For a long time, the DC Heroes game has been in need of a major overhaul. WestEnd Games /Yeti has provided that with the new release of the DC Universe RPG. WEG / Yeti has decided to incorporate their D6 system for this lastest offering. With this release WEG is also offering up a GM Screen and a special set of 6 sided die that work along with the system. Regular dice still work great, but regular dice don't have the Superman 'S' or the Batman emblem on them.
The Good: For $28.95 WEG has packed a lot of information into a 250+ page book. Full color throughout even. Being a big fan of DC's comics I especially liked the world overview that easlity breaks down the last 10 years of DC history in just a few pages. The basic D6 system is great. Its fast flexible and easily understood by newbie players.
The Bad: Yes, the book is full color cover to cover. But in order to do this it appears WEG/ Yeti had to skimp one the paper choice. It feels almost like newsprint. That might have been a conscience decision to make it feel like a comic book, but I know how much abuse my books take. And I have big doubts that this book wil hold up over time. The basic foundation for the D6 system is great, I have no reservations about saying that, but when a super-hero power system is forced on top, bad things start to happen. Character creation is a snap UNTIL the Powers come in. The Powers for DC Universe are overly complex for the D6 system and damn near impossible for a newie GM or players to handle without resorting to pulling out pre-made characters, Even experienced players were having a tough time developing characters while trying to figuring out base power costs, specialization base costs and managing skills.
The Verdict: There is no doubt that developing a comic book based RPG is one of the most demanding tasks in all of RPG. Games designers have to try to account for nearly infinite ideas regarding powers and game balance. Unfortunatly, DC Universe doesn't give gamers a straight forward solution for a Super Powered RPG. If you love the DC line of comics it might be worth looking at the game. If you're just looking for a simple Super Hero genre RPG keep looking.
Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)
