The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This is a game that I would truly love to love, if you know what I mean. It's great, in theory! It has action, adventure, an amazing background, creative characters, and it provides players with an opportunity to really make their mark on the game world, without requiring players to have super-powered characters.

That's the good part. The bad part is the learning curve. Let me explain. I've had this game for over a year now, and in that time it's sat on my shelf, taunting me. I've read large chunks of the book, but every time I do, I have to sit back and think, "My God! I'm going to need to change my major, just to play this!" Now, I'm sure it's really not that bad, but this game has one of the highest learning curves that I've ever seen in a game. I can honestly say that I quite bluntly have no idea how to play, even after reading the rules.

I think it might be a little more doable if you have someone to guide you through the (incredibly complex) rules, but it seems like an almost-insurmountable task to work it out on your own - not to mention trying to explain it to your other players.

O.K., enough of my whining. Let's see if I can cover some of the actual game.

Section One is entitled Welcome to Blue Planet, and includes a long, almost exhaustively detailed, time line describing the events leading up to the discovery and exploitation of Poseidon (the Blue Planet in question). This is a very well done time line and background, and the section on roleplaying is quite well thought out and descriptive.

Section Two, On the Frontier, is huge! Had Biohazard wanted to release this as a two book set, this would have been the "world book." In it, you find the background of the world and it's inhabitants, and this section alone is almost enough to make me glad I own this book. Much of it is written in a fictional format, and it is this that makes me wish Biohazard would release Blue Planet novels. (hint, hint)

This section is also the reason I included Old West in the genre selection. This game encapsulates the Old West theme very well: you've got your desperadoes and your heroes, your battles with nature, conflict with the mysterious natives... hell, you've even got your economic stories about ranching and farming! Second to Deadlands, this is probably the most true-to-the-legends/genre of the Old West game I've seen. They were clever though, and sneaked it in under a sci-fi setting, rather than touting the game as "Old West in Space!!!" (or Ship in A Box...).

Section Three, Beyond the Frontier, is sort of a melange of ecology, climate, and oceanography. This is cool! This chapter allows players to actually sound like they have some clue what they're talking about! If more companies would put sections like this in their games, players like me wouldn't have such a hard time coming up with spur-of-the-moment techno babble! :-)

Also included in this section is a cross-section of some of the planet's critters and native lifeforms. The pictures are nice, as a rule, and I like the fact that not everything listed is a super killing machine, but I don't consider myself qualified to rate the stats/power levels of the creatures. To put it bluntly, what I understand, I like.

Section Four is A World of Hurt, and is a description of the Earth and the Solar System. This, like all of the other sections, is well written and a good, solid piece. However, I am not convinced that it needed to be in here. I imagine it was the authors' intention to round out the background a little more, and this section accomplishes this well, but I think this section could have been more productively used on material more specific to Poseidon. Of course, it also provides a nice jumping off point if Biohazard intends to release sourcebooks about the Earth and/or the Solar System... or I might be missing the point completely.

Section Five is More Than Human, and is starting to get into the mechanics of the game pretty heavily. This section details equipment and biotechnology (cyberware under any other name...). This is, again, a fairly intensive list, considering that it is included in the main rules. There are some pictures, although not as many as I would have liked to have seen. (I have a soft spot for pictures in equipment lists; I always have, and I always will. I do, however, acknowledge that if it comes down to a choice between a better selection of items, or pictures, the selection should win.)

This seems like a good list, but without a better understanding of the mechanics of the game, I'm not positive. Let's just say it looks really good.

Section Six: Game Mechanics. O.K., we've now reached the part that I had a problem with. If there were spots in the other sections where I tripped over the rules, I just fell down, face first. At first glance, this looks really, really cool. The character generation looks interesting, if very intensive. The scaled attributes look... interesting... the skills and skill groups seem to be... kinda weird, but still interesting... dice conventions... yeah, I can roll dice, I should be able to figure this out... combat. Oh My God. An action round is half a second. Half a second. They actually beat out GURPS' one second rounds. Let me put it this way. If I ever manage to make it to a convention where Biohazard is showcasing their product, I am going to endeavor to bribe the staff with beer until they teach me how to do this. 'Cuz I haven't got a clue.

So, let me revise my opinion and summary. If I were to judge Blue Planet solely upon sections one through three, I give it a 5/5. If I include section four and five, I'll give it a 4/4 (not enough pictures in the equipment, and, bear in mind this is solely my opinion, and you might love it, section four, A World of Hurt, which is more or less wasted space). Once I get to section six, I have to bring it down to Average, just because I don't understand it. I love this game. I'll just probably never play it (if someone in Calgary AB is playing and feels like changing my opinion, I'd love to hear from ya... :-)

One last thing, Mr. Barber. Novels. I mentioned it earlier, and I'll mention it again: please consider putting out Blue Planet novels. I'd buy them in an instant!

P.S. One other last thing. Section zero is References. I expected a list of books, movies, and the like which the authors used as inspiration. Instead, it's an index. Hey, indexes are wonderful, wonderful things, but the books etc. would have been nice too. But this is a minor quibble at most.

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

Blue Planet
Author: Jeffrey Barber et al. Category: game Company/Publisher: Bio Hazard Games Line: Blue Planet Cost: $27.95USD Page count: 342 character sheet ISBN: There doesn't appear to be one. SKU: BZG3000 Capsule Review by Steven Sweeney on 07/12/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Space Post-apocalypse Old_West	This is a game that I would truly love to love, if you know what I mean. It's great, in theory! It has action, adventure, an amazing background, creative characters, and it provides players with an opportunity to really make their mark on the game world, without requiring players to have super-powered characters. That's the good part. The bad part is the learning curve. Let me explain. I've had this game for over a year now, and in that time it's sat on my shelf, taunting me. I've read large chunks of the book, but every time I do, I have to sit back and think, "My God! I'm going to need to change my major, just to play this!" Now, I'm sure it's really not that bad, but this game has one of the highest learning curves that I've ever seen in a game. I can honestly say that I quite bluntly have no idea how to play, even after reading the rules. I think it might be a little more doable if you have someone to guide you through the (incredibly complex) rules, but it seems like an almost-insurmountable task to work it out on your own - not to mention trying to explain it to your other players. O.K., enough of my whining. Let's see if I can cover some of the actual game. Section One is entitled Welcome to Blue Planet, and includes a long, almost exhaustively detailed, time line describing the events leading up to the discovery and exploitation of Poseidon (the Blue Planet in question). This is a very well done time line and background, and the section on roleplaying is quite well thought out and descriptive. Section Two, On the Frontier, is huge! Had Biohazard wanted to release this as a two book set, this would have been the "world book." In it, you find the background of the world and it's inhabitants, and this section alone is almost enough to make me glad I own this book. Much of it is written in a fictional format, and it is this that makes me wish Biohazard would release Blue Planet novels. (hint, hint) This section is also the reason I included Old West in the genre selection. This game encapsulates the Old West theme very well: you've got your desperadoes and your heroes, your battles with nature, conflict with the mysterious natives... hell, you've even got your economic stories about ranching and farming! Second to Deadlands, this is probably the most true-to-the-legends/genre of the Old West game I've seen. They were clever though, and sneaked it in under a sci-fi setting, rather than touting the game as "Old West in Space!!!" (or Ship in A Box...). Section Three, Beyond the Frontier, is sort of a melange of ecology, climate, and oceanography. This is cool! This chapter allows players to actually sound like they have some clue what they're talking about! If more companies would put sections like this in their games, players like me wouldn't have such a hard time coming up with spur-of-the-moment techno babble! :-) Also included in this section is a cross-section of some of the planet's critters and native lifeforms. The pictures are nice, as a rule, and I like the fact that not everything listed is a super killing machine, but I don't consider myself qualified to rate the stats/power levels of the creatures. To put it bluntly, what I understand, I like. Section Four is A World of Hurt, and is a description of the Earth and the Solar System. This, like all of the other sections, is well written and a good, solid piece. However, I am not convinced that it needed to be in here. I imagine it was the authors' intention to round out the background a little more, and this section accomplishes this well, but I think this section could have been more productively used on material more specific to Poseidon. Of course, it also provides a nice jumping off point if Biohazard intends to release sourcebooks about the Earth and/or the Solar System... or I might be missing the point completely. Section Five is More Than Human, and is starting to get into the mechanics of the game pretty heavily. This section details equipment and biotechnology (cyberware under any other name...). This is, again, a fairly intensive list, considering that it is included in the main rules. There are some pictures, although not as many as I would have liked to have seen. (I have a soft spot for pictures in equipment lists; I always have, and I always will. I do, however, acknowledge that if it comes down to a choice between a better selection of items, or pictures, the selection should win.) This seems like a good list, but without a better understanding of the mechanics of the game, I'm not positive. Let's just say it looks really good. Section Six: Game Mechanics. O.K., we've now reached the part that I had a problem with. If there were spots in the other sections where I tripped over the rules, I just fell down, face first. At first glance, this looks really, really cool. The character generation looks interesting, if very intensive. The scaled attributes look... interesting... the skills and skill groups seem to be... kinda weird, but still interesting... dice conventions... yeah, I can roll dice, I should be able to figure this out... combat. Oh My God. An action round is half a second. Half a second. They actually beat out GURPS' one second rounds. Let me put it this way. If I ever manage to make it to a convention where Biohazard is showcasing their product, I am going to endeavor to bribe the staff with beer until they teach me how to do this. 'Cuz I haven't got a clue. So, let me revise my opinion and summary. If I were to judge Blue Planet solely upon sections one through three, I give it a 5/5. If I include section four and five, I'll give it a 4/4 (not enough pictures in the equipment, and, bear in mind this is solely my opinion, and you might love it, section four, A World of Hurt, which is more or less wasted space). Once I get to section six, I have to bring it down to Average, just because I don't understand it. I love this game. I'll just probably never play it (if someone in Calgary AB is playing and feels like changing my opinion, I'd love to hear from ya... :-) One last thing, Mr. Barber. Novels. I mentioned it earlier, and I'll mention it again: please consider putting out Blue Planet novels. I'd buy them in an instant! P.S. One other last thing. Section zero is References. I expected a list of books, movies, and the like which the authors used as inspiration. Instead, it's an index. Hey, indexes are wonderful, wonderful things, but the books etc. would have been nice too. But this is a minor quibble at most. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)