The Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Game...
Review: At first, I was hesitant to buy this book coz i under-estimated its size, plus it got no dice roll stuff. But to my surprise, it got all that i was expecting for a well designed and well balanced game of Superheores/Supervillains.

Though this book doesn't contain the complete lists of all the superheores that every marvel comic fan is expecting, but hey, the rules are all here. No more tons of cross referencing to several books. Just one, simple, straight to the point rules. I think this is the way how RPG should be.

The stone system is cleverly designed! Just like in real life. The more you exert effort, the more you will succeed, but you will most likely tire yourself out. Resting is a solution, but can you do it if you are badly outnumbered by the bad guys? This is the thrill and the challenge! It's a matter of how wisely you use the energy that you have.

The character progression takes a bit long coz you need to record the actions/stunts/experiences that your character had gone through. But it's just like telling a story by keeping a record of it. And it's no nonsense coz the experience speaks for itself, unlike the other RPG. The action that you record will determine your action difficulty to perform. The more experience you are in an action, the less difficulty you will encounter in doing it again.

This is a major improvement to the Marvel saga system. The powers that were vague in the previous rules were made clear in this book. Like the Mastery of Elements, it gives a well defined limitation on up to how wide the scope of ones power can reach. Having a Mastery of magic as an action doesn't mean you have a god-like power to do almost anything you want, but simply what you can only do in a balanced manner. Overall, it's a nice game. Greatly recomended.

Rating:
Summary: A letdown
Review: Being a 20-year veteran of superhero RPGs beginning with the long-defunct Villains & Vigilantes, I've read and ran/played pretty much everything in the genre. My friends & I settled on GURPS Supers (using several other GURPS sourcebooks as well) because we enjoy the high degree of personalization the system allows for, and the very realistic deadly combat inherent in it's combat system. A shotgun blast to the face doesn't just knock you down one more step, etc, and a hero without any special protective ability facing down maniacs armed to the teeth DESERVES the exerience points and feeling of satisfaction/accomplishment gained because they are then truly EARNED. I purchased this current incarnation of the Marvel superheroes game because I owned the first one way back when and I thought it might be worth a look. It's different but not meaningfully better than it's predecessor, except in the way of artwork. As far as the qualities I mentioned a moment ago I like so much about GURPS, it's nowhere near what it could be. Although the wording changes from one character to another and the game mechanic is certainly innovative (yet not BETTER, in my opinion), there's not a dime's worth of difference between most characters of a comparable power level. The capacity for personality, realism, and variety even within a similar theme (two "powerhouses" or speedsters, for example, are not at all likely to be similar as there is so much room for variance in GURPS) is just lacking in Marvel. Again, this opinion is in light of my priorities and background, but it is sincere and I do believe valid.

Rating:
Summary: Best Supers Game
Review: Gurps Supers. SuperBabes. Heroes Unlimited. Villains & Viglantes. Mutants & Masterminds. Silver Age Sentinels. Marvel SAGA. DC Universe. Champions. None of them come close to simulating a comic book as this game does. It does have a few problems, the latout of the book could have been better, and the rules are a little spread out. Read it twice and I promise that you'll understand the rules. Play it twice and you'll be a master. The game is fantastic. I've been roleplaying for 16 years now, and most of my interest has been with hero style games. This is it. If you want a comic book for a game, then this is for you. Page for page and panel for panel. You'll love this game, and it's enjoyability is increased through it's two current supplements.

Rating:
Summary: Ehh? Unclear and Complex Rule System...
Review: I have been playing RPG's for about 5 years now, and have played everything from Dungeons and Dragons to D20 Modern...and this really doesn't make much sense. The rules, while short and sweet; are really complex about something with energy and stones and white and reds stones. I am still going to be playing it but it is not as good as D&D or other games...plus, I kind of isn't fair to be playing a ... SUPERHERO in an RPG (its like playing a God in Dungeons and Dragons!) Over all it is worth it for the money, but unless you just want an RPG to {mess} around with then this is your game.

Rating:
Summary: It's really good
Review: I rarely give any thing a 5 star rating. But this game deserves it. The book layout is simple and elegant,it's 126 pages of full color,and at a listed price ... that is just simply amazing (as most who play RPG's know full color can send the price of a book into the roof,adding hard cover,as in this case,can send it even higher. A publisher either has to expect the book to sell alot,as in the case of PHB's for D&D,or let the price go high. Marvel is either placing alot of faith that it will sell,or are cutting the price down a bit). This game is not a dice based game,it is what is called a resource-decision game,which means that random luck is not involved. This is actually not entirely new to the gaming world (Amber comes to mind and since it's early in the morning right now and my mind is not working I can't think of others,but I know they are out there---LOL),but all of those systems that I've ran across have been either overly complicated or just plain broken in most cases. This one,while complicated,is not overly so and yet still remains open enough and stays pretty much consistent through out the book making it solid and not broken. The game covers just about all the bases (from the standard stuff like powers,which are called actions or modifiers,to Powered armor abilities). Over all this is an excellent game,and with some modification,in my opinion,could be used for just about any game one wanted---even games outside of comics.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but could be better...
Review: I'm fairly new to Superhero RPGs, but I've been playuing Role Playing Games for 8 years so far.

Frankly, I liked the game. I haven't had much experience playing Diceless games, and I found the MURPG system a nice change. It's rules-light, and easy to learn, making it a very good game for new role-players. Further, as it's diceless, it's better for Role-Playing, instead of roll-playing. Now, while on several occasions, I found myself reaching for the dice, I did hold myself back.

The powers listed in the book, while being comprehensive of all the characters pre-statted in the book, is far from complete. It would have been nice to have had more powers in the book, and likewise with skills. However, I can understand how and why the decision was made. The statted superheroes in the book cover most of the popular characters, and I found that information very useful.

The adventure that came bundled with the rules was very nice, and was made all the more interesting when my players, completely by accident, chose superheroes that were the archnemesises of those villains in the final battle.

All in all, a very nice game. It needs some polish, but future supplements and editions should fix those problems present with the rules.

Rating:
Summary: A little more clarity would have been nice
Review: I've played RPGs for 22 years, every type, genre, and style. Superhero games are something I adore. From V&V to Champions, to Superworld, and beyond. I know them all. So I picked up MURPG...

Lo, and behold, the game works, but needed much clarification found on the Internet. That's not a good thing. There are problems with the system (just ask anyone online about the "death spiral" and you'll get lots of answers.) That's not good, either.

Both those things caused me to take from this rating 2 whole stars. The authors should have addressed some of these concerns in playtest, yet somehow they slipped through. Some of the character writeups are a little bit on the odd side: for instance in one of the supplements the character of Hercules is given an Agility that is never displayed in any issue that he's ever appeared in. Either Marvel is hiding information (likely), or the authors aren't doing much research--either way, that's not a good thing.

The good: your character that you make will not be an archetypical starting joke--you can actually have some power! The system lends itself to comic book timing and the idea of effort being more important than randomosity is good too. The system does work. You just need to figure it out and have a lot of patience.

If they revise the rules a bit, clarify, and fix the writeups I'll be a happy man.

Rating:
Summary: This game is the ....!
Review: This game is excellent! It really captures the true essence of Marvel Comics. If you want to play a game that simulates what a comic book is all about, then buy this game! I know that it might seem weird without the dice and all, but it really is more fun. Unlike other games where you have to role dice to see if you can complete an action, this game gives you a set amount of points, called "stones", and basically lets you decide what to do, and whether or not you accomplish the feat. Again, if you are a fan of comics or RPGs, or if you just want a change of pace from the norm, buy this game today.

Rating:
Summary: An awesome RPG...
Review: This is the first RPG I've come across that uses a system with no dice! Which means it makes for easy online adaptation and puts the game more in the hands of the players. It's got tons of good information, statistics and biographies for all of the biggest names in Marvel, a built-in starter mission, and a flexible creation system allowing you to create your very own super heroes and villains.

There are really only a few problems I have with this book. First off, it's a really small book. While it is a lot cheaper then all the other RPG rule books out there, it seems like they could have included a lot more without having to raise the price. Also, the system has a very slow skill development proccess. It will take your character a very long time before they will be able to use their skills as well as the characters from the comic books can. Aside of that though, it's a lot of fun and a much better system then all the dice-based ones rolling around.