The first and only edition of Gamma World which I owned was the 3rd edition. Like a lot of games I bought back then, I never actually played it. I loved the concept of the setting and all the strange mutant creatures in it. You would have thought at the time that it was right up my alley. Alas, it was not to be. For one thing, the gaming group I was in was obsessed with DC Heroes because we were primarily a superhero based gaming group. The main reason I didn't like Gamma World 3e was because of this:
I was never a fan of the Action Control Table, especially after buying TSR's Marvel Super Heroes. I loved the idea of both games but didn't care for the game system that they used for these games. DC Heroes had a table based system to resolve actions but it seemed to be easier to work with. TSR's ACT system seemed to me to be more unwieldy for quick and fun gaming. The thing I appreciate about Mutant Future is that the rules system is far more accesible.
I've posted at length about how important Gamma World 2e was/is to me...but 3e was disaster.
ReplyDeleteI was 12 when it came out, and even then I recognized it had serious, serious problems. I was SO VERY SURLY when I had to mail off for my rules addendum. And the new Action Table was just insult to injury. I didn't mind it in the Marvel rpg, but this was supposed to be Gamma World.
(4e made me happy again, though. It had plant PCs!)
The rules system for GW 3e was a huge mess. It seems like they didn't even play test the crap. They sold a lot of the Marvel RPG just because of the license so they slapped together a Gamma World game based on the same borked system. It didn't work. I loved the setting but hated the mechanics which ran it so my gaming group never played it.
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