The Inside Scoop on Gaming

My initial reaction to Extreme Vengeance was very strong. I liked it. A lot

The things I like about the game still stand. It's an incredibly simple game, with characters having only two Qualities (not attributes in any sense of the word), Guts and Coincidence. Guts lets your character do things, while Coincidence lets good things happen for them.

Characters are built by giving them a Descriptor (adjective) and Designator (noun). This can give you, frexample, a Pumped-up Scholar, a Suave Agent, or a Maverick Cop.

The character receives certain Repertoires (advantages) that let them do fancy things (like having a Background Specialty in Guns or Dancing or something like that, or being adept at the Dramatic Slo-Mo). They also get No Goods, (disadvantages), such as Bad Bonk (your character gets knocked unconscious a lot) or Pray for a Miracle (the GM makes you roll a Coincidence roll instead of Guts).

The game is fairly simple. The player declares his character's action, and how many dice they'll spend on it. The Gm decides how exciting that action is, and tells the player how many dice they'll actually roll (you can roll anywhere from one die to as many as you have Guts); it's an opposed roll after that, vs the enemy being affected or the 'stunt dice'.

Now, there are a few problems I have with the game. Primarily, Tony Lee's writing style just does nothing for me. He reminds me of Harry Knowles, and this is a BAD thing, as the ain't it cool news guru's writing style puts my teeth on edge and makes my fillings ache. Tony Lee tries way to hard to be hip. He fails. He should relax a tad more, if you ask me.

There's too much wasted space; the cover piece is repeated on every page. EVERY SINGLE PAGE. It takes up about an inch and a half. This book would be 20 pages without that mega-margin, which is used for notes perhaps eight times in the entire book, and the interior art ranges from mediocre to horrid. As well, there's a four page sequence about action stars that serves as nothing more than filler and a chance for a series of really bad jokes.

All in all, I can see EV being a lot of fun as an occasional break game, or at a Con. Best of all, you can play your own little action game, making and breaking the clichés as wildly as you want. I can't imagine trying to play it regularly (even though there are rules for long term campaigns).

Still, it's a good bargain, and mechanically loose enough to be a lot of fun. I must complain about one more thing, though; the author's apparent crimson hatred of Hulk Hogan is quite disturbing.

N.B. I've never played HKAT, and this game wilts in the shadow of Feng Shui (R.I.P.).

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

Extreme Vengeance
Author: Tony Lee Category: game Company/Publisher: Archangel Entertainment Cost: $10.00 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 12/09/97. Genre tags: none	My initial reaction to Extreme Vengeance was very strong. I liked it. A lot The things I like about the game still stand. It's an incredibly simple game, with characters having only two Qualities (not attributes in any sense of the word), Guts and Coincidence. Guts lets your character do things, while Coincidence lets good things happen for them. Characters are built by giving them a Descriptor (adjective) and Designator (noun). This can give you, frexample, a Pumped-up Scholar, a Suave Agent, or a Maverick Cop. The character receives certain Repertoires (advantages) that let them do fancy things (like having a Background Specialty in Guns or Dancing or something like that, or being adept at the Dramatic Slo-Mo). They also get No Goods, (disadvantages), such as Bad Bonk (your character gets knocked unconscious a lot) or Pray for a Miracle (the GM makes you roll a Coincidence roll instead of Guts). The game is fairly simple. The player declares his character's action, and how many dice they'll spend on it. The Gm decides how exciting that action is, and tells the player how many dice they'll actually roll (you can roll anywhere from one die to as many as you have Guts); it's an opposed roll after that, vs the enemy being affected or the 'stunt dice'. Now, there are a few problems I have with the game. Primarily, Tony Lee's writing style just does nothing for me. He reminds me of Harry Knowles, and this is a BAD thing, as the ain't it cool news guru's writing style puts my teeth on edge and makes my fillings ache. Tony Lee tries way to hard to be hip. He fails. He should relax a tad more, if you ask me. There's too much wasted space; the cover piece is repeated on every page. EVERY SINGLE PAGE. It takes up about an inch and a half. This book would be 20 pages without that mega-margin, which is used for notes perhaps eight times in the entire book, and the interior art ranges from mediocre to horrid. As well, there's a four page sequence about action stars that serves as nothing more than filler and a chance for a series of really bad jokes. All in all, I can see EV being a lot of fun as an occasional break game, or at a Con. Best of all, you can play your own little action game, making and breaking the clichés as wildly as you want. I can't imagine trying to play it regularly (even though there are rules for long term campaigns). Still, it's a good bargain, and mechanically loose enough to be a lot of fun. I must complain about one more thing, though; the author's apparent crimson hatred of Hulk Hogan is quite disturbing. N.B. I've never played HKAT, and this game wilts in the shadow of Feng Shui (R.I.P.). Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)