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Member Review : 07-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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| Product: |
Field Manual: Updates |
| Rating: |
4.50 |
| Comment: |
Comprehensive and huge book which details each faction's military since their respective last FMs. Great book to start out with, as it provides a LOT of detail on the militaries of man, and pretty much sets things up right before the Jihad. Great tool if you're planning on playing in that, or if you prefer to plot your own course, this book could be a great starting point for your campaigns.
The random assignment tables are pretty cool too. Great campaign tool, or to help you find inspiration for pick up games. I really dig how they're split up based on faction *and* tech level.
In my opinion, only the House Handbooks top this tome, but it's a close race. I love detail and fluff, and through necessity, the Updates have to skimp a bit on that. You only have so many page to work with.
If you don't have this book, you should. 238 pages of goodness for $24.99 is a steal. |
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Member Review : 07-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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Objective Raids |
| Rating: |
3.00 |
| Comment: |
Cool concept for the detail junkies! Detailed production information for pretty much anything that's built in known space.
The execution is less stellar. While pretty much everything was yanked from the hordes of sourcebooks and TRO's, and while it's clear the author spent huge gobs of effort on getting things right, the fact of the matter is that a lot of it's inaccurate. They either failed to take some inconsistencies in to account, and added quite a few new ones. Throughout the community, OR is not considered very reliable as a source, but it's not completely worthless neither. It puts a LOT of data in easy to review and thoroughly indexed fashion. This can still be a great tool in your campaigns, if you can be flexible enough about the mistakes.
It may not living up to it's awesome potential, but it's worth your cash. |
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Member Review : 18-Nov-2003 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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Malicious Intent |
| Rating: |
3.50 |
| Comment: |
Insightful novel that goes in to some considerable depth when it comes Clan politics, and it's also a main source of ongoing debates everywhere. What is and isn't legal when it came to the Refusal War and it's conclusion? The situation is pleasantly complex, and very entertaining if you're in to politics.
Opposite of this is plenty of Inner Sphere politics, but seeing a bit more of Clan politics in action is refreshing.
Plenty of Mech on Mech combat for those who favor this, and let's not forget the Falcon incursion towards Coventry, a massive campaign with severe repurcusions.
All in all a very entertaining read. Not one of the best in BT, but certainly not one of the worst. |
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Member Review : 18-Nov-2003 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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| Product: |
Classic BattleTech |
| Rating: |
4.00 |
| Comment: |
A logical starting point for any new player, or someone interested in teaching new players.
The new boxed set is pretty well stocked with a broad range of goodies that gives anyone a good idea about what they can expect from the Battletech universe. The 3067 map is pretty awesome, the quick play rules are very useful to get you started, and there's a good bit of eyecandy. Bit pricy, but in my opinion you get what you pay for. This box accomplished it's purpose well.
Not a must-have for a seasoned player with no interest in teaching others, pretty much anyone else can expect to benefit. |
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Member Review : 18-Nov-2003 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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| Product: |
Classic BattleTech Companion |
| Rating: |
4.50 |
| Comment: |
Combined with the only slightly less massive MW3 (or CBT:RPG) core rules book, you have several hundred pages worth of RPG goodness. The Companion lives up to it's name, rounding out the core rules very very well.
A Point based creation system, quick NPC system, and for those that like the Lifepath system, they've almost all been included in this massive tome significantly reducing the amount of time you need to spend going through your books.
Want to make your own Lifepath? Now you can with an easy and comprehensive system.
It also comes with the much anticipated Battle Armor construction rules, for which we all have to be very thankful to MacAttack. Creating order where there used to be chaos, this fairly simple system allows you to recreate all existing designs, as well as create some awesome new ones. Lots of new goodies allow you to take the little toads to new levels of mayhem.
GM support it pretty elaborate as well, offering much in the way of how to run things and inspiration for new scenario's.
And I personally absolutely love the highly detailed and technical descriptions of how 'Mechs and BattleArmor function.
Reading this book is a very satisfying experience, and you're really left with the feeling that they didn't miss a thing. They probably did, but they hid it well.
Awesome book. Must-have for anyone interested in MW3, and even those using other systems to RP in the Battletech universe should consider purchasing this product. Almost anyone ought to be able to find a few things they like in here. |
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Member Review : 17-Nov-2003 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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Wolves on the Border |
| Rating: |
5.00 |
| Comment: |
This book is easily one of the best in the Battletech novel line. A must read, it touches gracefully on all the aspects I consider important; the combat, the strategy and the politics.
Both sides are depicted as intelligent, with decently supported motivations, and while it's still pretty clear who's the good guy and who's bad, you don't tire of the battle sequences because you're not entirely sure whether the good guys will win.
It's also kind of cool to look back with some hindsight at the first hints of the Clans.
I'd recommend it to anyone considering a first novel for Battletech. |
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Member Review : 17-Nov-2003 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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Threads of Ambition |
| Rating: |
4.50 |
| Comment: |
The Capellan Solution semi-trilogy is one of the best set of books in BT. Coleman captures the important points very well, describing strategy, combat and politics with considerable skill.
The two novels go a long way towards adding depth to the Capellan Confederacy in general and Sun-Tzu Liao in particular.
The novel deals with a complex war environment, where STL has to juggle several fronts at the same time. It mostly focusses on the St Ives Compact, and the writer manages to capture some of the nuances and duality of civil war very well.
If you find absolutely nothing to enjoy in the Killing Fields and it's successor, Threads of Ambition, you might as well quit on the BT novel line.
I wouldn't recommend these books to the novice readers as there is a bit of a knowledge threshold to truly appreciate them, but at the same time matters get explained sufficiently for it to not be too big of a problem. |
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Member Review : 17-Nov-2003 00:00 |
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0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
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| Product: |
Field Manual: Crusader Clans |
| Rating: |
4.00 |
| Comment: |
This Field Manual, and it's Warden Clan Companion are immensely valuable to anyone interested in the Clans. They go to great lengths to flesh out several of the Clans that had been mentioned only by name up till this point, creating some very creative and interesting entities. The diversity between the two books is so broad that almost anyone should be capable of finding one Clan that at least interests them.
The Field Manual format in general remains solid, providing an in depth overview of a faction's military, including special unit rules which are great fun to experiment with. They're a bit lacking in social, historical and political background compared to, say, the House sourcebooks, but you can't have it all.
Overall a solid buy for anyone with an interest in the Clans, if just for the purpose of finding a different punching bag. |
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