Mike Mignola's Hellboy: Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game

Rating:
Summary: Now you too can be part of the BPRD! *thumbs up*
Review: The important thing to note about this sourcebook/rpg is that while it perfectly maintains the feel of the Hellboy comic, it is still a Steve Jackson game. So what's wrong with that? Nothing really, it's just that the game is a version of GURPSlite slightly modified to better represent characters present in Mignola's world. This isn't necessarilly a problem, but it makes the game feel a lot less original and more like a reframing of prior works. The book also frequently references other GURPS books--not as a corequisite just for suppliment, but none the less it makes the book feel somewhat incomplete as a 'stand-alone' game.
As earlier mentioned the feel of the book is PERFECT--the whole sourcebook feels like a BPRD report, and the Hellboy story and comic included in the 200 page sourcebook help give those unfamiliar with Mignola's work an idea of what Hellboy is like. Bios on almost every important character/villian/supernatural and a great timeline help to familiarize players with the Hellboy world. Also included is a section on how to run the game in the Hellboy fashion to help adventures more closely resemble those found in the comics. This book is really for hardcore fans of the series and not someone looking for a new innovative RPS, because as a system it is just a retelling of the GURPSLite rules. The book has a great dark sense of humor and feels as though it were a Hellboy comic, because of this it is a very enjoyable read and the loads of Hellboy information make it a great sourcebook for the Hellboy world.

Rating:
Summary: Now you too can be part of the BPRD! *thumbs up*
Review: The important thing to note about this sourcebook/rpg is that while it perfectly maintains the feel of the Hellboy comic, it is still a Steve Jackson game. So what's wrong with that? Nothing really, it's just that the game is a version of GURPSlite slightly modified to better represent characters present in Mignola's world. This isn't necessarilly a problem, but it makes the game feel a lot less original and more like a reframing of prior works. The book also frequently references other GURPS books--not as a corequisite just for suppliment, but none the less it makes the book feel somewhat incomplete as a 'stand-alone' game.
As earlier mentioned the feel of the book is PERFECT--the whole sourcebook feels like a BPRD report, and the Hellboy story and comic included in the 200 page sourcebook help give those unfamiliar with Mignola's work an idea of what Hellboy is like. Bios on almost every important character/villian/supernatural and a great timeline help to familiarize players with the Hellboy world. Also included is a section on how to run the game in the Hellboy fashion to help adventures more closely resemble those found in the comics. This book is really for hardcore fans of the series and not someone looking for a new innovative RPS, because as a system it is just a retelling of the GURPSLite rules. The book has a great dark sense of humor and feels as though it were a Hellboy comic, because of this it is a very enjoyable read and the loads of Hellboy information make it a great sourcebook for the Hellboy world.