The adventure centers on some of the key figures and places noted in the Fifth Wave sourcebook for Transhuman Space. These figures are woven tightly into the story, which is one of lies, deception, intrigue, and betrayal. If those sound like elements that are invaluable to any good plot, you would be correct. Even after the adventure is complete, the players and their characters are likely to be wondering about the motives of the various NPC's that they encountered, second-guessing their decisions, and looking forward to what the future brings. The possibility of a continued campaign, combined with the way that the author carefully structures the early portions of the adventure, makes this a good starting point for a new Transhuman Space group. The author takes care to only introduce certain elements of the possibly-overwhelming Transhuman Space world at a time, allowing new players to get acclimated to the sometimes hard-to-grasp realities of the future.
The writing throughout the adventure is excellent, as well. The motives and goals of the various factions involved in the adventure are clearly defined, and the adventure takes care to remain true to those motives and goals throughout. David Morgan-Mar also takes care to include sidebars with necessary stats (when they can't be found in a Transhuman Space sourcebook), extra background information when necessary, and the excellent "What if the PC's ask..." sections. I find the latter to be the most helpful, as it not only provides a good, solid answer for a common question that a character is liable to ask, but it does so without revealing anything that the character should not know at that point. Thus, from a single "What if" question, a GM can answer nearly any unexpected question without fumbling around, attempting to hide that which the character wouldn't know at that point.
Another welcome tool used throughout Singapore Sling is the availability of GM advice. Since this adventure can be used by a new group, it's sometimes assumed that the GM could be a newbie, too. As such, there are times when David Morgan-Mar steps out of his role as "author" and takes on a "mentor" role. Tips that begin such as, "Unless the characters are having fun with their research..." or "If this would suit your group's style..." provide potential branches for Game Masters. It's a welcome change from the often stoic writing of adventure modules, making it clear that simply completing the adventure is not the goal, but rather having a good time with your playing group is.
The presentation of the PDF is excellent, as well, with the text clean and easy to read. The download size is reasonable as well. The only concern people have is the layout of the pages themselves. Following the look-and-feel of the Transhuman Space books has led to the pages having a "starfield" background on the bottom half of every page. While I personally appreciate the attention to detail so that it "looks" like it's a part of the Transhuman Space line, this might be a concern to someone who has purchased it and wishes to print in on a home printer. At 21 pages long, there is a lot of ink being spent on "meaningless" art.
The other concern is with the adventure itself. While the plot has been carefully crafted by the author, the players may feel a bit let down at the end of the day. Like many games that rely on large-scale political and personal intrigue, the final "showdown" tends to occur regardless of previous actions. The characters may have thrown a few small wrenches into the plans of the villans, but they can still succeed with one final act of infamy. And depending on your playgroup, this could discourage them in the future; if the ultimate showdown is right around the corner, why shouldn't they just prepare for that, and not worry about the small changes they effect along the way? I prefer adventures where the characters have a chance, even though it may be slim, to affect the final showdown from the very first decision they make during the adventure.
Even with the few concerns about the Adventure, it's hard not to recommend Singapore Sling as a whole. While it might be intended for beginning groups, it would be very easy to insert a high-level, experienced group into the adventure with success. In fact, without spoiling too much, there are many roles a high-level group could play in this adventure, and those roles are far more interesting than the "stock" path a novice group would take through the adventure. Also, while it might be difficult to translate Singapore Sling to another gaming system because of some of the concepts embedded in the plot, it's not impossible thanks to the excellent sense of style and description provided by the writing. Finally, at only $4.95 for a digital PDF, it's not going to break the bank.
If you're looking to start a Transhuman Space group, an old veteran, or just looking for an adventure that emphasizes roleplaying, research, ingenuity, and intuition instead of lasers and grenades, Singapore Sling might be right up your alley.
