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Rating: 
Summary: "hack and slay" for the munchkins
Review: Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Ogre. I love the background, I love the boardgames, I love the thought of my invincible cybertank visiting hideous destruction on those brave cardboard soldiers that litter the battlefields of the future. So when this came out I *had* to have it. I even went out and finally bought GURPS itself - so I could use it. While GURPS is great, unfortunately I can't say the same about the Ogre supplement. The production values are fabulous - a glossy cover, filled with fun artwork that has become the trademark of SJ games. Lots of neat sidebars packed with information - and a riveting history of the "last war" - where those little PanEuropean and Combine dudes square off for the last hurrah of (tactical) nuclear apocalypse. So far so good. Where it falls apart for me is the roleplaying dimension. GURPS : Ogre is a self-styled "military background". This is evident in the military bias of the various character templates-'GEV jockey', 'Ogre Killer' and so on - and the plethora of neat vehicles, battlesuits and other widgets of appalling destruction. Combat in the world of Ogre is fast, deadly and incredibly radioactive. Very few individuals live to stage a rematch. As an example, set up any scenario using the boardgame - not many of those little infantry guys are going home to momma after the game believe me. So where's the roleplaying dimension here? All I can see is some munchkinesque thrill of visiting mass nuclear destruction on some poor innocent cybertank, then flipping a coin to see if it landed on the edge (which means I survived the encounter). Thats the kind of roleplaying that I grew out of as a teenager 15 years ago. So knowing what I know about the original game why am I disappointed? Well, so many opportunities were lost here. The background over the years has grown into something more than a simple counters and die boardgame - it has richness and depth. Some of that depth is admirably explored in the supplement - and it *is* a great read ... but the inherent bias of the book is as a participant in the slaughter. I have nothing against using war as a backdrop, even having characters who are engaged in the struggle - but in my humble opinion the opportunities for roleplaying in war are better served by plotlines like "Where Eagles Dare" rather than "Saving Private Ryan - Ogre style". You get the point :-) So, I gave it three stars, two for excellent production values and one for plain old nostalgia (Ogre is, after all almost 20 years old!). From reading the sjgames website - I understand that they are planning to release Ogre : The Factory States - which does emphasise roleplaying. We can only hope. I for one, considering the fantastic legacy that is Ogre, am more than willing to give them a second chance.
Rating:
Summary: "hack and slay" for the munchkins
Review: Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Ogre. I love the background, I love the boardgames, I love the thought of my invincible cybertank visiting hideous destruction on those brave cardboard soldiers that litter the battlefields of the future. So when this came out I *had* to have it. I even went out and finally bought GURPS itself - so I could use it. While GURPS is great, unfortunately I can't say the same about the Ogre supplement. The production values are fabulous - a glossy cover, filled with fun artwork that has become the trademark of SJ games. Lots of neat sidebars packed with information - and a riveting history of the "last war" - where those little PanEuropean and Combine dudes square off for the last hurrah of (tactical) nuclear apocalypse. So far so good. Where it falls apart for me is the roleplaying dimension. GURPS : Ogre is a self-styled "military background". This is evident in the military bias of the various character templates-'GEV jockey', 'Ogre Killer' and so on - and the plethora of neat vehicles, battlesuits and other widgets of appalling destruction. Combat in the world of Ogre is fast, deadly and incredibly radioactive. Very few individuals live to stage a rematch. As an example, set up any scenario using the boardgame - not many of those little infantry guys are going home to momma after the game believe me. So where's the roleplaying dimension here? All I can see is some munchkinesque thrill of visiting mass nuclear destruction on some poor innocent cybertank, then flipping a coin to see if it landed on the edge (which means I survived the encounter). Thats the kind of roleplaying that I grew out of as a teenager 15 years ago. So knowing what I know about the original game why am I disappointed? Well, so many opportunities were lost here. The background over the years has grown into something more than a simple counters and die boardgame - it has richness and depth. Some of that depth is admirably explored in the supplement - and it *is* a great read ... but the inherent bias of the book is as a participant in the slaughter. I have nothing against using war as a backdrop, even having characters who are engaged in the struggle - but in my humble opinion the opportunities for roleplaying in war are better served by plotlines like "Where Eagles Dare" rather than "Saving Private Ryan - Ogre style". You get the point :-) So, I gave it three stars, two for excellent production values and one for plain old nostalgia (Ogre is, after all almost 20 years old!). From reading the sjgames website - I understand that they are planning to release Ogre : The Factory States - which does emphasise roleplaying. We can only hope. I for one, considering the fantastic legacy that is Ogre, am more than willing to give them a second chance.
Rating: 
Summary: Well done
Review: This was a great read and a very interesting background. However this is one of the bleakest futures I've even seen presented for gaming. I recommend it wholeheartedly, especially if you're a fan of the original board game. I think I will have to do some tweaking and planning before I run something with this, though.
Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: This was a great read and a very interesting background. However this is one of the bleakest futures I've even seen presented for gaming. I recommend it wholeheartedly, especially if you're a fan of the original board game. I think I will have to do some tweaking and planning before I run something with this, though.
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