Rating: 
Summary: Best RPG I've ever played.
Review: I've played a bunch of different RPG's, but I have to say that Hunter is deffinately my favorite. I really like it because it's a more realistic setting with more room for character development than, say, D&D. I really like the White Wolf system of dividing a certain number of points between attributes instead of just using dice rolls and getting stuck with the attributes you're given. I felt that this game was very easy to incorperate with other White Wolf games or change around. It gives a very basic set of rules for a character that are very easy to be changed or elaborated on. It gave the versatility to move our characters back in time several centuries and still work. All in all, I just think that Hunter is the perfect base book, if you've got a creative storyteller.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good storytelling horror game
Review: I've played Werewolf. Hell, I've dabbled in Vampire. Both are really great games if you want to play as something that's rediculously powerful and only have a real challenge if you're fighting an older Vampire or Werewolf (in either game). Hunter is different: instead of being this ungodly-powerful monster, you're this regular Joe with a neat trick, trying to fight the aforementioned monsters.
It sounds unfair, I know, but that's what makes this game beautiful. You have extraordinary powers, but they're hardly enough to stop a charging Get of Fenris or Bruja in its tracks. You're alone, and if you don't find help, either you'll die, or you'll be driven insane. That, my friend, is true fear.
Yes, the story aspect is my favorite part of this game, but let's discuss the gameplay. As in most White Wolf games, the gameplay takes a backseat for story, but there's a perfectly working game here, too. Each player creates a Hunter (someone trying to fight monsters that only they can see) and assigns him/her powers.
Rating:
Summary: VERY Overlooked
Review: I've played Werewolf. Hell, I've dabbled in Vampire. Both are really great games if you want to play as something that's rediculously powerful and only have a real challenge if you're fighting an older Vampire or Werewolf (in either game). Hunter is different: instead of being this ungodly-powerful monster, you're this regular Joe with a neat trick, trying to fight the aforementioned monsters.
It sounds unfair, I know, but that's what makes this game beautiful. You have extraordinary powers, but they're hardly enough to stop a charging Get of Fenris or Bruja in its tracks. You're alone, and if you don't find help, either you'll die, or you'll be driven insane. That, my friend, is true fear.
Yes, the story aspect is my favorite part of this game, but let's discuss the gameplay. As in most White Wolf games, the gameplay takes a backseat for story, but there's a perfectly working game here, too. Each player creates a Hunter (someone trying to fight monsters that only they can see) and assigns him/her powers.
Rating:
Summary: Very good storytelling horror game
Review: If you're interested in playing a vampire hunter, or werewolf hunter... this is a great game to do it based on a storytelling aspect rather than dice rolls.
Also, it's set up to play as a kind of survival-horror game better than anything else; it doesn't have the dice rolling of the old Dark Conspiracy game, but you can definitely do the story well with the character outlines provided.
The book is well layed out and easy (and fun) to read, with more than a few inspiring sections for a beginning gamemaster. I do recommend picking up the player's guide with it, though, especially if your players are veterans of other RPG's.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy addition?
Review: The latest in the WoD line, Hunter the Reckoning leaves a little to be desired. If you take out the the "Flavor text" you could trim the book's length by half or more. In and of itself Hunter IS a good game. As part of the WoD however, it's a bit awkward. Once you get past the fact that it reads like a hand book for the Society of Leopold, there is a good concept there. PC's can die rather quickly. Sure you can make every mortal in a mile see the Supernatural for what it really is, but how does that help out againt the BSD that's jumping down your throat? Handy hint, before you run this, read the last part of "Time of Thin Blood". It's a natural lead off point to introduce Hunter charactors.
Rating:
Summary: Come get some Ya Beasties
Review: This book is great. If you're a storyteller and you are sick of you players power gaming, here's a little something to make them whimper in fear. These people may be human but they got a little something extra to spice up the night life. Their ability to slap ghosts around too gives them a great advantage over any other style of hunter you might try to play. A must have for anyone who wants to expand on their game.
Rating:
Summary: "Heeeere monster. That's a nice monster..."
Review: Though suffering from a bit of the verbosity that seems to plague White Wolf publications (the supplements in particular; you could halve their lengths if you just made sure each point was made only once), Hunter: The Reckoning is, despite the judgements flung towards it, actually one of the most down-to-earth, difficult, and tactically challenging games White Wolf has released. Though many might instantaneously assume that it is meant to be an Army of Darkness style shoot-'em-up (like the namesake video games based on Hunter), the inclusion of firearms is primarily just a natural human response to grab SOMETHING they can fight back with. Honestly, against blood-drinking walking corpses, semi-spirit werewolves, immaterial ghosts, and horrors far worse, you'll need brains to survive. Unless your storyteller is heavy on action and firepower, trying to play this game in the twinky stereotype it's often given will get you killed, fast. In fact, not all the Creeds (philosphical archetypes of Hunter, which determine their powers) are even geared toward fighting at all. Some try to rehabilitate or cure monsters, while others don't even go that far, simply seeking to understand them, let them know they are not begrudged for it, and leave the doors of forgiveness open. Trying to talk an angry vampire out of killing a roomful of mortals can take on challenges all its own.An issue of confusion seems to be those who mix up the Hunters (capital H; note the full, proper title being the "Imbued Hunters") with unrelated groups. Though some number of them may have joined groups like the Society of Leopold, Hunters are imbued with their powers when confronted with the supernatural. They share no unified system, no overarching organization or membership cards. Though they can meet with others of their kind, their disorganized nature and supernatural powers set them apart from conventional mortal hunters, be they alone or in groups. The issue of incompatibility seems to be largely unfounded. Imbued Hunters are explained in several White Wolf core rulebooks, and creatures from several of these books are even summed up in Hunter. The relatively minimal mention of them does make sense. Ultimately, the Hunters, as they are, are not a powerful force. All together, their powers and armaments mean relatively little. Only with time, careful planning, and survival could they ever hope to take back the night. It is this ultimate weakness which is their primary dilemma. Still ultimately mortals with a few helpful cantrips and tricks to give them a better chance, most are left with the disappointment of only being able to do what few things they can. Whether you want to play a boomstick-toting zombie blaster, a skittish parapsychologist trying to get a peek into a dark and hidden world, a wandering redeemer seeking to save the inhuman souls of the damned, a stake-toting Van Helsing, or a stiff-collared exorcist attempting to dispel hellish influence from the world, there's a niche in Hunter for you. Just don't pack any guns you can't drop in a hurry. You'll need to shed as much weight as possible when it's time to start running.
Rating: 
Summary: Hunting for a good Hunter game
Review: Well, I met only disappointment in my purchase of this book, despite high expectations. I have come to expect only the best from White Wolf, and this product is definietly below par for them. It seems almost that they lost their touch on this one. It lacks the edge of previous releases such as Vampire and Werewolf. However, the best products to compare it too would be the other individual Hunter titles like The Inquisition, Project Twilight, etc. Granted, they set out to have a common man Hunter title, but it comes off contrived and weak in comparison to the aforementioned titles.I would refer the discerning gamer to the other Hunter titles for a good game of hunting down the monsters of the WoD, and to pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting concept, but not exactly compatible.
Review: What I expected when I bought this book was an interesting addition to the End Times arc, perhaps clarifying and expanding on the events contained in both Rage Across the Heavens and Time of Thin blood. What I seem to have gotten, at least in my own eyes, is somewhat different. To give credit where credit is due, the game holds up under scrutiny and it is interesting to read through. I'm sure many a novice WoD player will find this game an easier path into the angsty world of darkness, and this is good. The only problem seems to be that... well... this isn't exactly the world of darkness! Let me explain, lest someone go crazy and cancel thier order... This is an official addition to the WoD, but as the previous reviewer stated, it is better suited as a standalone game, and not as a game in the venerated series. The complex, three dimensional villains we are used to are replaced with cardboard seeming targets, lableled simply 'monsters' and fleshed out poorly. Sure, a veteran player of White Wolf games will most certainly use his own sourcebooks for guidance, but the novice is stuck with the vision of B movie grotesques. It also lacks the storyline progression we have become used to. There's nary a mention of our favorite baddies (like Pentex, one of my favorites), lack of the famous (and infamous) characters we've become used to, and overall, a lack of -involvement- in the big picture. The largest flaw is this, however: the whole purpose of playing a human, of creating a frail, relatively helpless mortal is to... well, play a frail, relatively helpless mortal. Giving them powers beyond that makes them superhuman as well, and diminishes the crucial human element. I've had many nonpositive things to say... so let me close with this: The game is not a bad game, it is just better played as standalone.
Rating:
Summary: White Wolf's Feared and Hated Child
Review: When this game came out, White Wolf's forums were...less than thrilled about this game. It's a shame that people judge this book before they read it, because it has amazing depth and humanity to it. You are the Imbued, regular blue- and white-collar citizens who one day get a big cosmic message from enigmatic beings (called the Heralds) waking you up to the fact that monsters not only exist in your world, but they have been there for a while and they've inserted themselves very neatly into law enforcement, politics, media, etc. Armed with "second sight" (the ability to spot these monsters out of a crowd) and "edges" (powers given to you by the Heralds to help you out in the hunt), Hunters can either strike at the darkness, search for redemption inside monsters, or merely try to learn more about them and figure out what went wrong. But as you begin to fight the good fight, you realize that you're outnumbered, outmanned, and underpowered. To top it all off, leading the crusade against darkness ultimately alienates you from your friends, family, and society. It's gritty, tragic, but ultimately hopeful. Despite it's bad rap as a twink game, Hunters are actually fragile, panicky creatures who bleed easy and go down fast. It's a welcome change from the usual White Wolf fare (if you haven't picked up a White Wolf game yet, I recommend this first before purchasing others...knowledge about the other games ruin the mystery of the monsters somewhat)
|
