The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Alright, you've seen the RPG version of the new Heavy Gear system. This one is one the Tactical game.

To paraphrase DP9, Heavy Gear is not your father's giant robot game. And who am I to argue? Despite what you may think, Heavy Gear bares little resemblence to most other mecha-type games out there.

To start with, Gears (those giant robots) are not the same towering beasts that plod along and recieve punishment against thier armor for hours. Gears are much more like infantrymen - relatively nimble, pretty fast, and a lot more agile. This rolls over into gameplay quite well.

Movement is pretty standard. Gears can walk or run, with bonuses or penalities to shooting and being shot at for both. One neat aspect is that gears can't just go from dead stop to full boogie - to reach full speed, they have to spend a turn at combat.

Gears also have secondary movement systems - wheels or treads under/around their feet. A nice touch, and it means that their mobility is greater. After all, those pretty roads have a lot more benefit to wheels than feet.

Shooting is unique. While there are a number of modifiers, the handy cheat-sheet has you learning them like a pro in no time. The REAL interesting part is that you have to beat your target's roll. What, you say? The target gets to interfere with my shooting? Yep. And it makes life sooooo much harder. In fact, DP9 admits that shooting isn't going to hit all that often, unless your troops are marksmen or at point blank range. Huh.

But, if you should hit that poor sap, damage is nice too. The amount you beat your opponents roll by is (modified by those nifty modifiers) is your margin of success is. Take thats times your damage modifier, and compare it against your enemy's armor.

Unlike a few other games, you won't spend your time wearing down what seems like tons (!) of armor. In Heavy Gear, Gears either shrug damage off, take light damage (annoyances), heavy damage (crippling, often) or buy the farm. Quick and dirty, like combat ought to be.

The game has a lot to offer. And where I might have made things sound more complicated than they are, it flows smoothly. (Compare that to Star Fleet Battles....sheesh!) The game sites nice examples of everything.

Plus, you get lots of nice optional rules - fighting in varied terrain, miniatures, etc. It also includes full details on 8 of the most common Gears and 2 Striders (bigger, more guns!). Lots of bang for the buck, including a number of scenario generators, etc.

An added bonus for the system as a whole: This is the 2nd Edition, but there is a LOT out there for the 1st. And guess what? It is 100% compatible! No need to wait for anything!

Gripes? A few. The Tactical game somewhat needs the Role-Playing game - not a problem for everyone, but some people like their warfare with as little roleplaying as possible. Other problems: the game is not quite playable without some more money invested. No map, no stand-up figures, etc. Or, you can use a normal table-top, but then you need to buy miniatures. Not a complaint, but a lot of games come ready to play out of the box, or at least with stuff to rip out of the book.

Of course, no body else packages both the RPG and Tactical stuff in one nice book.

So, high ratings all around. It's a keeper, which you will be hearing more about. A scenario next month, perhaps?

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Heavy Gear 2nd Edition
Author: Various Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Cost: $30 Page count: 237 Capsule Review by Robert E. Allen III on 03/03/98. Genre tags: none	Alright, you've seen the RPG version of the new Heavy Gear system. This one is one the Tactical game. To paraphrase DP9, Heavy Gear is not your father's giant robot game. And who am I to argue? Despite what you may think, Heavy Gear bares little resemblence to most other mecha-type games out there. To start with, Gears (those giant robots) are not the same towering beasts that plod along and recieve punishment against thier armor for hours. Gears are much more like infantrymen - relatively nimble, pretty fast, and a lot more agile. This rolls over into gameplay quite well. Movement is pretty standard. Gears can walk or run, with bonuses or penalities to shooting and being shot at for both. One neat aspect is that gears can't just go from dead stop to full boogie - to reach full speed, they have to spend a turn at combat. Gears also have secondary movement systems - wheels or treads under/around their feet. A nice touch, and it means that their mobility is greater. After all, those pretty roads have a lot more benefit to wheels than feet. Shooting is unique. While there are a number of modifiers, the handy cheat-sheet has you learning them like a pro in no time. The REAL interesting part is that you have to beat your target's roll. What, you say? The target gets to interfere with my shooting? Yep. And it makes life sooooo much harder. In fact, DP9 admits that shooting isn't going to hit all that often, unless your troops are marksmen or at point blank range. Huh. But, if you should hit that poor sap, damage is nice too. The amount you beat your opponents roll by is (modified by those nifty modifiers) is your margin of success is. Take thats times your damage modifier, and compare it against your enemy's armor. Unlike a few other games, you won't spend your time wearing down what seems like tons (!) of armor. In Heavy Gear, Gears either shrug damage off, take light damage (annoyances), heavy damage (crippling, often) or buy the farm. Quick and dirty, like combat ought to be. The game has a lot to offer. And where I might have made things sound more complicated than they are, it flows smoothly. (Compare that to Star Fleet Battles....sheesh!) The game sites nice examples of everything. Plus, you get lots of nice optional rules - fighting in varied terrain, miniatures, etc. It also includes full details on 8 of the most common Gears and 2 Striders (bigger, more guns!). Lots of bang for the buck, including a number of scenario generators, etc. An added bonus for the system as a whole: This is the 2nd Edition, but there is a LOT out there for the 1st. And guess what? It is 100% compatible! No need to wait for anything! Gripes? A few. The Tactical game somewhat needs the Role-Playing game - not a problem for everyone, but some people like their warfare with as little roleplaying as possible. Other problems: the game is not quite playable without some more money invested. No map, no stand-up figures, etc. Or, you can use a normal table-top, but then you need to buy miniatures. Not a complaint, but a lot of games come ready to play out of the box, or at least with stuff to rip out of the book. Of course, no body else packages both the RPG and Tactical stuff in one nice book. So, high ratings all around. It's a keeper, which you will be hearing more about. A scenario next month, perhaps? Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Heavy Gear 2nd Edition