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Before you read this review, there are two things that you must know. The first is that Heavy Gear is a strategy game as well as an RPG. Having less experience with strategy games than I do with synchronized bungee jumping (not much), I will review only the Role-Playing portion. I would rather be mauled by a wild chocobo than play a game with miniatures in it, but fortunately the strategy game is strictly optional.

The second thing you should know is this: I HATE GIANT ROBOT GAMES. I loathe Macross, I detest Mekton Z, and my opinion of Battletech can't be printed on a family web site.

That said, Heavy Gear was the best surprise I've had in a long time. Against all of my expectations, I loved it. Heavy Gear is not a "Giant Robot game" in the sense that you might think. It is an extremely detailed setting, beautifully done, in which you can roleplay for days without even setting foot near a giant robot, much less in one. What's more, the rulebook is lavishly illustrated in a style that combines the best of Japanese manga and anime (of which I am a devotee) with excellent computer-generated graphics. The writing is clear and concise, and the system... well, I'l get to that in a minute.

Heavy Gear is set on the world of Terra Nova, a planet colonized by Earth in 4752 AD. (The current date is 6132.) Terra Nova has only come out of a war with Earth around twelve years ago, and now it's sliding towards another war. Terra Nova is divided into two major power blocs: The politically diverse but religiously controlled Confederated Northern City-States, and the decadant but totalitarian Allied Southern Territories. In between the two nations is the vast desert (Terra Nova is a rather dry place) known as the Badlands. As the two great nations move towards war, the Badlands my become the most volatile area of the entire planet.

The coming war will probably be fought by Gears, semi-artificially intelligent, humanoid... well, basically giant robots controlled by human operators. However, unless you plan a campaign centered around the military, the Gears aren't really central. They can esily be ignored, though they are the focus of the miniature game.

Finally, the system. Heavy Gears system, with its fifteen (!) basic attributes, but in fact it's quite simple. The "default" atribute score is 0. If you're good at something, you have a positive score, and negative scores show your weaknesses. One interesting effect of this is that ability scores can actually be used as die modifiers!

In conclusion, Heavy Gear is one of the best games available. Get it now or you'll be sorry later.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Heavy Gear Rulebook: A New Era Has Just Begun
Author: More than can be listed Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Capsule Review by David Paul on 08/18/97. Genre tags: none	Before you read this review, there are two things that you must know. The first is that Heavy Gear is a strategy game as well as an RPG. Having less experience with strategy games than I do with synchronized bungee jumping (not much), I will review only the Role-Playing portion. I would rather be mauled by a wild chocobo than play a game with miniatures in it, but fortunately the strategy game is strictly optional. The second thing you should know is this: I HATE GIANT ROBOT GAMES. I loathe Macross, I detest Mekton Z, and my opinion of Battletech can't be printed on a family web site. That said, Heavy Gear was the best surprise I've had in a long time. Against all of my expectations, I loved it. Heavy Gear is not a "Giant Robot game" in the sense that you might think. It is an extremely detailed setting, beautifully done, in which you can roleplay for days without even setting foot near a giant robot, much less in one. What's more, the rulebook is lavishly illustrated in a style that combines the best of Japanese manga and anime (of which I am a devotee) with excellent computer-generated graphics. The writing is clear and concise, and the system... well, I'l get to that in a minute. Heavy Gear is set on the world of Terra Nova, a planet colonized by Earth in 4752 AD. (The current date is 6132.) Terra Nova has only come out of a war with Earth around twelve years ago, and now it's sliding towards another war. Terra Nova is divided into two major power blocs: The politically diverse but religiously controlled Confederated Northern City-States, and the decadant but totalitarian Allied Southern Territories. In between the two nations is the vast desert (Terra Nova is a rather dry place) known as the Badlands. As the two great nations move towards war, the Badlands my become the most volatile area of the entire planet. The coming war will probably be fought by Gears, semi-artificially intelligent, humanoid... well, basically giant robots controlled by human operators. However, unless you plan a campaign centered around the military, the Gears aren't really central. They can esily be ignored, though they are the focus of the miniature game. Finally, the system. Heavy Gears system, with its fifteen (!) basic attributes, but in fact it's quite simple. The "default" atribute score is 0. If you're good at something, you have a positive score, and negative scores show your weaknesses. One interesting effect of this is that ability scores can actually be used as die modifiers! In conclusion, Heavy Gear is one of the best games available. Get it now or you'll be sorry later. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Heavy Gear Rulebook: A New Era Has Just Begun