The Inside Scoop on Gaming

What's this, a review for a product that was released in 1986?!? Has the world gone mad?

Yes, this is a review for a dated product, and no the world hasn't just gone mad, it was like this when I got here.

Acute Paranoia is a mixed kettle of fish that's chock full of information, but has varying levels of quality from author to author. Since this is such a varied piece of work, I'll need to attack each piece individually if I'm going to make any headway.

Sanity Tests & Better Living through Chemistry: Some *VERY* interesting ideas involving Alpha Complex's aptitude tests and dietary supplements. Highly recommended for any evil Paranoia GM (which is technically synonymous).

New Secret Societies: You get a mixed bag with this bunch. While some of this groups work will in the Paranoia Universe, others have some goals that are realistic/not funny (*GASP* NO!!!), and just don't gel into the Paranoia mold.

Me & My Shadow, Mark IV: A great adventure to torture your players with, and introduces the Mark IV, the ultimate tool for a sadistic Paranoia GM (yup, that's synonymous too). Markie also makes appearances in Alpha Complexities and The Crash Course manual (get your copies today!), as well as being mentioned in countless other Paranoia stuff (which ones, but them all and find out!!).

Bot Construction Rules: The rules are okay, but leave much to be desired. Things like drawbacks and how bot abilities translate into attributes are completely left out. So if you want to have bot PCs, I suggest you use the Bot Abuser's Manual (buy it now from West End Games, 'cause I want them to make some new Paranoia stuff!!), as it is by far more fleshed out.

Bot PCs: Erm.. Well they're really not very good. Sure, they allow you to see the bot creation rules in action, but they're character descriptions are IMO rather poor and don't provide a good basis for RPGing a bot. I'd suggest you make a bot of your own, but since the bot creation rules in the Bot Abuser's Manual are so much better, I think you're better off getting that.

Bot Busters, Warriors of the Nighcycle, and The Harder they Clone: Yuck. These three adventures are my least favorite parts of Acute Paranoia. Why? Well they seem like adventures for some other RPG, and just don't fit well into Paranoia. None of the adventures do much to encourage the normal Paranoia elements such as backstabbing & humor. Plus, The Harder they Clone commits the heinous crime of using a Non-Regulation Paranoia Name!!!! IMO: These three are certainly worth skipping.

Code-7 Adventure Ideas: Overall these aren't too shabby and provide good ideas for the Paranoia setting (well except for Paranoid Clones in Savory Vulture Stew, I don't really know what was going on there). Some are better than others, but still an entertaining read (even PciSVS).

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Acute Paranoia
Author: Various Category: game Company/Publisher: West End Games Cost: $9.95 Page count: 80 ISBN: 0-87431-034-2 Capsule Review by Kevin Sigmund on 01/14/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Comedy Post-apocalypse	What's this, a review for a product that was released in 1986?!? Has the world gone mad? Yes, this is a review for a dated product, and no the world hasn't just gone mad, it was like this when I got here. Acute Paranoia is a mixed kettle of fish that's chock full of information, but has varying levels of quality from author to author. Since this is such a varied piece of work, I'll need to attack each piece individually if I'm going to make any headway. Sanity Tests & Better Living through Chemistry: Some VERY interesting ideas involving Alpha Complex's aptitude tests and dietary supplements. Highly recommended for any evil Paranoia GM (which is technically synonymous). New Secret Societies: You get a mixed bag with this bunch. While some of this groups work will in the Paranoia Universe, others have some goals that are realistic/not funny (GASP NO!!!), and just don't gel into the Paranoia mold. Me & My Shadow, Mark IV: A great adventure to torture your players with, and introduces the Mark IV, the ultimate tool for a sadistic Paranoia GM (yup, that's synonymous too). Markie also makes appearances in Alpha Complexities and The Crash Course manual (get your copies today!), as well as being mentioned in countless other Paranoia stuff (which ones, but them all and find out!!). Bot Construction Rules: The rules are okay, but leave much to be desired. Things like drawbacks and how bot abilities translate into attributes are completely left out. So if you want to have bot PCs, I suggest you use the Bot Abuser's Manual (buy it now from West End Games, 'cause I want them to make some new Paranoia stuff!!), as it is by far more fleshed out. Bot PCs: Erm.. Well they're really not very good. Sure, they allow you to see the bot creation rules in action, but they're character descriptions are IMO rather poor and don't provide a good basis for RPGing a bot. I'd suggest you make a bot of your own, but since the bot creation rules in the Bot Abuser's Manual are so much better, I think you're better off getting that. Bot Busters, Warriors of the Nighcycle, and The Harder they Clone: Yuck. These three adventures are my least favorite parts of Acute Paranoia. Why? Well they seem like adventures for some other RPG, and just don't fit well into Paranoia. None of the adventures do much to encourage the normal Paranoia elements such as backstabbing & humor. Plus, The Harder they Clone commits the heinous crime of using a Non-Regulation Paranoia Name!!!! IMO: These three are certainly worth skipping. Code-7 Adventure Ideas: Overall these aren't too shabby and provide good ideas for the Paranoia setting (well except for Paranoid Clones in Savory Vulture Stew, I don't really know what was going on there). Some are better than others, but still an entertaining read (even PciSVS). Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 4 (Meaty)