[Review] Punktown

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day this fella walks into my office, grinnin’ from ear to ear.

No, I mean literally. His mouth stretched from one ear to the other.

“So… what are you supposed to be?” I says.

“A Choom.”

“Gesundheit”

“No,” he says, “I’m a Choom. We’re the natives of the planet Oasis, home to the city of Paxton, better known as Punktown.”

“I see,” I says. “And why should I care about Punktown?”

“Oh, lots of reasons,” he says. “You’ve got a futuristic setting with aliens (like me), mutants, robots, clones, and even Lovecraftian horrors, using Call of Cthulhu 6th edition and Basic Roleplaying.”

“That does sound promisin’,” I says. “Want to talk some more about it over a glass of whiskey?”

“Oh, no,” he says. “I’ve gotta get going. I’m telling everyone about Punktown!”

“Well, you do have a big mouth.”

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[Review] Grimmgard

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day my buddy Scotty the Dwarf came by for a visit to my office. Thing is, he ditched his usual grimy armor and battle axe for some really fancy new duds and one serious hand cannon. What gives, I wanted to know?

“Laddie, today I’m here to talk to ye about Grimmgard,” he says. “In Grimmgard, I’m one of the Dwarven. We’re the sophisticated, amiable types. Got damned fine technology, too.”

“So you aren’t the short-tempered ones?” I says.

“Don’t start, laddie…” he says.

“Well, if you’re the sophisticated fellas, where does that leave the Elves?” I says.

“No Elves,” he says. “But there are Ogres, and Beastfolk, and these wee mushroom gnomes, and a lot more besides. And they have all sorts o’ technology, from airships and trains to plasma rifles and teleporters.”

“Sounds good,” I says. “I’ll get to it shortly.”

“I’m warnin’ ye, laddie…”

[Review] Torg Eternity: The Living Land Sourcebook

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day I’m sittin’ at my desk goin’ through my review copies, when I hear a knock.

At the window.

I go check it out, and what do I see there? A lizard-man ridin’ a brontosaurus.

Now, as it happens, this wasn’t all that unexpected. See, I’d just recently wrapped up a Torg Eternity gig, and I knew that a sourcebook for the Living Land, their prehistoric reality, would be comin’ down the pike pretty soon.

Speakin’ of pikes, the lizard guy had a nasty-looking plant-spear in one hand. Fortunately, he had the sourcebook in the other.

“So,” I says as the lizard guy climbed through the window, “I gotta tell ya, I’ve been lookin’ forward to this one. The old Living Land didn’t do much for me, but the new one with its Law of Wonders sounds like everything but the kitchen sink can show up there.”

“There issss no kitchen ssssink,” Mr. Lizard agrees, “but there issss a refrigerator.”

A fridge in the Living Land? This I had to see…

[Review] Torg Eternity

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day I answer a knock on my office door, and I see an elf, a ninja, a masked mystery man, a werewolf, a cyberpunk, and a lizard man.

Which meant just one thing: Torg was back in town.

Now, I’ll be the first to tell ya: I loved me some Torg and its multi-genre gonzo craziness… but it always had its problems. Don’t you worry, though. I got right on the case.

“So!” I says to the ninja. “You still got a glass jaw?”

“Nope!” he says, givin’ himself a little sock to the jaw. “Solid as a rock. That’s been fixed in Torg Eternity.”

“‘Torg Eternity‘, eh?” I says. “Interesting… So, lizard man, is there anything to do in your home turf besides getting lost in a fog?”

“Oh, yes!” he says. “That’s been fixed, too. Now there are any number of wonders to discover in the Living Land!”

“Huh,” I says. Maybe there was somethin’ to this Torg Eternity.

I couldn’t help but imagine the Possibilities.

[Review] Westward

 

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day I hear a knock. On my wall.

I go outside, and what do I see?

A 15′ steam mech. Driven by a cowboy.

“Howdy, pardner!” he says. “I done moseyed up on ol’ Bessie here to git you to review Westward, the steampunk Western roleplaying game!”

“A steampunk Western game?” I says. “Okay, I can get behind that. But I gotta ask: What’s a cowboy know about building a steam mech?”

“Shoot, ain’t nuthin’ to it,” he says. “Well, ‘cept all the math. ‘Specially the decimals.”

“The decimals?”

“Yep!” he says. “Always gotta be worried ’bout the last roundup.”

[Review] Victorious

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day there’s a knock at my office door, and it’s Sherlock Holmes. That’s right, the Sherlock Holmes. Deerstalker hat, pipe, the works.

I ask him what brings him by today.

“Elementary!” he says. “I’ve come by today for a review of Victorious!”

“Okay,” I says. “So what’s Victorious?”

“Elementary!” he says. “Victorious is a roleplaying game about Victorian superheroes!”

“Victorian superheroes?” I says. “So why’d they send you by with this gig? You ain’t exactly a superhero.”

“Elementary!” he says. “Why, with my exceptional mind and extraordinary skills, not to mention the fact that I am a remarkable physical specimen, I am easily a match for that bat fellow you Colonials are so fond of.”

“Uh-huh,” I says. “And where’d you get to be such an all-around amazing guy?”

“In elementary school, of course!”

[Review] Of Dreams and Magic

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day a superhero walks into my office — cape, underwear on the outside, the whole nine yards.

“Let me guess,” I says, “You want me to review a superhero game.”

“Huh?” he says. “Oh, this!” He looks down at himself. “This is just my Animus.”

“Your what?”

“My Animus. My dream form.”

“Okaaay…” I says. I’d seen this type before. Best to humor’em. “So what’s the job?”

I’ll be damned if he doesn’t break out a pouch full of herbs and chalk and rat skulls. Before I can say a word, the guy does a Voodoo ritual right there on my desk. And when he’s done, there’s a rulebook sittin’ there. Of Dreams and Magic, it says.

“…Was that your superpower?” I says.

“Oh, no,” he says. “That’s just some magic I picked up along the way. Here, I’ll give you the PDF copy, too.”

He proceeds to pull a freakin’ datajack outta his skull and plug it into my trusty laptop.

“What in the Hell kinda game is this?” I says.

“Like the title says, it’s about dreams and magic,” he says.

If this is what this guy’s dreams are like, I think to myself, I know someone who’s been hittin’ the sauce before bedtime.

Anyway, here’s the review.