The Inside Scoop on Gaming

A while back I finally got around to buying the basic book for Heavy Gear, mainly because I really liked the Silhouette System and I had a slight craving for a nice mecha game and system. So I finally broke down and spent more than I would have otherwise and brought it home and read it - and really didn't like it. My review on RPGnet caused quite a stir, at least within it's little discussion forum, mostly between myself and a few other people and Justin Bacon. I think that a lot of the disagreement came from the misunderstanding that I was judging the whole game line when I was actually only reviewing the basic book, which is why a lot of people said "Go read Life on Terra Nova, then you'll be happy." That's not really what I wanted to do, however, considering how expensive Dream Pod 9 products run and how fans had said the same thing about the basic book. I had little intention of looking further into the game line for quite a while.

But then the gracious Justin Bacon offered to mail me an extra copy of Life on Terra Nova that he had, on the condition I review it, which I gladly agreed to. I'd like to take this moment to publicly thank Mr. Bacon for his generosity and conviction in the game he obviously loves. I'm glad I got a chance to read Life on Terra Nova, and it's likely something I never would have gotten around to if it weren't for Mr. Bacon. Let's hear it for die-hard fans.

Anyway, maybe I should actually get on to the review now. Visually, the book is like any other Heavy Gear release (and much like all of Dream Pod 9's publications). It has the same distinctive and undeniably anime style that I quite like. The layout is also the standard which sometimes make chapter breaks difficult to find, but does pack a fair amount into most of the book (although the margins are a bit bigger than I would like much of the time). The writing is similarly up to the usual Dream Pod 9 level of quality.

The book is divided into 8 broad sections. After the Introduction is a nice history section which gives a great deal more information on just what happened on Earth, going a long way to clearing up some of the bizarre details in the basic book's history section, although I'm still left scratching my head sometimes. The bulk of the book is divided into two chapters, the North and the South. Within each chapter (as well as in the Badlands section following them), they are further subdivided by region. Each city-state is described (at least all of those that are on the map, as far as I can tell) with the really important ones getting a full page and the other, lesser cities getting half a page each. Rife with detail, campaign ideas and great characters, these three chapters were a pleasure to read through, and made me want to run a huge number of Heavy Gear games. After the Badlands chapter (which includes a short and well-done Port Arthur "sourcebook" equal to the Peace River section in the basic book), there is a much too short chapter on general culture on the planet, including some notes about religion and daily living. Finally, a tiny little chapter has a few ideas about running campaigns on Terra Nova, as well as a bunch of stock NPCs and some random mission generators for Port Arthur.

When people say "Heavy Gear has the most detailed setting of any science fiction game" or they say "It's the most alive and believable game out there," they are not referring to the basic book, and they are not entirely correct. While the basic book was sorely lacking in setting detail, Life on Terra Nova has scads of it, and it's almost all pure gold. Only the near and dear Blue Planet has a more detailed and developed setting. That game's "setting book" (Archipelago) was about the same size, but it spent more time on fewer cities, and I think it came out ahead in the end. Life on Terra Nova does do a damn fine job of fleshing out the world of Heavy Gear, however, handing out detail and plot ideas like candy, as I said before. Anyone who is even mildly interested in the game line really should pick up this book. In fact, those who just like science fiction in general should check the book out if they have a little extra money, it's almost the entire setting for Heavy Gear in a nearly self-contained package. All that is really missing is a nice color map (instead of the black and white polar projects in Life on Terra Nova) and the information on Peace River.

I really liked Life on Terra Nova, although it seems that Heavy Gear has managed to attain a position in my opinion remarkably similar to that of Trinity, in that I like a lot of it, but there are a few elements that just won't go down, no matter how hard I swallow. In Life on Terra Nova, those hard lumps are a few strange twists of history and a few gimmicks for some minor cities that seem a bit of a stretch, but the book is simply excellent on the whole. It's the sour taste that the basic book left that has me wondering about the line as a whole. Those few problems and lingering aftertaste prevent me from completely throwing my lot in with the game line, but I will definitely keep an eye on it now and then, even if purchases are few (mainly because I am almost certain to never use it, and I already buy a lot of those kinds of books).

So Mr. Bacon (and other Heavy Gear fans), I must admit that Life on Terra Nova does go a surprisingly long way to rectifying the faults of the basic volume -for the line as a whole, at least. My judgment of the basic book still stands. The world of Heavy Gear doesn't live up to the hype, but it is close, and it is worth checking out.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Life on Terra Nova
Author: Phillipe R. Boulle, Gene Marcil, Guy-Francis Vella and Marc-Alex Vezina Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Line: Heavy Gear Cost: around $25 Page count: 168 ISBN: 1-896776-40-X SKU: DP9-102 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 06/13/00. Genre tags: Science fiction Far Future Anime	A while back I finally got around to buying the basic book for *Heavy Gear, mainly because I really liked the Silhouette System and I had a slight craving for a nice mecha game and system. So I finally broke down and spent more than I would have otherwise and brought it home and read it - and really didn't like it. My review on RPGnet caused quite a stir, at least within it's little discussion forum, mostly between myself and a few other people and Justin Bacon. I think that a lot of the disagreement came from the misunderstanding that I was judging the whole game line when I was actually only reviewing the basic book, which is why a lot of people said "Go read Life on Terra Nova, then* you'll be happy." That's not really what I wanted to do, however, considering how expensive Dream Pod 9 products run and how fans had said the same thing about the basic book. I had little intention of looking further into the game line for quite a while. But then the gracious Justin Bacon offered to mail me an extra copy of Life on Terra Nova that he had, on the condition I review it, which I gladly agreed to. I'd like to take this moment to publicly thank Mr. Bacon for his generosity and conviction in the game he obviously loves. I'm glad I got a chance to read Life on Terra Nova, and it's likely something I never would have gotten around to if it weren't for Mr. Bacon. Let's hear it for die-hard fans. Anyway, maybe I should actually get on to the review now. Visually, the book is like any other *Heavy Gear* release (and much like all of Dream Pod 9's publications). It has the same distinctive and undeniably anime style that I quite like. The layout is also the standard which sometimes make chapter breaks difficult to find, but does pack a fair amount into most of the book (although the margins are a bit bigger than I would like much of the time). The writing is similarly up to the usual Dream Pod 9 level of quality. The book is divided into 8 broad sections. After the Introduction is a nice history section which gives a great deal more information on just what happened on Earth, going a long way to clearing up some of the bizarre details in the basic book's history section, although I'm still left scratching my head sometimes. The bulk of the book is divided into two chapters, the North and the South. Within each chapter (as well as in the Badlands section following them), they are further subdivided by region. Each city-state is described (at least all of those that are on the map, as far as I can tell) with the really important ones getting a full page and the other, lesser cities getting half a page each. Rife with detail, campaign ideas and great characters, these three chapters were a pleasure to read through, and made me want to run a huge number of *Heavy Gear* games. After the Badlands chapter (which includes a short and well-done Port Arthur "sourcebook" equal to the Peace River section in the basic book), there is a much too short chapter on general culture on the planet, including some notes about religion and daily living. Finally, a tiny little chapter has a few ideas about running campaigns on Terra Nova, as well as a bunch of stock NPCs and some random mission generators for Port Arthur. When people say "*Heavy Gear* has the most detailed setting of any science fiction game" or they say "It's the most alive and believable game out there," they are not referring to the basic book, and they are not entirely correct. While the basic book was sorely lacking in setting detail, Life on Terra Nova has scads of it, and it's almost all pure gold. Only the near and dear *Blue Planet* has a more detailed and developed setting. That game's "setting book" (Archipelago) was about the same size, but it spent more time on fewer cities, and I think it came out ahead in the end. Life on Terra Nova does do a damn fine job of fleshing out the world of *Heavy Gear, however, handing out detail and plot ideas like candy, as I said before. Anyone who is even mildly interested in the game line really should pick up this book. In fact, those who just like science fiction in general should check the book out if they have a little extra money, it's almost the entire setting for Heavy Gear* in a nearly self-contained package. All that is really missing is a nice color map (instead of the black and white polar projects in Life on Terra Nova) and the information on Peace River. I really liked Life on Terra Nova, although it seems that *Heavy Gear* has managed to attain a position in my opinion remarkably similar to that of *Trinity, in that I like a lot of it, but there are a few elements that just won't go down, no matter how hard I swallow. In Life on Terra Nova, those hard lumps are a few strange twists of history and a few gimmicks for some minor cities that seem a bit of a stretch, but the book is simply excellent on the whole. It's the sour taste that the basic book left that has me wondering about the line as a whole. Those few problems and lingering aftertaste prevent me from completely throwing my lot in with the game line, but I will definitely keep an eye on it now and then, even if purchases are few (mainly because I am almost certain to never use it, and I already buy a lot of those kinds of books). So Mr. Bacon (and other Heavy Gear* fans), I must admit that Life on Terra Nova does go a surprisingly long way to rectifying the faults of the basic volume -for the line as a whole, at least. My judgment of the basic book still stands. The world of *Heavy Gear* doesn't live up to the hype, but it is close, and it is worth checking out. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)