The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I first encountered Lightspeed as a free download many months ago. This "Instant Fuzion" variant looked interesting, and I followed the progress of the full version. Shortly after it came out, I bought it. One of the first things you notice about it is the inclusiveness. At first, this bothered me a little, but then I began to appreciate it. It's one of this games strongpoints. You can run _anything_ with Lightspeed. Classic space opera, cyberpunk-style, super-heros (Psi Rangers, a future supplement), hard sf, comic sf, space fantasy, anything. The central conflict is effectively the Star Trek Federation vs. the Star Wars Empire, but many other ideas enter the mix. The Fuzion system makes it easy to learn and play, the inclusiveness and in-jokes of the background make it easy to start up, as well. Everyone can grasp the fundamentals of the universe in 10-15 minutes. As a gearhead, the only thing I can find fault with is the lack of illustrations for weapons and equipment, though the book is richly illustrated. Content: A Presentation: A Ease of Use: A "Nerfel" aliens: E- (ok, I hate them, but that's the only thing wrong here)

Go buy it.

Lightspeed
Lightspeed Capsule Review by Colin Dunn on 08/08/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Think of it as Star Trek's Federation vs. Star Wars' Empire, with lots of juicy bits thrown in. Product: Lightspeed Author: Christian Conkle Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Lightspeed Line: Cost: Page count: Year published: ISBN: SKU: mall item 181 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Colin Dunn on 08/08/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction Far Future Space	I first encountered Lightspeed as a free download many months ago. This "Instant Fuzion" variant looked interesting, and I followed the progress of the full version. Shortly after it came out, I bought it. One of the first things you notice about it is the inclusiveness. At first, this bothered me a little, but then I began to appreciate it. It's one of this games strongpoints. You can run _anything_ with Lightspeed. Classic space opera, cyberpunk-style, super-heros (Psi Rangers, a future supplement), hard sf, comic sf, space fantasy, anything. The central conflict is effectively the Star Trek Federation vs. the Star Wars Empire, but many other ideas enter the mix. The Fuzion system makes it easy to learn and play, the inclusiveness and in-jokes of the background make it easy to start up, as well. Everyone can grasp the fundamentals of the universe in 10-15 minutes. As a gearhead, the only thing I can find fault with is the lack of illustrations for weapons and equipment, though the book is richly illustrated. Content: A Presentation: A Ease of Use: A "Nerfel" aliens: E- (ok, I hate them, but that's the only thing wrong here) Go buy it.