Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't capture the feel
Review: Star Wars is a wonderful game universe. Also, I am not averse to having a d20 version of just about any game universe you want to play in. I like not having to spend the time learning new rules (anymore--used to like that when I had more time). Unfortunately, this game needs more work to get the Star Wars feel.One problem is the lack of ranged combat. Sure, the Jedi like to get up close and personal, but I don't remember anybody charging down a hallway to stab an enemy with a knife. These rules make that downright simple. The game is too melee-centric. Just take a look at the feats that a character can take. About 75% are either boring skill feats or melee-related (and the force feats are only taken by those who might find the melee-related feats appealing). So your soldier will quickly grow bored with his feats unless he becomes a vibro-sword fighter. Star Wars? I don't think so. The next problem is space combat. They still haven't gotten it right. You need rules for designing spaceships (at least in a supplement) so that the smugglers can tinker with their ships. On top of that, the feats related to spaceships are boring, contrived, and mandatory. There is no reason a Y-wing pilot would not be able to pilot a freighter proficiently. (Especially in space where there is nothing else to bump into). They should have added some starfighter feats with Starship Operation as a prerequisite to give that elite feel the starfighters of star wars have. Feats to improve strafing or point blank shot in space. What the book provides is lame. That said, I did find a way to make the game more to my liking. We use extensive house ruling and an entirely new list of feats. Combat is faster, making Jedi the only ones willing to run a good 10 meters to engage in hand-to-hand combat. The game can be fixed. So, I give it 3 stars since it is a good starting point for a fun game.
Rating: 
Summary: WotC: Cheating people for over 10 years!!!
Review: Gimme a minute, I'm still laughing about the fact that if you add the back of Dungeon 91-94 and the basic 3rd Edition handbooks you come up with about the same as this book... Done. Whew. That was the best laugh I've had since watching the news the other day. Seriously, this book is an ultra waste of money. Wizards of the Coast (WotC) really crossed the line with this book, because it was a travesty just as much as the 3rd edition Monster Manual (I'll save that review for later). I didn't buy this book, I read it at a local bookstore (took me all of 20 mins to skim). I really can't think of anything else anyone forgot to mention, so I'll quit now
Rating: 
Summary: Great transposition of D&D to Modern Times
Review: I've been role playing for about fifteen years, much of that time spent with Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). I've enjoyed the new 3rd edition D&D rules and this book uses the same basic concepts to let you play in the modern world. I think the rules work well for the modern world whether you decide to run a fantasy campaign or a mundane spy campaign. The book is also attractive and well laid out, unlike the new D&D books. The biggest difference between D&D and D20 Modern is the attitude towards classes. In D&D, your class is what you are: a wizard, a barbarian, a cleric. In D20 Modern, a class just adds something to your character. The basic classes are Strong, Fast, Tough, Smart, Dedicated, and Charismatic. Each gives you abilities in line with one of the basic ability scores. You are not only free to mix different classes, but encouraged to do so. The addition of advanced classes like Soldier or Techie adds another layer of customization. The other modern concepts are handled well. Guns do decent damage but not vastly more than the weapons found in D&D. This is tempered by the massive damage rule which states that any time you receive damage equal to or greater than your constitution score you must make a fortitude save or be reduced to -1 hit points instantly. Similarly, driving vehicles is handled much like character movement, with associated feats and skills to allow you to be a more effective driver or pilot. Finally, the vagaries of modern finance are abstracted away with an elegant wealth system. If you're looking to move players who are familiar with D&D into a modern setting, this book is definitely the one for you. If you just want an RPG system that allows heroic modern scenarios, again this is the system to get. The D20 system allows you to take advantage of a wide variety of D20 compatible supplements as well. Overall, I think this is a great system and a great purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Great improvement
Review: This book not only contains precise information based on the latest Star Wars movie, but also contains new and improve rules like the attack of opportunity and new prestige classes and races you can play with, also lots of info on gamemastering. I highly recommend it, if you are an avid Star Wars RPG player or GM.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done
Review: I'm impressed. Fun to read and to play and exceptionally modular.
Rating:
Summary: Attempted destruction of a Game Concept
Review: Avoid at all costs - Munchkin Alert!! 1 star is overly generous for this product and line - although the Alien Anthology surpasses the rest. The d20 system does NOT suit Star Wars - WEG's d6 works infinitely better. When I run or play Star Wars I do not want any shadow of D&D3 in space, which is what this inevitably gives off. The second product in the line, The Dark Side Sourcebook, confirmed my worst fears - this is intended for munchkins and twinks. Go for WEG's Star Wars - you'll enjoy your Star Wars gaming.
Rating:
Summary: I give it 1 star, and that's generous
Review: Wizards of the Coast seem determined to become the Micro$oft of the RPG industry with mass marketed mediocre products - post D&D3 anyway. Their attempt at a Star Wars RPG completely misses the feel of the setting. WEG's old game remains vastly superior in every way save Prequel Trilogy info. When I play or run Star Wars I don't want D&D3 in space, which is what they've produced. It also doesn't reflect well on them that they produced a book for the Dark Side immediately after the core rulebook. Aiming for the munchkin market, I'd say. If you're after quality gaming, avoid this at all costs. Pick up used WEG Star Wars instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Think it. Build it. Run it.
Review: The D20 series is really starting to hit its stride with the publication of D20 Modern. The flexibility of the character design rules is outstanding and something guaranteed to accommodate the needs of even the most creative characters and DMs. The rules system is solid and there are several rules "spins" for combat that are interesting. The central change involves a shift in the massive damage threshold. This is the amount of damage a character can take before having to make a fortitude save or drop to -1 hp. In Modern, your massive damage threshold is equal to your constitution score. Gunfire from long arms gets very scary very quickly. A critical hit from any weapon just doesn't do more damage, it has a good chance of dropping the character. Non-lethal brawling damage no longer does hit points. Rather, damage is compared back against the target's constitution. Fortitude saves are forced when the threshold is exceeded and the result of a failed save in unconsciousness. In practice, this doesn't work as well as it could as most attacks via fist just don't do that much damage. My campaign uses a variant that totals damage taken in one round and compares that against constitution. This has made fisticuffs and melee much more challenging. So far I have run a two scenario run with predesigned characters where the PCs were teenagers in a zombie hunting b grade movie. GREAT FUN. Likewise, the campaign we're playing now is X Files meets Buffy. We have talked about games: based on Poul Anderson's Chaos Inc.; set in a post holocaust undead laden wasteland; based on SG-1; and a game about passage from gate to gate and world to world incorporating all the D20 genres. At its best D20 modern gives you the ability to do something as dark and chilling as Fallen or something as light and fun as Evil Dead or Scooby Doo. Think it up. You can run it with this system. Excellent work. I'd give it five stars but some of the campaign ideas section is just not that good. For example, elves and orcs and kobolds in Manhatten. Puh-lease. The novelty would wear off fast. Anybody else out there remember Shadowrun...
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Great On Its Own, But A Vast Improvement
Review: I actually own both the original core rulebook and the revised core rulebook, and wow is there a heck of a difference. First of all get this book even if you are not going to be running a game of Star Wars yourself. This book has resource upon resource for the player to draw on, which will help save the Game Master time and energy and allow the GM to focus more on the game. Improvements? Changes in the system! It's no longer a simple derivative of 3rd Edition D&D, it is growing in it's own direction. Also, there are prestige classes which were not there before. There is so much in here of worth just for players, and for Game Masters, this update is a must. It has many things that will allow you to help the players understand the game, and gives ideas for campaigns, etc. The current GM for our game is using this book, and he thinks it is great too. Are there things left unexplained? Sure, it's just a general start into the roleplaying universe of Star Wars. There's other books for more specific things like time periods or ships/weapons or Jedi/Sith related questions. And that is why it is a 5 star book for me. Because it covers the bases it needs to cover.
Rating:
Summary: flexability is the key
Review: what I like about d20 is the flexability.You can have adventures featuring moreau's from s.andrew swann,replicants from bladerunner or even tortles from mystara with ninja abilities who live in the sewer.The only futristic weapons you can access are from the d+d dmg.pages 163-165,I hope for more supplements in the future but for now I'm just glad to get something that isn't set in the realms!
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