Tuff Stuff's Gamer Summer/Fall 1996 - 68 - Gaming Guide - Red Zone & Top of the Order Review
Charles Manson thing that would bum
me out the minute I opened the starter.
Instead, it's a classy little horror game
that, if produced in another time, could
have helped Mary Shelley wile away the
hours with Lord Byron after a hard day
writing pages of Frankenstein.
Based on the role-playing game of the
same name, "Kult's" format follows the
card positioning of the Celtic Cross from
the Tarot. There are major and minor
arcana - two main components of the
real Tarot - with one major arcana card
per player representing the hub of the
playing field. The minor arcana cards
encompass the rest of each player's deck.
The cards feature beautiful gothic
art - even the packaging is attractive -
and are divided into five different suits:
the skull (representing death), rose (pas-
sion) hourglass (time and space), eye
(madness), and crescent (dreams). All
these icons are readily recognizable;
learning them makes game play easier.
me out the minute I opened the starter.
Instead, it's a classy little horror game
that, if produced in another time, could
have helped Mary Shelley wile away the
hours with Lord Byron after a hard day
writing pages of Frankenstein.
Based on the role-playing game of the
same name, "Kult's" format follows the
card positioning of the Celtic Cross from
the Tarot. There are major and minor
arcana - two main components of the
real Tarot - with one major arcana card
per player representing the hub of the
playing field. The minor arcana cards
encompass the rest of each player's deck.
The cards feature beautiful gothic
art - even the packaging is attractive -
and are divided into five different suits:
the skull (representing death), rose (pas-
sion) hourglass (time and space), eye
(madness), and crescent (dreams). All
these icons are readily recognizable;
learning them makes game play easier.
I hope this game gets a fair shot in
the marketplace. It's a well-balanced CCG
that deserves to survive. I highly recom-
mend it to fans of the movie The Crow,
the Fox network's Kindred: The Em-
braced, or any adult looking for some
fun on the dark side. As the rulebook
says, "'Kult' is not a game for children."
-Jeffrey Archer
WILDSTORMS
WildStorm Productions
Card games based on comic books fall
into a predictable pattern: Musclebound
hero gains points by slugging it out with
an equally musclebound villain. Finely
crafted storytelling and motivation go
out the window; all that really matters is
who's punching whom.
But isn't that what superhero comics
are all about? Apparently the creators of
"WildStorms" think so. Drawing on the
colorful characters from WildStorm
comics like WildC.A.Ts, StormWatch,
Gen13, and WetWorks, game designers
the marketplace. It's a well-balanced CCG
that deserves to survive. I highly recom-
mend it to fans of the movie The Crow,
the Fox network's Kindred: The Em-
braced, or any adult looking for some
fun on the dark side. As the rulebook
says, "'Kult' is not a game for children."
-Jeffrey Archer
WILDSTORMS
WildStorm Productions
Card games based on comic books fall
into a predictable pattern: Musclebound
hero gains points by slugging it out with
an equally musclebound villain. Finely
crafted storytelling and motivation go
out the window; all that really matters is
who's punching whom.
But isn't that what superhero comics
are all about? Apparently the creators of
"WildStorms" think so. Drawing on the
colorful characters from WildStorm
comics like WildC.A.Ts, StormWatch,
Gen13, and WetWorks, game designers
Matt Forbeck and Drew Bittner have
pared down the action into a series of
fight sequences. The object: to gain
points by injuring - and eventually
killing - an opponent's characters. Once
a player gets enough points to control a
chosen battlefield, she wins the game.
Simplified rules for beginners make
"WildStorms" fairly easy to pick up.
The game's greatest weakness is the
limited scope of the superhero genre. Its
creators have done two things that set
their game apart from another popular
comic-based CCG, Fleer/SkyBox Inter-
national's "Marvel OverPower." First,
"Wildstorms" incorporates the artistic
style of the comic books; the cards have
a distinct Image Comics feel to them.
Second, the tone of the game is aimed at
a more mature audience; battles take
place in seedy bars and heroes use real
weapons against each other. The action
comes across a little less "comic-booky"
than in "OverPower." But in both games,
everything boils down to costumed char-
acters mixing it up.
-Mike O'Connell
RED ZONE
NXT Games/Donruss
pared down the action into a series of
fight sequences. The object: to gain
points by injuring - and eventually
killing - an opponent's characters. Once
a player gets enough points to control a
chosen battlefield, she wins the game.
Simplified rules for beginners make
"WildStorms" fairly easy to pick up.
The game's greatest weakness is the
limited scope of the superhero genre. Its
creators have done two things that set
their game apart from another popular
comic-based CCG, Fleer/SkyBox Inter-
national's "Marvel OverPower." First,
"Wildstorms" incorporates the artistic
style of the comic books; the cards have
a distinct Image Comics feel to them.
Second, the tone of the game is aimed at
a more mature audience; battles take
place in seedy bars and heroes use real
weapons against each other. The action
comes across a little less "comic-booky"
than in "OverPower." But in both games,
everything boils down to costumed char-
acters mixing it up.
-Mike O'Connell
RED ZONE
NXT Games/Donruss
"Red Zone" is the first CCG licensed by
the NFL. That means it uses real players,
uniforms, and logos as a backdrop. It
also tries to stay as true to official NFL
rules as possible.
If the game has any faults, it's that it
suffers from a clumsily written rulebook
and a rather complex game engine that
involves dividing your deck into three
separate areas - your team, a timing
deck, and a spare deck from which you
draw additional cards. Further, the exe-
cution check element of the game is a
tad tricky.
On the other hand, once you get the
hang of it, it's hard not to feel like you're
playing a hard-core, smash-mouth game
of pigskin.
Admittedly, designing a deck to suit
what you want to do can be a pain. But,
again, once you've done it, you'll find
that you have an outstanding, hard-
working deck on your hands. It takes
some practice to get the handle of "Red
Zone," but if you like NFL-style football,
give it a try.
the NFL. That means it uses real players,
uniforms, and logos as a backdrop. It
also tries to stay as true to official NFL
rules as possible.
If the game has any faults, it's that it
suffers from a clumsily written rulebook
and a rather complex game engine that
involves dividing your deck into three
separate areas - your team, a timing
deck, and a spare deck from which you
draw additional cards. Further, the exe-
cution check element of the game is a
tad tricky.
On the other hand, once you get the
hang of it, it's hard not to feel like you're
playing a hard-core, smash-mouth game
of pigskin.
Admittedly, designing a deck to suit
what you want to do can be a pain. But,
again, once you've done it, you'll find
that you have an outstanding, hard-
working deck on your hands. It takes
some practice to get the handle of "Red
Zone," but if you like NFL-style football,
give it a try.
-Steve Fritz
TOP OF THE ORDER
NXT Games/Donruss
"Top of the Order," the Major League
Baseball-licensed CCG, is like "Red
Zone" in that both games mirror their
respective sports as closely as a card
game can. That's where the similarities
end. Where "Red Zone" is a complex
game with little room for options (and in
which winning depends primarily on the
plays you choose), "Top of the Order"
has a simpler game engine that allows
more options, and is much more depen-
dent on the players in your deck.
Like "One on One Hockey," "Top of the
Order" gives featured players skill values
that supposedly reflect their perform-
ances at bat, on base, or in the field.
Nevertheless, the ratings are - to my
mind - less accurate than those of "One
on One." Take David Cone, for instance.
As any Yankee fan knows, Cone can paint
corners with some serious heat. Yet his
"Top of the Order" card's pitching skill is
too low for him to throw a skilled fastball.
TOP OF THE ORDER
NXT Games/Donruss
"Top of the Order," the Major League
Baseball-licensed CCG, is like "Red
Zone" in that both games mirror their
respective sports as closely as a card
game can. That's where the similarities
end. Where "Red Zone" is a complex
game with little room for options (and in
which winning depends primarily on the
plays you choose), "Top of the Order"
has a simpler game engine that allows
more options, and is much more depen-
dent on the players in your deck.
Like "One on One Hockey," "Top of the
Order" gives featured players skill values
that supposedly reflect their perform-
ances at bat, on base, or in the field.
Nevertheless, the ratings are - to my
mind - less accurate than those of "One
on One." Take David Cone, for instance.
As any Yankee fan knows, Cone can paint
corners with some serious heat. Yet his
"Top of the Order" card's pitching skill is
too low for him to throw a skilled fastball.
My other main criticism is that the
game can be pretty boring if you can't get
a player on base. Once that happens,
though, the mind games kick in as you
try to outsmart your opponent or wait to
see whether the next person at bat can
clear the fences.
"Top of the Order" is the superior of
the two NXT sports games. A good game
of baseball is a treasure, and this can
end up being just that.
-Steve Fritz
