![]() ![]() Inevitably, because of the lackluster detail, Harbinger is the paper-and-dice equivalent of a four-page handout. Without one, the other just doesn’t work. My gaming teeth were cut on role-playing games, and very detailed backgrounds are as important to an RPG as electricity is for a light bulb. Information tends to conflict, and the three paragraphs or so in the book fail to coalesce into an impressive or immersive jump-off point for a role-playing game. So classified, in fact, it’s only given to the player in dribs and drams throughout the manual, leaving absolutely everything to the imagination. The setting: a gigantic starship called Harbinger. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it may not sit well with especially experienced and detail-oriented RPG fans.Ī “STELLAR” BACKGROUND…BUT WHAT’S THE STORY? While the setting is different, Harbinger is essentially a dungeon-crawler. Many minor issues that I have with the game aren’t deal-breakers on their own (except the one), but in sum, end up detracting a little from what could be a stellar product. Fairly obvious things, such as an immersive pre-game storyline, are ignored, but the environment is detailed and interesting. Without precognition, unfortunately, Harbinger offers a role-playing experience that barely comes within reach of excellence. This is, of course, as probable as making a good giant starship-simulator game in the year 3000 A.D., but nobody’s perfect. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “harbinger” as “one that indicates or foreshadows what is to come a forerunner.” If a game developer could tell the future, they could take everything that will go wrong with a title before it happens and create games with such ardor and primacy that awards would become commonplace – every developer would have such an award. By Michael Eckenfels, 19 September On #TBT, we bring you the occasional classic article – an older review or analysis piece we wanted to rescue
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