The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"In Traumaville, if you're not scared - you're already dead"

MetalMan's Review of "Shriek 2nd Edition" by Deep 7

The Premise:
The second edition of Shriek continues in the genre of such games as B-Movie and Squeam. The slasher flick has occupied a curious niche in modern cinema and its only natural that roleplaying games attempt to emulate a genre that many gamers also enjoy.

What Ya Get:
Shriek continues off from where the first edition left off and the material is updated slightly. What makes the second edition different is that it is packaged on a CD-ROM with both a HTML and PDF version of the game and with numerous extras tossed in.

Cost:
The CD will cost you $6.95 USD.

Appearance:
The Shriek CD comes in a very slim compact plastic case that makes it very easy to store. The disc itself appears to be of high quality and is professionally screenprinted with a picture of a masked killer on the disc.

PERSONAL NOTE: The actual game itself hasn't changed much and Dan Davenport's review of the first edition still holds true in both the mechanics as well as the spirit of the game. You may want to consult his review to refresh your memory or gain more insight into the game as this one will primarily focus on the differences between the two editions.

The Game:
If you own the first edition, the first thing that you'll notice is the slightly revamped character sheet. Its identical for the most part except that most of the rules information has been shunted off onto a second page aptly called "Rules of Play." This allows the first page to function more as a reference sheet for the players than as a total system on one page as it was before. This page explains the rules a bit better than the first edition because it has its own page and the space is better used with the font size having been increased to make reading easier. The "For the Referee" page is unchanged.

The included adventures are the same from the first editon (Grave Shift, Making the Cut, Blood Shop, Texas Chainsaw Mascara and Night of the Cockroach) but have been reworked into a two column layout with some art included for each. The added bonus here is the inclusion of Bikini Party Massacre which was a convention demo scenario and a free download from the Deep 7 website. Two new adventures (Good Friday the 13th and Hell On Wheels) are also included, feature maps and go beyond the traditional one page format that Deep 7 does most of its scenarios in.

Disc Extras:
The extras on the disc include a collection of wallpapers, a comic and nine pieces of music. The wallpapers are the same image as is on the cover of the game and come in both 800x600 and 1024x768 resolutions. There is also a short Shriek color e-comic included that can be accessed through the HTML index page on the disc. The art is good but the story (like most slasher flicks) leave a bit to be desired. This isn't to say that its a bad story ... its just typical of its genre and sometimes has some problems deciding if it wants to be a true horror tale or a farce of the genre. The death by wood chipper was a nice touch though.

The bulk of the disc, however, is taken up by the inclusion of nine songs in MP3 format by seven different artists. I hadn't heard of any of them but the music is good and about on the same level of quality as The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. The disc includes Shattered by StarBug, Never Die Again by Blind Sight, The Music of Artifical Affection and Evolution by Changeling, Dead Generation and Swim by Dogfish, Thelemic Eye by Solaris, Urban (Explosive Mix) by Andrew Leung, and Delusional by Threejane (which rocks!). The songs are billed as background music but some of it is just too upbeat and/or odd in my opinion for a horror game. All the music, however, makes for very good listening. Most of the songs tend to lean towards the techno/trance/industrial sound with a smattering of rock thrown in so this may or may not be for you. As one of the first customers, Deep 7 also tossed in a free copy of the Dogfish album, "The Next Wave", which was also enjoyable.

Overall Impression:
Shriek 2nd Edition is probably going to be a take it or leave it product for most people. The material is unchanged enough so that the first edition Shriek is still very much playable and it only costs $3.95 as a PDF download. The real question you have to ask yourself is if the extra cost is worth having it on CD, the extra scenarios, the comic and the music. It was worth it to me for the music which I've already listened to several times but your milage may vary.

MetalMan signing off.

Shriek 2nd Edition
Shriek 2nd Edition Capsule Review by MetalMan on 09/07/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Deep 7's teen horror 1PG comes back for another helping Product: Shriek 2nd Edition Author: Todd Downing Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Deep 7 Line: 1PG Cost: 6.95 Page count: n/a Year published: 2001 ISBN: 0-9710820-0-6 SKU: D71PG001CD Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by MetalMan on 09/07/01 Genre tags: Modern day Horror Comedy	"In Traumaville, if you're not scared - you're already dead" MetalMan's Review of "Shriek 2nd Edition" by Deep 7 The Premise: The second edition of Shriek continues in the genre of such games as B-Movie and Squeam. The slasher flick has occupied a curious niche in modern cinema and its only natural that roleplaying games attempt to emulate a genre that many gamers also enjoy. What Ya Get: Shriek continues off from where the first edition left off and the material is updated slightly. What makes the second edition different is that it is packaged on a CD-ROM with both a HTML and PDF version of the game and with numerous extras tossed in. Cost: The CD will cost you $6.95 USD. Appearance: The Shriek CD comes in a very slim compact plastic case that makes it very easy to store. The disc itself appears to be of high quality and is professionally screenprinted with a picture of a masked killer on the disc. PERSONAL NOTE: The actual game itself hasn't changed much and Dan Davenport's review of the first edition still holds true in both the mechanics as well as the spirit of the game. You may want to consult his review to refresh your memory or gain more insight into the game as this one will primarily focus on the differences between the two editions. The Game: If you own the first edition, the first thing that you'll notice is the slightly revamped character sheet. Its identical for the most part except that most of the rules information has been shunted off onto a second page aptly called "Rules of Play." This allows the first page to function more as a reference sheet for the players than as a total system on one page as it was before. This page explains the rules a bit better than the first edition because it has its own page and the space is better used with the font size having been increased to make reading easier. The "For the Referee" page is unchanged. The included adventures are the same from the first editon (Grave Shift, Making the Cut, Blood Shop, Texas Chainsaw Mascara and Night of the Cockroach) but have been reworked into a two column layout with some art included for each. The added bonus here is the inclusion of Bikini Party Massacre which was a convention demo scenario and a free download from the Deep 7 website. Two new adventures (Good Friday the 13th and Hell On Wheels) are also included, feature maps and go beyond the traditional one page format that Deep 7 does most of its scenarios in. Disc Extras: The extras on the disc include a collection of wallpapers, a comic and nine pieces of music. The wallpapers are the same image as is on the cover of the game and come in both 800x600 and 1024x768 resolutions. There is also a short Shriek color e-comic included that can be accessed through the HTML index page on the disc. The art is good but the story (like most slasher flicks) leave a bit to be desired. This isn't to say that its a bad story ... its just typical of its genre and sometimes has some problems deciding if it wants to be a true horror tale or a farce of the genre. The death by wood chipper was a nice touch though. The bulk of the disc, however, is taken up by the inclusion of nine songs in MP3 format by seven different artists. I hadn't heard of any of them but the music is good and about on the same level of quality as The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. The disc includes Shattered by StarBug, Never Die Again by Blind Sight, The Music of Artifical Affection and Evolution by Changeling, Dead Generation and Swim by Dogfish, Thelemic Eye by Solaris, Urban (Explosive Mix) by Andrew Leung, and Delusional by Threejane (which rocks!). The songs are billed as background music but some of it is just too upbeat and/or odd in my opinion for a horror game. All the music, however, makes for very good listening. Most of the songs tend to lean towards the techno/trance/industrial sound with a smattering of rock thrown in so this may or may not be for you. As one of the first customers, Deep 7 also tossed in a free copy of the Dogfish album, "The Next Wave", which was also enjoyable. Overall Impression: Shriek 2nd Edition is probably going to be a take it or leave it product for most people. The material is unchanged enough so that the first edition Shriek is still very much playable and it only costs $3.95 as a PDF download. The real question you have to ask yourself is if the extra cost is worth having it on CD, the extra scenarios, the comic and the music. It was worth it to me for the music which I've already listened to several times but your milage may vary. MetalMan signing off.