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Target: UCAS is yet another installation in the evolving game world of Shadowrun.The ramifications of the assassination of President Dunklezahn are still being felt throughout UCAS and are making the lives of those working the shadows rather...interesting.

Target: UCAS is a sourcebook for Shadowrun that covers three cities: Boston, Detroit and Chicago. The first two have been relatively untouched by FASA, whereas Chicago is one of the most talked-about cities in the Sixth World. This 104-page book examines the three cities in both more and less detail than earlier citybooks like the Neo-Anarchist's Guide to North America and the Seattle Sourcebook. Also included is President Haeffner's State of the Union address and an evaluation of each member on the Scott Commission on Dunkelzahn's death, both of which have been available for some time on the Shadowland section on FASA's website.

For the Detroit and Boston sections, Kenson, rather than focusing on places and people like earlier books, Target: UCAS describes the theme of each of the cities. Detailing the tensions behind the scenes, you get the feel of the dynamics within each city. There is a definite lack of information on specific location that readers used to the previous sourcebooks for Shadowrun are used to, but this seems more than made up for with insight into how the cities work.

Detroit is the home-town of Ares Macrotech and its enigmatic master, Damien Knight. The Detroit section details the "company town" nature of Detroit with the intercorporate intrigue between Knight and former CEO Leonard Aurelius. Recently, Knight was able to gain total control of Ares and the power struggle is making waves in the shadows. Boston is home to the Stock Exchange and the large influx of wealth into smaller companies is turning the sleepy community into a target-rich environment.

The Chicago section is built on the source material presented in Bug City. Ares Macrotech has introduced something it calls "Strain III beta" into the area and has proclaimed the Containment Zone bug-free. The UCAS has lifted the CZ and things are apparently back to normal. Yeah, right. This material is presented as a series of disjointed uploads from all different sources which fits perfectly with the previous Chicago information.

The Gamemaster information section in the back provides adventure hooks much like the Underworld Sourcebook for running in Boston and Detroit. For Chicago, they give rules for the Voids (astral-free zones in the CZ), free bug spirits and ghouls as player characters (finally!).

All in all, an interesting book created focused on GMs. Unless you are planning on running in any of these cities, the material is not really of necessity although the unfolding crisis in Chicago could have far reaching effects and could pop up to haunt runners in any city.

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

Target: UCAS
Author: Stephen Kenson, Linda Naughton, Jonathan Jacobson Category: game Company/Publisher: FASA Corporation Reviewed by David Davenport on 07/17/97. Genre tags: none	Target: UCAS is yet another installation in the evolving game world of Shadowrun.The ramifications of the assassination of President Dunklezahn are still being felt throughout UCAS and are making the lives of those working the shadows rather...interesting. Target: UCAS is a sourcebook for Shadowrun that covers three cities: Boston, Detroit and Chicago. The first two have been relatively untouched by FASA, whereas Chicago is one of the most talked-about cities in the Sixth World. This 104-page book examines the three cities in both more and less detail than earlier citybooks like the Neo-Anarchist's Guide to North America and the Seattle Sourcebook. Also included is President Haeffner's State of the Union address and an evaluation of each member on the Scott Commission on Dunkelzahn's death, both of which have been available for some time on the Shadowland section on FASA's website. For the Detroit and Boston sections, Kenson, rather than focusing on places and people like earlier books, Target: UCAS describes the theme of each of the cities. Detailing the tensions behind the scenes, you get the feel of the dynamics within each city. There is a definite lack of information on specific location that readers used to the previous sourcebooks for Shadowrun are used to, but this seems more than made up for with insight into how the cities work. Detroit is the home-town of Ares Macrotech and its enigmatic master, Damien Knight. The Detroit section details the "company town" nature of Detroit with the intercorporate intrigue between Knight and former CEO Leonard Aurelius. Recently, Knight was able to gain total control of Ares and the power struggle is making waves in the shadows. Boston is home to the Stock Exchange and the large influx of wealth into smaller companies is turning the sleepy community into a target-rich environment. The Chicago section is built on the source material presented in Bug City. Ares Macrotech has introduced something it calls "Strain III beta" into the area and has proclaimed the Containment Zone bug-free. The UCAS has lifted the CZ and things are apparently back to normal. Yeah, right. This material is presented as a series of disjointed uploads from all different sources which fits perfectly with the previous Chicago information. The Gamemaster information section in the back provides adventure hooks much like the Underworld Sourcebook for running in Boston and Detroit. For Chicago, they give rules for the Voids (astral-free zones in the CZ), free bug spirits and ghouls as player characters (finally!). All in all, an interesting book created focused on GMs. Unless you are planning on running in any of these cities, the material is not really of necessity although the unfolding crisis in Chicago could have far reaching effects and could pop up to haunt runners in any city. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)