked commercialism.

As you may have guessed, players in the game take the part of MiB agents, members of a super-secret govment organization created to police and monitor extraterrestrial life on Earth. Our little backwater world is quite a hotbed of intergalactic intrigue, and races from hundreds of different worlds live among us disguise (mostly in New York). The MiB must sure that these E.T's play nice with our Planet, while preventing their existence from being discoved by the rest of humanity.

Like I said, there's a lot to like about Men in Black: RPG. Unfortunuately, there's a lot to dislike as well.

Let's check off the bad stuff first: it's obvious that the designers were trying to crank this out in time for the movie release. The 144 page book is printed on fairly low-stock paper. The pictures -- including a large number of photos from the movie -- are poorly rendered, bleeding dot matrix all over. It gives the book a "slapped together" feeling, and raises the cynical question of whether they're just doing this to make a quick buck. Anyone who buys the game shouldn't expect to see any supplements after the first year or so. Despite these used car dealer overtones, however, ere's still plenty of sparkle in Men in Black. ginning players, especially, will find the book user friendly. The D6 system is simple and easy to learn, id keeps the game moving quickly. There's a quick intro adventure that gives beginners an idea of what role-playing is without drowning them in jargon. The entire book is filled with plenty of advice on how and why the game works the way it does. For younger players, or for people just getting into role-playing, Men In Black is a comfortable way to ease them in.

The book's primary strength, however, is the way it conveys the wit of the movie into gaming terms. For example, the "noisy cricket," - Will Smith's laughably tiny pocket bazooka - causes 2 dice of damage to whoever shoots it (the recoil on that sucker is hell). While the text tends to be rather predictable (if you've seen the movie, there won't be a whole lot of surprises), it's full of lightweight humor, and disarms the reader immediately. The whole "been there, done that, nothing surprises me" mood of the film is evident on every page, and it's obvious that the writers are quite fond of their cinematic source material

And if you're looking for aliens, Men in Black is chock full of 'em. From the caffeine-addicted Annelids to the terrifying Bobo the Squat, all the critters from the movie are discussed and given game stars. There's even rules for creating your own aliens, and if you want your MiB agent to be something more than human... well, they've got it covered.

For a game created on the fly, there's a fair amount to like about Men in Black. If you're willing to overlook layout problems and are comfortable with the fact that there probably won't be much support for it, this book can be a lot of fun. For new players, or old ones who want a break from their regular campaigns, Men in Black: The Role-Playing Game may be just the thing you need.