Kromosome was the Amazing Engine cyberpunk setting. The setting can easily be understood as lying somewhere between today and XXVc or Jovian Chronicles. The Earth is in a state of a spiral environmental decline. In many places the ultraviolet rays of the sun are deadly. There are ecological disaster areas, hot spots where no one goes. People are being genetically altered by the governments and at their own expense to live in their decayed world or enhance their capabilities for their own advances. The web has become a complete virtual world, preferred to the real one. The power and access available via the web has made all but 3 mega-corporations extinct. Business is now handled by millions of micro-corporations, more like families, gangs or tribes than companies.
The Amazing Engine rules have been reviewed before, so they will not be rehashed here. Suffice to say they are included in this book and are easily ignored should the reader wish to use this background with another setting. Being available does allow the reader the luxury of referring to them when the intended alternate rules system needs help. My opinion of them remains the same, good not great, better suited for a Quantum Leap sort of game as written but usable as a generic gaming engine without the character core concept baggage.
Although the campaign background and supporting material is complete and more than interesting, there is little more than suggestions on how to actually run a campaign. It is difficult to see how the PCs could function in a world ready to collapse. Intended for the GM, there is little meat on some of the most interesting aspects of the setting. What are the AIs up to, if anything? Where does the asteroid belt and other off world colonies work into a continuing game? Where are the genetic engineers going to take humanity? How will the freedom of the virtual world impact the politics of the real world? All of these things are brought up but left to the GM to address and it's all too much. I can see so many parallels that could be played out, Total Recall for example, but the GM still has to do most of the work. As with most AE settings, this one deserves a whole lot more attention than TSR gave it. I understand that a big part of any game is the PCs figuring out what is really going on, but this book keeps the GM guessing as well. The text reads more like it's intended to entice players than support a GM. On the brighter side, web based combat and virtual reality adventuring gets a very realistic and playable treatment.
Kromosome can be found at a bargain price and should only be sampled under half its cover price. If you happen to be an Amazing Engine gamer, or cyber-space rpg junkie, you can pay more and enjoy it enough. There is a great game in here, it just didn't fit in the book.
This review appears in Alarums & Excursions #315 (see review archive) and appears here with permission.
Go to forum!
(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)