I don't write reviews often, not least because I'm a believer in "Praise publicly, criticize privately." But some games are worth reviewing, and this is one of them.
I'm an Old-Time Radio (OTR) fan, and have been for years. I'm the only person I know whose iPod is full of Boston Blackie episodes, and I'm watching a Captain Midnight secret decoder (I only need a couple more years to complete my collection) on eBay as I type this. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense to use OTR as a basis for a game.
OTR is neatly packaged up in either self-contained episodes or serials. It is chock full of dramatic situations, exciting events, and heroic characters, sometimes with special abilities. It can take place in a nearby or a distant jungle, or just about anywhere else. In short, it's perfectly set up for an RPG campaign.
And On The Air captures that perfectly (at least as best I can tell from reading it; playing will require finding at least one more OTR fan around here) The game system is geared toward dramatic action rather than grittily realistic simulation. It's laid out well and should be very easy to get into. The game system is simple in comparison to many, but perfectly suited to the subject.
In addition, there is quite a lot of information on OTR itself, including some recommended shows. (note that archive dot org has many of them available for download nowadays) It was cool finding some of my favorites on there; I just downloaded a batch of Johnny Dollar episodes I haven't heard) If you've ever so much as heard of the Shadow and think there might be something interesting or gameable there, get this game. You won't regret spending the price of a sandwich on it.
Honestly, my only quibble with it is the formatting: The layout is beautiful, and looks awesome on the screen, great production values, but I'd really like to have a bare-bones, no-background, copy of the rules I could print out, too, because I'm one of those people who just likes things on dead trees.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |