Zenopus wrote in Survey Says... (Worst Game System?):Has everyone seen this hilarious review of CYBORG COMMANDO?Review of Cyborg Commando - RPGnet "On its third dice-rolling table?" The tables in question aren't actually part of the rules, but are part of a three page section of the rulebook, which includes three tables and five graphs, showing the reader how the d10x system is the best possible dice system for a game. This tone is symptomatic of the rules. At several times the reader is lectured on how they should use the metric system in play, rather than the "archaic and unwieldy English [sic] system". The rules, of course, go on to tell you that the standard units of measurement can be either miles or kilometres; they are, apparently so similar as to be interchangeable. Rather than using a single system of measurements, the rules lecturer the reader on what they should be using, but provide poorly matching approximates in both systems and end the GMs book with a useful reference table of weights and measures, including conversion equations of troy grains to troy ounces because we're apparently playing the game of cyborg f***ing jewellers or something.For a game with such attention to detail, character creation is remarkably simple. The player selects their character's stats and skills and then apply the modifiers imposed by the cybernetic body. There are games which elegant in their simple execution. This is one of the other games.Fundamentally, the problem with the Cyborg Commando game is the idea that playing cyborgs shooting lasers out of their fingers, in a world overwhelmed by aliens, was in some way cool. The writers were sadly mistaken in this. The background seems ridiculously silly and contrived. The alien race has invaded earth "just because" and is virtually undefeatable despite the fact that the book points of there being only one alien for every 11,600 humans. The aliens may be tough, but, at those odds, it is hard to believe that the various world militaries shouldn't be able to defeat them.Apologies to Gygax, Mentzer and Mohan for posting this...
"On its third dice-rolling table?" The tables in question aren't actually part of the rules, but are part of a three page section of the rulebook, which includes three tables and five graphs, showing the reader how the d10x system is the best possible dice system for a game. This tone is symptomatic of the rules. At several times the reader is lectured on how they should use the metric system in play, rather than the "archaic and unwieldy English [sic] system". The rules, of course, go on to tell you that the standard units of measurement can be either miles or kilometres; they are, apparently so similar as to be interchangeable. Rather than using a single system of measurements, the rules lecturer the reader on what they should be using, but provide poorly matching approximates in both systems and end the GMs book with a useful reference table of weights and measures, including conversion equations of troy grains to troy ounces because we're apparently playing the game of cyborg f***ing jewellers or something.For a game with such attention to detail, character creation is remarkably simple. The player selects their character's stats and skills and then apply the modifiers imposed by the cybernetic body. There are games which elegant in their simple execution. This is one of the other games.
Fundamentally, the problem with the Cyborg Commando game is the idea that playing cyborgs shooting lasers out of their fingers, in a world overwhelmed by aliens, was in some way cool. The writers were sadly mistaken in this. The background seems ridiculously silly and contrived. The alien race has invaded earth "just because" and is virtually undefeatable despite the fact that the book points of there being only one alien for every 11,600 humans. The aliens may be tough, but, at those odds, it is hard to believe that the various world militaries shouldn't be able to defeat them.