The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Big Robots, Cool Starships is the first expansion for Big Eyes, Small Mouth, the generic Anime RPG from Guardians of Order. Not being that fond of Anime (I did, however, like Battle of the Planets when I was a kid) in general, I wouldn't be expected to love a product like this as much as I do. But I do.

It's written by David Pulver (who, at the tender age of 17 is producing 11% of all RPG materials released in any calendar year!), and feels much like his similar books for GURPS (Robots & Mecha). The difference between the GURPS books and BRCS is much like the difference between breakfast cereals. Whereas GURPS Robots/ Mecha are high in fiber and good for you, BRCS has lots of marshmallows in it (and a prize in the box!).

The book would seem to be a Giant Robot ™ generating system, but it's more than that. It lets you build pretty much any mechanized creation, from an armored suit to a giant robot 800 feet tall to a giant space station to a jet to a racing bike.

It fits Giant Robot ™ construction into the standard BESM chargen flowchart. Once you've decided your character owns a giant robot (i.e. they have the Own a Big Robot advantage), you set about designing it. And, as I said above, it doesn't have to be a Giant Robot™, it can be a car or jet or space shuttle.

This game is a great addition to BESM. As I said, I'm no huge fan of Anime, but I love the system (I want to use it for a Babylon 5 game), and BRCS does a great job setting up the Giant Robot genre. I can see a great Transformers game being run with it. Hell, run a GI Joe game while you're at it (Tanks! Jeeps! Jets!).

So, while BRCS may seem pricey ($15.95 US for a smallish book), the sheer volume of content is wonderful. Even the mini-adventure at the end is interesting (with Canadian Content! Yay!). Of great use to Anime fans and anyone who likes the Tri-Stat system or just wants to build giant robots. In a game.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Big Robots, Cool Starships
Author: Dave Pulver Category: game Company/Publisher: Guardians of Order Line: Big Eyes, Small Mouths Cost: 15.95 Page count: 110 ISBN: 0-9682431-3-4 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 08/04/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Far_Future Space Comedy Anime Asian/Far_East	Big Robots, Cool Starships is the first expansion for Big Eyes, Small Mouth, the generic Anime RPG from Guardians of Order. Not being that fond of Anime (I did, however, like Battle of the Planets when I was a kid) in general, I wouldn't be expected to love a product like this as much as I do. But I do. It's written by David Pulver (who, at the tender age of 17 is producing 11% of all RPG materials released in any calendar year!), and feels much like his similar books for GURPS (Robots & Mecha). The difference between the GURPS books and BRCS is much like the difference between breakfast cereals. Whereas GURPS Robots/ Mecha are high in fiber and good for you, BRCS has lots of marshmallows in it (and a prize in the box!). The book would seem to be a Giant Robot ™ generating system, but it's more than that. It lets you build pretty much any mechanized creation, from an armored suit to a giant robot 800 feet tall to a giant space station to a jet to a racing bike. It fits Giant Robot ™ construction into the standard BESM chargen flowchart. Once you've decided your character owns a giant robot (i.e. they have the Own a Big Robot advantage), you set about designing it. And, as I said above, it doesn't have to be a Giant Robot™, it can be a car or jet or space shuttle. This game is a great addition to BESM. As I said, I'm no huge fan of Anime, but I love the system (I want to use it for a Babylon 5 game), and BRCS does a great job setting up the Giant Robot genre. I can see a great Transformers game being run with it. Hell, run a GI Joe game while you're at it (Tanks! Jeeps! Jets!). So, while BRCS may seem pricey ($15.95 US for a smallish book), the sheer volume of content is wonderful. Even the mini-adventure at the end is interesting (with Canadian Content! Yay!). Of great use to Anime fans and anyone who likes the Tri-Stat system or just wants to build giant robots. In a game. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)