…we almost had to chip ice off of him
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The Doclopedia #1,554
Alt. Roleplaying Reviews: Last Chance Incorporated
All ratings based upon a 1-5 scale
Substance: 3
Originality: 3
Looks: 3
Playability: 3
Synopsis: An average science fiction RPG with a few new ideas.
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Let’s get right to the heart of the matter: This is a perfectly good, but absolutely average science fiction RPG. There is very little here that you can’t find elsewhere.
The setting is about 500 years in the future. Humanity has been accepted into the Alliance of Planets, which consists of 9 star systems, 14 planets and the Frontier. That latter is where most of the action takes place as you go where…well, you know the rest.
Of course you need at least one “bad guy” group to cause trouble, and this game gives you three. There are warrior lizard people, sneaky underhanded humanoids and a whole star system of space pirates.
As I said in the beginning, this is all average stuff. The writing, the art, layout, adventures, alien monsters…everything is neither really bad or exceptionally good. However, there are a couple of interesting and not really well developed nuggets in this game.
First is what gives the game it’s name. Last Chance Incorporated is a multi-planetary business that explores and exploits planets. They use humans and other races to do the exploring, but they only hire people who are dying, either from old age or disease. They offer these people a last chance at life, giving them temporary young & healthy bodies with the promise that they can keep the body once X number of jobs are finished.
The other interesting idea is that there is some nebulous secret thing going on in the Alliance and the characters will only find out about it very slowly over many sessions. As to what the nebulous thing is, well, that is slowly revealed to the GM via rolls on random tables. These tables are set up to lead to more and more info, which the DM eventually turns into a threat of some sort. It’s pretty cool, really.
In closing, I’d say that Last Chance Incorporated is a decent sci fi game and if you don’t already own one, it’s as good as most others.
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The Doclopedia #1,555
Alt. Roleplaying Reviews: World Of Monsters
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All ratings based upon a 1-5 scale
Substance: 4
Originality: 5
Looks: 4
Playability: 4
Synopsis: Imagine if all the monsters from movies were real.
In World of Monsters, all the monsters from movies have come alive and are terrorizing the world. Vampires, mad slashers, aliens, kaiju…all of them are out there and you are hunting them. Of course, many of them are hunting you, too.
This is a fun game. You never know what the GM will throw at you next and if you are packing the wrong weaponry, you will get your ass handed to you. Teamwork is absolutely essential to get the job done.
The rules are pretty comprehensive without being overly crunchy. Characters are mostly skill based. You can learn new skills when you get precious downtime. There are only a few character archetypes (Warrior, Scientist, Medic, Psychic, Engineer), but with skills, quirks, advantages and disadvantages, you can build a pretty unique character.
The entire book is above average in all respects. Tables and lists are all put in one place in the back of the book to make looking things up very easy. The are is almost entirely black and white, but is very good in most cases.
And the monsters? They take up half the book and I doubt you’ll find a movie monster not represented, even if you are a fan of cheap low budget flicks or foreign monster movies.
This game is a Best Buy, for sure.
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