The Premise:
Rated G is designed, much like Cartoon Action Hour, to simulate the fantasy violence (lots of action with little to no chance of death or serious injury) inherent in action cartoons. However, where CAH is a more complicated system, Rated G goes for a simplier approach. If this approach is suited for you is an issue that I will try to address with this review.

What Ya Get:
Rated G (!G) is a thirty-one page PDF file. You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader program or a similiar third-party program capable of rendering the PDF file format to make use of the game.

Cost:
The game costs $5.95 USD and is available from RPGNow.

Appearance:
Compared to other commercial PDF releases, Rated G suffers. While the text is organized relatively well with a useful series of sidebars that provide good information, its visual appeal is torpedoed by an extremely bland cover and the use of fantasy-only clip art on the inside... especially when every example of the game in play on the inside is dealing with a science fiction-type series.

The Game:
The game itself is diceless for purposes of task resolution (although a method for using dice is presented in a sidebar). Characters are defined by "Tags" such as Superman would have Legendary Strength. Tags also determine success or failure based upon ranking and a general v. specific opposition. For example, Legendary Strength would beat Fantastic Strength. However, in the case of two equal Tags in opposition, the Tag with the most specific ability would be the victor. For example, Incredible Olympic Power Lifting would beat out Incredible Weight Lifting.

However, there are times when the underdog should have a chance even though they are outclassed by an opponent. Tags can be "pushed" at the chance of fatiguing or exhausing a character. A tag can be increased by one rank for each successful attempt at winning a game of evens n' odds with the GM (a realistic (only a single rank increase is possible) and a cinematic variant (tags can continue to increase with each successful win against the GM) of this rule is presented). Failure means the character is Fatigued and that relevant tag is counted as being one rank less for a number of scenes equal to the amount pushed. An already fatigued tag that is forced to push again and fails is considered Exhausted and all tags are two ranks less for a number of scenes the push was and then the originally affected tag becomes fatigued again. A rule also exists for exempting a character from suffering fatigue or exhaustion and I don't like it. A character can provide a clipping from a magazine or newspaper and work in how it applies to the current situation to negate the posibility of failing a push. I would have allowed a certain number of times per game that it is allowed or just allow it if the player could come up with a convincing narration on why they don't. Relying on a prop for a game advantage just breaks the flow of the game in my opinion.

Chapter two tells the GM how to set up a series (i.e. a setting) and suggests predefined points that should be given the the characters to purchase tags based upon the type of cartoon that is being run. One of the problems here is that there are only six example categories listed so, as a GM, if you're doing anything slightly odd along the lines of a cartoon like Voltron, you're going to have to make a judgment call on tag levels.

Chapter three deals with character creation. Chargen is an interesting idea but not one I'm sure that I like. Each player gets five slips of paper and quickly writes down a word, phrase or draws something on each slip. These slips are then drawn again by each player from a hat and they have to interpret what they pulled to create a basis for their tags. These tags are filled out on a "character web" that reminds me somewhat of the primary, secondary, and tertiary method of character creation with Shadowrun. Like I said earlier, its a good idea but some people determined to be jerks could really ruin it for everyone else by coming up with slips of paper that is hard to interpret or just mean. The rules specifically say to be loose with your interpretation of what is pulled but less imaginative players could get discouraged quickly. This isn't really a fault of the game design but an issue a GM might want to keep in mind based upon their playing group.

Chapters four and five primarily dwell on the creation of the setting as well as how to structure plot. There really is little to say about this other than its not something an experienced GM is going to need to read. However, someone new to roleplaying, unfamiliar with the standard plotting of a cartoon, or is not as experienced a GM should find this material useful to them.

Chapter six gets back to mechanics and discusses initiative and damage. It also concludes the book with a sample series, "Guardians of the Final Realm." Initiative is handled by characters and NPCs describing their actions from lowest ranked tag to the highest and then actions actually happen from highest ranked tag to the lowest. Damage is handled through "strikes" as in three strikes and you're out. Anytime an attack tag is greater than the defender's relevant tag, a strike is scored. A character that is taken out is out of combat until the next scene in which they loose all their strikes and is considered okay again. "Guardians of the Final Realm" is a Matrix-esque series in which the characters have to defeat the various enemies from within and beyond the game realm as well as keep tabs on a mysterious corporation that is funding the game.

Overall Impression:
Rated G is a good little game. I personally have issues with reliance on props for a game mechanic and the potential abuse inherent in chargen. However, this is personal bias and you very well might find them a strength of the system. One of the biggest advantages of the system is that it is quick and immediate. While Cartoon Action Hour goes to great lengths to mechanically define things such as transforming robots and super powers, Rated G takes a simplier approach and just assumes that they exist and let the tags fall where they may. In the end, it all depends on which style of mechanics you prefer. CAH takes a lot of work by the GM to develop a series while Rated G takes considerably less. For people who want to run a long-running campaign style game of cartoons, CAH is probably your best bet as it tends to be more robust in that regard. However, if you need something quick to pick up and intend on playing a limited number of sessions, Rated G is a very good inexpensive choice.

MetalMan signing off.