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The second volume in the series weighs in at 113 pages. The layout is exactly like the first volume, withy the first third of the work containing a cover, credits and table of contents pages (3), a brief intro (1), a description of the formatting used for the weapons (1), using the data in Cyberthriller (3), using the data in D20 Modern (2), using the data in Fudge (2), using the data in Action (2), a BIG and Highly Detailed section discussing cartridges (21) and a weapon misfire table which can be incorporated in your games (1). That's the first 36 pages.
The last 4 pages were legal notices for the OGL and a few ads for other products.
The rest of the 63 pages are used to describe 23 weapons (volume 1 contained 33). The weapons are organized somewhat differently this time: 8 concealable, 3 experimental, 9 rifle, 2 SMGs, and 3 WWII. Many of these weapons are quite odd (a keychain gun? a cigarette gun? both highly compact CIA weapons). There are a few more mainstream weapons in this volume, including the main assault rifles of the French and the Germans. But the rest vary from experimental to seldom seen or rarely used.
I'm okay with rare weapons being listed, these volumes are aimed at gamers. Still, I would think that the bulk of the weapons described would be weapons a groupd of adventurers/soldiers are likely to come up against in the real world.
LIKED: The data blocks present the basics in a well-organized manner, and the supporting text was detailed. The photos were b&w and clear.
DISLIKED: The weapons included are mostly oddball. They can make for interesting reading, but I was hoping common, mainstream, current issue military weapons would be covered, and so far (between the 56 weapons described in the first and second volumes) only a very few quality. I bought Vol 1 & 2 along with the Special Edition all at once. If there had been a detailed review like this one, letting me know the weapon choices were way out there, I would never have picked up these first two volumes. I will rate the quality as acceptable, but I'm disappointed.
QUALITY: Acceptable
VALUE: Disappointed
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Publisher Reply: |
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Again, your count is in error. There are far more than 23 weapons covered. Under the standards of militaria publication worldwide, each variant is counted as a separate weapon. In the future, please count correctly. |
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The third volume in the series weighs in at 109 pages. The contents are a little different than past volumes. This one has a cover, credits and table of contents pages (3), and a brief intro (1). But they included a page of anti-aircraft rules to incorporate into your games (1), and another two pages on anti-tank rules (2). This is followed by a page of discussion of anti-tank weapons in general (2). This is followed by a number of pages describing Iraqi biological and chemical weapons. That's the first 13 pages.
The last 4 pages are legal notices for the OGL and a few ads for other products.
That leaves 92 pages to cover in detail 28 weapons. This volume if focused on the weapons of the war in Iraq. Weapons of Australia, Great Britain, Iraq and United States are covered. Here at last you will find the AK-47 and AK-74 assault rifles, RPK machine gun, RPG-7V anti-tank, even the Al-Quds assault rifle (Iraqi variant of the AKM). Here you will also find the M16A2, M3 Carl Gustav, M-72 LAW, M-203 Grenade Launcher, M-249 SAW, etc. Not to mention the Enfield SA-80 used by the British, and the FIM-92 Stinger.
For those who think this volume has no place in RPG gaming, think again. Most (if not all) of the weapons are standard issue infantry weapons. Just the sort of weapons any party of modern day adventurers or mercs or elite unit teams would use and run up against. From hostage rescues to penetrating the top secret weapons facility to stop the evil scientist from perfecting his weapons of mass destruction, these are the weapons you will want to use!
LIKED: The data blocks present the basics in a well-organized manner, and the supporting text was detailed. The photos were b&w and clear. But WAY more important, all of the weapons included in this volume are mainstream, current issue and well known. This special edition/revised makes up for the disappointing contents of the first two volumes.
DISLIKED: Not one thing! I can only hope that the folks at Alternate Realities decide to take their Big Bang series into focused small arms weapon supplements exactly like this one. I would love to see Small Arms specials on any of the following: NATO, Warsaw Pact, South American, Middle East, Central/South Africa, etc. That would be fantastic, if they were handled like this volume.
QUALITY: Excellent
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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While its an inexpensive product, its hard to recommend this item or consider it a good buy. Despite the hype about the numbers, it covers exactly eight rifles: the Hotchkiss Rifle (used only by the US Navy during a brief period), the Jarmann, the Krag-Jorgensen,the Kropatschek (a Lebel upgrade, used in Portugal), the Lebel (a widely used rifle), the Lee-Metford (again, an important weapon it its day), the Remington-Keene, and the Vetterli.
To achive its claim of the number of rifles protrayed, the company listed every possible varient and test version of each rifle, includeing weapons which were not issued, issued in tiny numbers, or whose only difference was a minor change in sights.
It ignores the Mauser family completely, and the Mannlichers, while half the rifles covered were (while important developmentally) commercial failures and were very rare.
It is hard to imagine the campaign this volume could possibly support.
EDIT: The publisher's reply is, ironically, disproven by their own product, which openly admits that several of the described models were commercial failures, and notes several models which were never actually issued to the troops.
LIKED: Production values were OK
DISLIKED: The description provided to potential buyers is inaccurate, to put it politely.
QUALITY: Poor
VALUE: Ripped Off
[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]
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Publisher Reply: |
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The weapon count is in accordance with standard accepted by every militaria author and publisher in the United States, Japan, and Europe. In addition, most military weapons of the period were issued in only limited numbers. Of the literally thousands of different models sold in the era, less than 100 would be considered widely issued by todays standards. Therefore, I am sad to say, your entire review is invalid on these points. |
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Contrary to the editing done by the reviewer, all the weapons listed were issued by various militaries around the globe. As for "commercial failures," there is far more to being a failure in the covered era than simply not selling. It was an era where design and technology often made weapons obsolete just as they were reaching the market, as was the case with many weapons presented. Nonetheless, they were all manyfactured by the thousands, issued to troops, and used by armies around the globe. So let's see what JD Smith will edit in next time in an effort to make himself look credible, shall we? |
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I love the big bang books. Good info, etc. I just wish that it had spycraft 2.0 stats!
DISLIKED: No Spycraft 2.0
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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I love the big bang books. Good info, etc. I just wish that it had spycraft stats!
DISLIKED: No spycraft
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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I love the big bang books. Good info, etc. I just wish that it had spycraft stats!
DISLIKED: No spycraft
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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I love the big bang books. Good info, etc. I just wish that it had spycraft stats!
DISLIKED: No spycraft
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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I love the big bang books. Good info, etc. I just wish that it had spycraft stats!
DISLIKED: No spycraft
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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I love the big bang books. Good info, etc. I just wish that it had spycraft stats!
DISLIKED: No spycraft
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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Junk. A random selection of weapons without any regard for period, presenting opinions as fact, and using photos instead of line drawings which might at least have been useful as player handouts.
LIKED: Nothing.
QUALITY: Poor
VALUE: Ripped Off
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Publisher Reply: |
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Wow. How exactly did you miss the word SAMPLER in the title? Of course the selection is random. Amusing that you condemn the work for not using line art while so many others praise it for the very same reason. And exactly what opinions are presented as fact? And what qualifications do you have that allow you to reach such a conclusion? Let me present one more fact. This is far, far, FAR from the first time you've written a completely invalid review for a product sold on RPGNow. Maybe you should find something better to do with your time. |
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Well researched and written. Flexiable over a wide range of game systems.
LIKED: Technical data on the weapons and performance.
DISLIKED: Odd weapon selection in some instances.
QUALITY: Acceptable
VALUE: Satisfied
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This is a very good little add on that allow magic to be learned in d20 Modern at an earlier level.
LIKED: It is a good addition to the other base classes
DISLIKED: It is only useful if you want Magic FX
QUALITY: Excellent
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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A solid review of an unusual, but very interesting vehicle. The characters in my d20Modern campaign stole two such vehicles the very next game session!
QUALITY: Very Good
VALUE: Very Satisfied
[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]
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A nice treatment of one of the more jaw-dropping military vehicles out there. The video the link at the end leads to has to be seen to be believed; this thing is an amazing piece of technology.
The book does a nice job of covering all of the (impressive) capabilities of this piece of cutting edge military vehicular tech. The PDF is nicely laid-out and includes stats for common mounted weapons, record sheets, and the like. An excellent purchase for the price.
QUALITY: Excellent
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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An oddball design I didn't know existed. This is a well-researched work on a piece of rather obscure equipment.
LIKED: Ricochet continues to hit on delightfully unusual and little known designs
DISLIKED: D20 Mecha stats would be nice as well.
QUALITY: Excellent
VALUE: Very Satisfied
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