Ultimate Missions: Rebel Storm (Star Wars Miniatures: Accessory)

Rating:
Summary: style over substance
Review: A first look at the book and it's pretty spectacular; you've got full color, new art, and nearly 100 pages of missions. There's a full color map and a tile with terrain pieces, which is unfortunately the most useful item in the book.

My main complaint has nothing to do with play testing, proofreading, or editing about which many people have already complained. The problem that I have is that the missions are uninspiring. I don't really have a desire to sit down and play through three-fourths of a book that just mimics the original Star Wars trilogy. The missions that are outside the scope of the movies hold a bit more interest, but in the end it just isn't enough.

The best part of the book (other than the appearance) is the random scenario generator that makes up only the last few pages of the book. The other plus is the map and tiles, of which I certainly have use in a role-playing game setting. (There have been some complaints on the message boards of game balance issues with the map, but I haven't played enough with the map to say that.)

I would have much rather had this product be a set of tiles, 3 or 4 new double sided maps, and a 16 page random scenario booklet.

Rating:
Summary: The publisher has serious quality problems.
Review: I was really excited to get this accessory, mostly because it had a map of Tatooine and Bespin. The first shipment was defective, the map had been inserted incorrectly and the sides were sheared. The map was totally unusable. Amazon gladly replaced it but this time water or glue had seeped into the map and the pages were stuck together. There was no way to unfold the map without ripping it! So I returned this one, too. I don't think I will buy an Ultimate Missions accessory again.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed Product
Review: Numerous typos, scenarios not playtested prior to publication, editor "rubber-stamped" product without proofreading for inconsistencies, vastly overpriced for what is being provided to the consumer.

Numerous complaints from the publishers messageboard over lack of editorial review of the product.

Major first class disappointment and falls short of expectations for a Star Wars license literary/gaming product, if you <must> have, get it from 2nd hand market at a sharp discount ( I'd pay maybe $10).

Rating:
Summary: Good Concept for Initial Supplement Nice Graphic Design
Review: This booklet is a good place to start before embarking on your own generated scenarios, tournaments or campaigns.

I appreciated the heads-up on the editorial and packaging shortcomings in the previous reviews. I was able to leaf through at the bookstore and picked-up a copy at amazon and don't regret it.

For my money's worth, I like the idea of mimicing basic scenarios from the films as an initial supplement to the Rebel Storm Starter set, map and rules. The basic idea of a Star Wars miniatures game played on well-designed grid map is something I would have liked the opportunity to play as a kid in the 70's. It might be a simple pleasure, but it fits the bill.

You can find corrections to errata on wizards.com forums, or google search "Star Wars Minis Clarifications" as compiled by Guy Fullerton, the Official Star Wars Minis Net Rep.

The foldout map did in fact start to rip the illustrations at stuck-together folds, as previous reviews noted. I had to CAREFULLY hold it over a boiling pot of water in order to steam the folds loose so they could be gingerly peeled apart without ripping the illustrations at the seams. This worked well and saved the rest of the map from being torn, but it shouldn't be necessary.

The scenarios make good use of this map as well as the map & tiles from the Rebel Storm Starter set. It does help to have the specific characters in your collection to achieve the full effect of the movie-based scenarios, but it can be played with any SW miniatures totalling points listed. Some Substitute characters are listed in the Setup.

The book layout is easy to follow with the Scenario Mission backgrounds, a map inset showing the starting areas and any victory goal areas where applicable on the left-hand pages, and the Character Squad Setups, Victory Conditions, Special Scenario Rules and Campaign Play notes on the right-hand pages.

The extra smaller tiles are useful (which have to be cut apart with an Xacto knife or scissors) and supplemental rules making use of an interrogation droid, power packs, medpacs, e-web blaster (similar to the Snowtrooper's giant blaster on Hoth), destroyed tiles, speeder bike, landspeeder and Han Solo frozen in carbonite (for use in a Bounty Hunter's Showdown scenario).

There's brief but effective rules for Hidden Movement, Reinforcements, Reserves, Traps, Speeder Bike Chases, Trenches, Weapons Lockers and Windows that are used in various scenarios.

Campaign Play sidebars describe an option to play 2,500 point forces from which units compete within each mission and which dwindle down by the time the final missions are played out.

Each mission includes background text to set-up the scenario. Some missions are linked to one another in a logical progression of events. Not all scenarios are combat based. Some require escaping, evading, pursuing etc. The Random Mission Types include Skirmish, Ambush, Rescue, Confrontation, Escape, Purge, Capture, Sabotage and Bunker Raids outlined by Scenario Lengths, Attacker and Defender Setups, Victory Conditions and Special Scenario Rules for each. The descriptions are brief and concise, but that's all they need to be. There's enough variety to satisfy or inspire most scenarios.

The graphic design and layout is very professional and well-organized which helps one overlook the editorial errata and difficulty unfolding a stuck-together but beautifuly illustrated map (which accounts for a 4-star review).

I recommend this and look forward to the Ultimate Missions: Clone Strike supplement.

Rating:
Summary: Expands the original game.
Review: This series of thirty-three game senarios fits the conditions in the original three Star Wars movies, now called IV, V, and VI. It requires the Star Wars Miniatures Rebel Storm Starter Set and the Rebel Storm Booster Pack to play. This book is intended to extend the games by providing other situations beyond those in the original package.

Reading this as a book by itself, without knowing about the game and original rules will not make a lot of sense. To be sure the senarios are not too far ranging from the original movies, but this is a good start from which to expand.