The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The mythology surrounding Atlantis is a natural draw for a rich and detailed conspiracy game like Conspiracy X.

Sadly, authors Dakan and Emmert fell victim to what I call kitchen sink-ism. Though the material is clearly well researched, the authors could not resist making every cool thing they came across into an Atlantean conspiracy. This thorough approach soon becomes dense instead of accessible and overwhelming instead of intriguing. The Discoveries chapter in particular suffers from this.

A second flaw with the book is a bit more subjective. With powerful, immortal personalities whose followers have divided into factions, it's all too easy to fall into the common and now standard RPG format. It's a challenge to convey this information in a way that doesn't seem like a clan book for Vampire: the Masquerade with funky alien names bolted on. This isn't so much a grievous fault as just a disappointment that so little is offered in the way of new presentation.

Griping aside, I will admit that I liked the Artifacts chapter, the information on nanotechnology, and the smart tools that are introduced. This is the meat of the book on which characters should hope to dine.

The final chapter's adventure is also a decent effort and an appropriately conspiratorial introduction to the material for players. The timeline, maps, and conflicting factions provided in this material is all attractively presented and solid.

In the end, the good parts of the book couldn't compensate for my general disinterest, but I recognize that not all Conspiracy X fans are going to be as jaded to presentation as I am. I'm rating this supplement in part on effort -- they tried and there are enough bright spots to recommend it reservedly.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Atlantis Rising
Author: Richard Dakan, Jack Emmert Category: game Company/Publisher: Eden Studios Cost: $17.00 Page count: 112 ISBN: 1-891153-10-2 Capsule Review by Nicole Lindroos on 03/03/99. Genre tags: Conspiracy	The mythology surrounding Atlantis is a natural draw for a rich and detailed conspiracy game like Conspiracy X. Sadly, authors Dakan and Emmert fell victim to what I call kitchen sink-ism. Though the material is clearly well researched, the authors could not resist making every cool thing they came across into an Atlantean conspiracy. This thorough approach soon becomes dense instead of accessible and overwhelming instead of intriguing. The Discoveries chapter in particular suffers from this. A second flaw with the book is a bit more subjective. With powerful, immortal personalities whose followers have divided into factions, it's all too easy to fall into the common and now standard RPG format. It's a challenge to convey this information in a way that doesn't seem like a clan book for Vampire: the Masquerade with funky alien names bolted on. This isn't so much a grievous fault as just a disappointment that so little is offered in the way of new presentation. Griping aside, I will admit that I liked the Artifacts chapter, the information on nanotechnology, and the smart tools that are introduced. This is the meat of the book on which characters should hope to dine. The final chapter's adventure is also a decent effort and an appropriately conspiratorial introduction to the material for players. The timeline, maps, and conflicting factions provided in this material is all attractively presented and solid. In the end, the good parts of the book couldn't compensate for my general disinterest, but I recognize that not all Conspiracy X fans are going to be as jaded to presentation as I am. I'm rating this supplement in part on effort -- they tried and there are enough bright spots to recommend it reservedly. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)

Atlantis Rising