The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I picked up Dark*Matter, honestly, to see how it compared to the thousands of other conspiracy games out there today. Specifically, I wanted to see how it would compare to Delta Green.

All in all, its not too bad. It's also not too good.

Let's start at the beginning. What really drew me in was the design, which is excellent. Full color, smooth, easy layout, solid artwork, inventive diagramming and timelines. It has that schizophrenic feel. I guess that's the best way to put it. The borders at the top and bottom aren't lined up. The pictures bleed off of their edges instead of being cropped sharply. Lots of stuff is just throw around. Now, it all looks good, because its supposed to. It's a finely organized chaos.

The rules, using the Alternity system, are pretty good. Pretty typical, too. Not that this is a bad thing, I guess, but there isn't anything really stunning about the rules. There's nothing that makes them wholly unique, nothing really "cool"; there's no cool little twists like Call of Cthulhu's sanity or Unknown Armies dual rolling. The rules are just there. Which is about the same for the book.

Now, since this is what? Like the sixth conspiracy game out there, the authors really need to think of something new, something really creepy, something inventive. Which they don't, and that's the book's biggest failing. There isn't anything in here that makes Dark*Matter Dark*Matter. The players work for the Hoffman institute, running around the world, looking for anomalous going-ons, meeting all sorts of people in the meantime. Again, the tired, so very tired, device of the Grey's is used again.

Essentially, I gather that the Grey's are the mother of all conspiracies. They are the headwaters of modern conspiracy theory. In Dark*Matter, they've been on Earth for millions of years, hiding behind the scenes, pretending they're gods, and so forth. There are a few other races, too. Some big lizards, or something.

So far, we've got nothing really good. But once the book gets rolling and starts the little details, you will find ALOT of things to get excited about, most of which could be used for any other game you're playing. The Authors really go wild with the worldwide groups, locales, people, everything under the sun. Freemasons, the Invisible College, Knights of Malta and others fill in the ranks as "Worldwide, flawless conspiracies". Then some more little details pop up, like Yale's Skull&Bones society, typical Nazi saving ODESSA group, computer Hackers, and the like. All of these groups contain with them adventure seeds to get the players on the trail. Besides that, the locations alone provide enough ideas to start a few games just by having players stake them out.

Now onto the not-so-good part about filling your book with great ideas. While they are very good, there is no unifying idea, nothing that really brings it all together. The main conspiracies and major groups have an "agenda" that may be true, but at the end of their description have an "Or..." section, that gives you the option to totally turn around their goals and operations. Sure, its nice to have so many roads, but it makes the game just a huge idea book, instead of creating a real world. And therein lies the book's main problem. There isn't a real flavor to the world, no bite or punch. That, and the Grey's look really stupid. Sorry, but they just do.

So, final analysis: It's a great sourcebook to get adventure ideas running, full of swell places and people, but nothing so spectacular that it really establishes itself as a great game.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

What do you think?

Visit the above forum to let us know!

Dark*Matter
Author: Wolfgang Baur with Monte Cook Category: game Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Alternity/Dark Matter Cost: $29.95 Page count: 285 ISBN: 0-7869-1433-5 SKU: TSR11433 Capsule Review by Brent Dragoo on 02/10/00. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Horror Conspiracy	I picked up DarkMatter, honestly, to see how it compared to the thousands of other conspiracy games out there today. Specifically, I wanted to see how it would compare to Delta Green. All in all, its not too bad. It's also not too good. Let's start at the beginning. What really drew me in was the design, which is excellent. Full color, smooth, easy layout, solid artwork, inventive diagramming and timelines. It has that schizophrenic feel. I guess that's the best way to put it. The borders at the top and bottom aren't lined up. The pictures bleed off of their edges instead of being cropped sharply. Lots of stuff is just throw around. Now, it all looks good, because its supposed to. It's a finely organized chaos. The rules, using the Alternity system, are pretty good. Pretty typical, too. Not that this is a bad thing, I guess, but there isn't anything really stunning about the rules. There's nothing that makes them wholly unique, nothing really "cool"; there's no cool little twists like Call of Cthulhu's sanity or Unknown Armies dual rolling. The rules are just there. Which is about the same for the book. Now, since this is what? Like the sixth conspiracy game out there, the authors really need to think of something new, something really creepy, something inventive. Which they don't, and that's the book's biggest failing. There isn't anything in here that makes DarkMatter DarkMatter. The players work for the Hoffman institute, running around the world, looking for anomalous going-ons, meeting all sorts of people in the meantime. Again, the tired, so very tired, device of the Grey's is used again. Essentially, I gather that the Grey's are the mother of all conspiracies. They are the headwaters of modern conspiracy theory. In DarkMatter, they've been on Earth for millions of years, hiding behind the scenes, pretending they're gods, and so forth. There are a few other races, too. Some big lizards, or something. So far, we've got nothing really good. But once the book gets rolling and starts the little details, you will find ALOT of things to get excited about, most of which could be used for any other game you're playing. The Authors really go wild with the worldwide groups, locales, people, everything under the sun. Freemasons, the Invisible College, Knights of Malta and others fill in the ranks as "Worldwide, flawless conspiracies". Then some more little details pop up, like Yale's Skull&Bones society, typical Nazi saving ODESSA group, computer Hackers, and the like. All of these groups contain with them adventure seeds to get the players on the trail. Besides that, the locations alone provide enough ideas to start a few games just by having players stake them out. Now onto the not-so-good part about filling your book with great ideas. While they are very good, there is no unifying idea, nothing that really brings it all together. The main conspiracies and major groups have an "agenda" that may be true, but at the end of their description have an "Or..." section, that gives you the option to totally turn around their goals and operations. Sure, its nice to have so many roads, but it makes the game just a huge idea book, instead of creating a real world. And therein lies the book's main problem. There isn't a real flavor to the world, no bite or punch. That, and the Grey's look really stupid. Sorry, but they just do. So, final analysis: It's a great sourcebook to get adventure ideas running, full of swell places and people, but nothing so spectacular that it really establishes itself as a great game. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) What do you think? Visit the above forum to let us know!