The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"My parents became Cyberpunks and all they left me was this dark future." - back-cover tagline, Cybergeneration

Cybergeneration, R. Talsorian's followup to their highly-successful Cyberpunk line, takes place in 2027, seven years after the original RPG. The Cyberpunks have been crushed by the Incorporated States of America. A mysterious, deadly plague sweeps the land, killing one out of every ten adults who contract it. There remains only one group who have the contacts, the know-how, and the ability to beat back the corporations and to save the Edgerunners from fates worse than death.

Their children.

Cybergeneration is the story of the children of the Edgerunners. 18 yogangs, as they call themselves, wander the streets, the arcologies, the malls, overtly schoolchildren out for a stroll and covertly spies, dignitaries, scouts, and warriors out to destroy the corporations that destroyed their parents. They've also got an advantage in the form of the Carbon Plague, which kills one out of ten people over the age of 20 and transmutes the children of the day into nanotech cyborgs.

I love this game primarily because it's based around children. You're not playing an ultragothic vampire, a superhard Edgerunner, or a fantasy wizard - you play a child, and this directly influences the game and the players. Stepping into character is becoming optimistic, goal-oriented, quasi-reckless. It's looking at everything through rose-colored glasses, even when you're looking down the barrel of a Smartgun. It's being willing to take chances because you can't possibly die yet, or even be seriously hurt. I always regret leaving a session, because it means stepping back into a world where I have bills to pay, classes to attend, errands to run, and so on and so forth.

Besides which, in how many games do you find something akin to Hot 'Za!, whose underground slogan is "Pizza & Blackmarket Weapons!"?

I can only find two flaws with Cybergeneration, and the second isn't even its fault. The first is that the main rulebook comes without an index, although the table of contents is extremely comprehensive. The second? That R. Talsorian Games decided to pull this game in favor of its Fuzion™ line, especially its flagship Fuzion game, Bubblegum Crisis.

I honestly can't think of anything else negative to say about this game. I truly enjoy it, especially since it goes back to subject matter that perhaps one or two other RPGs truly focus on - the children.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Cybergeneration - REvolution 2 (CP 3252)
Author: Mike Pondsmith et alia Category: game Company/Publisher: R. Talsorian Games Cost: Out of print Page count: 248 ISBN: 0-93729-74-9 Capsule Review by Chris Anthony on 02/05/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction	"My parents became Cyberpunks and all they left me was this dark future." - back-cover tagline, Cybergeneration Cybergeneration, R. Talsorian's followup to their highly-successful Cyberpunk line, takes place in 2027, seven years after the original RPG. The Cyberpunks have been crushed by the Incorporated States of America. A mysterious, deadly plague sweeps the land, killing one out of every ten adults who contract it. There remains only one group who have the contacts, the know-how, and the ability to beat back the corporations and to save the Edgerunners from fates worse than death. Their children. Cybergeneration is the story of the children of the Edgerunners. 18 yogangs, as they call themselves, wander the streets, the arcologies, the malls, overtly schoolchildren out for a stroll and covertly spies, dignitaries, scouts, and warriors out to destroy the corporations that destroyed their parents. They've also got an advantage in the form of the Carbon Plague, which kills one out of ten people over the age of 20 and transmutes the children of the day into nanotech cyborgs. I love this game primarily because it's based around children. You're not playing an ultragothic vampire, a superhard Edgerunner, or a fantasy wizard - you play a child, and this directly influences the game and the players. Stepping into character is becoming optimistic, goal-oriented, quasi-reckless. It's looking at everything through rose-colored glasses, even when you're looking down the barrel of a Smartgun. It's being willing to take chances because you can't possibly die yet, or even be seriously hurt. I always regret leaving a session, because it means stepping back into a world where I have bills to pay, classes to attend, errands to run, and so on and so forth. Besides which, in how many games do you find something akin to Hot 'Za!, whose underground slogan is "Pizza & Blackmarket Weapons!"? I can only find two flaws with Cybergeneration, and the second isn't even its fault. The first is that the main rulebook comes without an index, although the table of contents is extremely comprehensive. The second? That R. Talsorian Games decided to pull this game in favor of its Fuzion™ line, especially its flagship Fuzion game, Bubblegum Crisis. I honestly can't think of anything else negative to say about this game. I truly enjoy it, especially since it goes back to subject matter that perhaps one or two other RPGs truly focus on - the children. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Cybergeneration - REvolution 2 (CP 3252)