BY JEAN CARRIERES, JEFF FORTIER, GENE MARCIL, STEPHEN I. MATIS, MARTIN OVELLETTE, PIERRE OVELLETTE, AND MARC A. VEZINA
PUBLISHED BY DREAM POD9
$24.95
256 PACES

This review is a long time coming. But have no fear -- here it is.

First off, I have to say that I have been waiting a long time for a science fiction game that would really grab me. I was looking for a game that not only intrigued me with its view of the possible future, but also had a system that I could easily tweak to cope with anything my players may throw at me. I found both in Heavy Gear by Dream Pod 9.

First, the game setting itself is very interesting. Heavy Gear is set in the year 6132 on the colonial planet of Terra Nova. After centuries of neglect, Imperial Earth returned to Terra Nova to reassert her control of the fledgling colony. The Confederated Northern City-States and the Allied Southern Territories, once bitter enemies, joined forces to repel the assault and were successful. But now old prejudices and rivalries have flared up and set the North and the South on the path of war once again.

The rulebook includes brief descriptions of both the northern and southern territories and some details of the equatorial desert region known as the Badlands. The only complaint I have here is that the descriptions are a little too brief. I would have liked to see more in-depth details on the territories and all the city-states within them.

A news release I received from Dream Pod 9 states that this section of the book will be expanded from 6 to over 40 pages in Second Edition Heavy Gear. Also included will be a complete campaign setting, the City of Peace River. Heavy Gear Second Edition should be appearing in stores anytime now.

Another interesting detail about the Heavy Gear Universe is that Dream Pod 9 has a continuing plot that they'll be advancing as future supplements are released. The entire storyline that they have planned will take about five years or so to completely tell and as the story is revealed, GM's can place their players right in the thick of things.

The game system, called the Silhouette system, for the game is one of the smartest universal game systems to come from the industry in years. 6-sided dice are used to generate quick and sensible results.

Most action skill rolls are compared to a target number determined by the GM, however combat and some interpersonal skill rolls are made with a contested roll between the players. The player who has the higher success wins the contest. Making tough NPCs makes things that much worse of the PCs.

The character creation system is equally easy to use. It only involves spending a few character points to buy attributes and skills and you are ready to play. Smooth and simple.

Heavy Gear's main rulebook also includes the tactical rules for Gear combat. Gears are the mobile armored battle-suits piloted armed forces of Terra Nova. The tactical rules are very similar to the personal combat rules, with only a few minor changes. Gear combat is quick and decisive, a battle with 5 gears on a side will only take about 45 minutes to an hour to play.

Designed to be used with a hex map, the tactical rules can be easily converted to table-top mapless combat as well. The great thing about the tactical rules is that tactics, not luck of the roll, determines who'll win the day.

Heavy Gear and vehicle construction rules are also included in the main rules. They are more difficult then the character creation rules, but you still don't need to be a math professor to figure them out. Samples of 8 gears, 4 vehicles, and 2 striders (the larger cousins of the heavy gear) are also contained in the rulebook.

We just started playing Heavy Gear after a brief lull in our Saturday night gaming activities. I decided to pick this up when I saw it in a damaged bargain bin at the local game store. I would have paid full price for this thing.

Dream Pod 9 has created one of the best science fiction games to hit the market in years. The rules are simple and easy to use. The history and advancing storyline is innovative. All the rules for roleplaying, tactical combat, and vehicle construction are presented together in one book. Dream Pod 9 has put together a exciting vision of the future.