WHAT WORKS: I'm a sucker for a magic system with some flavor, and this one has some good flavor. The character generation is FAST, and there are a ton of option for customizing your characters by mixing and matching the Three Words, as well as the vast array of Talents (with an additional 30 Talents available in a free sourcebook).

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The bestiary just isn't very inspiring, due in part to the avoidance of common fantasy monsters combined with the lack of art. If you're going to go off the beaten path, that's fine, but pictures always help. There are only hints of a setting in the book, and the two factors mean it falls a bit shy of the promise from the great cover piece.

CONCLUSION: The lack of "spark" in the bestiary and lack of a setting aren't a deal breaker, especially given how easy it would seem to be to customize the rules, adding new Talents and Professions, maybe even races and certainly monsters. The system shows a TON of promise...hopefully it'll get the kind of support needed take it up that notch to truly capture the "epic" feel the cover evokes. Well worth checking out the PDF at a minimum.

http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2012/02/tommys-take-on-ingenium.html

Zombies are great opponents in video games. Easy targets and programming their AI is a snap. It isn't a problem if they have a habit of bumping into walls after all. They're convenient monsters in movies. Not only do they symbolize the collapse of modern civilisation into mob violence (an increasing fear since the seventies) but they're one of the few monsters where convincing make-up for them isn't that hard or expensive to do. There have even been a couple of good zombie books. But me, I've never felt any urge to play in a zombie apocalypse, particularly not a Romero apocalypse. I never would have picked this up except as part of one of the disaster bundles. Which is pretty appropriate when I think about it. Still, this isn't a bad deal for the price. All Flesh Must Be Eaten mines the same territory but much more expensively and most of Zombacalypse is useful for any game system. The best part of it is that in the short scenarios that take up over half of the book, most of them don't in fact require you dedicate the whole campaign to zombie survivalism. That's a good feature for those GMs like me, who aren't necessarily Romero fans. Zombie babies are kind of cool...

I probably wont play this as is, but will use it as a base for some d100 gaming. As a freebie I think it's a great little piece for bouncing story ideas off.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This 8 page PDF is a "random events" chart designed for Wellstone City that can be used with any deck of standard playing cards (which are standard stuff for Savage Worlds). It is notable in part because many of the "randon events" can have HUGE implications on the campaign, like your own faction sending a sniper after you, or your rivals trying to recruit you as a double agent. The events are divided by suit, with a specific event for each card, although Spades/Hearts and Diamonds/Clubs use largely the same events with major/minor tweaks to them.

WHAT WORKS: Based off of a playing card deck makes the PDF incredibly simple to use, especially for folks on a printer budget. So many of the events having the ability to turn things on their ear is very much a plus in my book.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Given how big some of the events can be, and how closely they are mirrored in the Minor/Major scale, drawing once per scene seems excessive, especially when you factor in the "Joker" rule that can put multiple cards in play. I did note a few typos that made it into the final product. The PDF price seems a little high, but only in relation to other Wellstone City/Silver Gryphon Games products.

CONCLUSION: Great concept, but then I love random roll/draw charts, and the scale at which this chart works is very nice, with some real game-changing options present, which can lead to a series of double-crosses and and the like. A great idea for a great setting, adding an element of chance that can affect the game in minor ways (finding $20 on the street) to major ways (having the FBI offer you the chance to take down the Russian Mafia from the inside, or the CIA turning on you mid-op with an assassination attempt, for their own reasons). Especially recommended if you feel like your Wellstone City game is lacking a certain spark right now.

This is essentially a toolbox for game masters (and probably players) to draw upon when creating, running and playing their zombie apocalypse games. That seems entirely appropriate for a Savage Worlds supplement, which is essentially one giant toolbox! Zombacalypse covers all the expected areas, including the origins of zombies, fighting zombies, and generally surviving the end of the world. It is well written, laid out logically, and easy to read. What is very cool, is that a lot of this info is not system specific – it is just detailed discussion on the given topics, making it a versatile resource whether you play Savage Worlds or not. There is also a large “bestiary” of different zombie adversaries. The last twenty or so pages is an example setting and adventure set during the American Civil War – which I enjoyed a great deal. This is a great addition for Savage Worlds players, or anyone that wants good, solid ideas for their zombie apocalypse campaigns.

Basically a random encounter / adventure seed generator, but not to be confused with a full-fledged random adventure generator like those found in Thrilling Tales, Shaintar, etc. Makes things a bit easier on the GM, especially if you need a short encounter to stall when your PCs go off the rails in your current adventure. Definitely worth the price.

Dark and Gritty. If you like noir, this is a perfect setting for Savage Worlds. Well written and detailed, this product gives details on the fictional city of Wellstone. Detailed just enough, but still open enough to allow for future expansion and GM personalization.

Even if you don't play in Wellstone, this booklet gives great new details on specialized ammo and a few new edges that work well in a modern setting. Also, a decently populated list of NPCs help round this product out.

All in all either great if you play in Wellstone, a modern, or future cyperpunk game, this product is worth the price.

WHAT WORKS: A great feel to the book, especially in the flavor text, which I really only tend to mention if I enjoy it quite a bit. The new Edges amp up the adrenaline a bit, combind with removing the rank requirements. To say nothing of a whole slew of stock NPCs for the GM to use.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: As settings go, this is real barebones, meaning that a novice GM might struggle wirh it a bit (or I may be the only guy who still reads "How to GM" sections). A couple of things make me question the game's focus...evoking Sin City, for instance, and then adding penalties for using bigger and badder guns.

CONCLUSION: Some nice rules options back up the modern noir feel, althoughI don't feel as though it's really aiming for "gritty" as some claim...and not that that's a bad thing. I think Savage Worlds is great for a Marv-like rampage, for instance. The ammo rules really cater to the folks that say Savage Worlds isn't crunchy enough, and the adventure does a nice job of getting the characters started in Wellstone City. A really good setting for an experienced Savage Worlds GM who is up on his noir, but someone new to noir or GM Savage Worlds might come up a bit cold. Also, last I checked, there was supposed to be an Interface Zero version of Wellstone City coming, and if that's still true, I can't see that not being great.

For my full review, please visit: http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2011/06/tommys-take-on-wellstone-city.html

You can go many ways with a zombie. Desperate horror is just as likely as Romantic comedy anymore. They are seriously everywhere, which is probably why they are such a threat.

I’m not going to overanalyze them. People much smarter than me have already done that. What I will do is say I ran a super hero zombie one-shot for some friends once and enjoyed the Hell out of it. I also played a convention game where zombies were the main attraction (liked that too). For the most part (and this isn’t fair really), zombie games have a one-shot feel to them. Some games like Zombie Run (an excellent Savage Worlds adventure) and the zillion plus supplements for All Flesh Must Be Eaten suggest ways to make longer campaigns, but I always felt like zombie games were filler (like a blockbuster summer flick) than a campaign (like Walking Dead). I’m hardheaded and wrong, which this book quickly points out.

The artwork in the book all comes from Tony Guaraldi-Brown and this consistency gives it some bite. Overall, I like the artwork and layout. It has a feel similar to the Nightbane artwork. Some, like the piece on page 13, are a little garbled, but still works to capture the feel for this book. I don’t mind art leaving things to the imagination as long as it doesn’t look shoddy. Mostly, the pieces are good, not great. One last mention . . . zombie baby scares me.

The book is broken up into five chapter, an appendix, and a scenario. Each chapter fixates on an aspect of the zombie game and works to detail it. The appendix offers stats on everything from zombie animals to zombie zookeepers (use the cop template and I’m right). The final “chapter” is an American Civil War scenario with zombies! You think you’re cocky with a semi-automatic against the undead masses? How would you do with single shots or six-shooters?

Overall, this is a useful supplement for fans of the genre and Savage Worlds. It has a great deal of material to mine if not use whole cloth. Accessible and fun, it can be useful in a gaming pinch when you need that excellent convention game (especially a late night one when the attendees start resembling the subject material).

Read the full review at Flames Rising:

http://www.flamesrising.com/zombacalypse-sw-review/

Seriously, three words! That's all it takes to make a character. Not only does the system get out of the way in play, it gets out of the way in character creation. I seriously made a character in 10 minutes. I understood what he could do, and he was well balanced.

The art is well done, and the writing gets to the point.

Well worth the price.

Zombies!!! What more can you say...they are an SW staple.

However, you get more than just the run of the mill SW zombie. There are hunters and smart zombies and the list goes on. If you really want to scare your players with a variety of the undead then this is a great product for you.

The various ideas for campaigns is great. You may not want to use one as written (you may) but they are great sources to get your imagination flowing. I really like the idea of the Romans facing not the Germans but hordes of zombies!

Great for the price. I'd recommend this one.

I'll get the fact that Savage Worlds is a fun, fast, and furious game right out of the way. This is a good book for running a zombie apocalypse game. I was shocked by the fact that the first half of the book was mostly fluff. It's not a bad thing, but I would consider myself a bit of a zombie aficionado and not in need of much coaching on the finer points of zombie origins, behavior, and ramifications. The real meat here is the scenario descriptions and zombie stats. The book lists a whole chapter worth of zombie games you can run in a variety of campaigns and a variety of time periods. Then there are a ton of zombies and stats to terrorize your player. I ran a game of this for my podcast and it was really fun. Even over Skype, the game ran smoothly, people liked it, and I didn't need a ton of prep time. If you do or don't know Savage Worlds and like zombies, this is a great book. Pick a scenario, an origin story, and a few zombies and run a game. It's $5 and another $10 if you don't have the core rulebook. That's a good deal.

I like the idea behind this game.

The three word system makes it easy to create a character and know how you are going to play that character from the start.

The game is definitely not crunchy. The combat and other skill mechanics are very simple. d10 plus modifiers versus a GM generated difficulty. This is neither good nor bad. If you like to play fast paced character driven games this is a good engine to try out. If you like crunchy try Savage Worlds for a bit more crunch or one of the plethora of d20 games if you want to spend all day on one fight.

Ingenium has a good beastiary for a basic core set of rules.

It does not have any scenarios or setting with the rules or out in any other form.

If you want adventures or a setting you'll have to wait.

For 5 bucks that may be worth it to you. For 10 you can pick up Savage Worlds that has a ton of Freebies on their website and tons of fan support. Presently I'd recommend Savage Worlds.

Very neat product! It's like a "zombie construction kit." It has detailed discussions of all the different kinds of zombies, and detailed advice about how to assign SW stats to reflect the specific kind of zombie you want to create. There's good information for your players too - zombie fighting tactics and strategies, gear, improvised weapons, etc. A variety of sample scenarios are also included to get you going. Highly recommended, especially at the price.

I'm tempted to like Ingenium's creativity, and I feel it does good at what it says it's trying to do. I do, however, have some gripes.

Characters can almost always be custom tailored for any purpose, but it's also very easy to create a very, very powerful mage quickly (admittedly, he'd get no more than five shots, and most likely just one right off the bat), which seems a little dangerous.

A d10 is very, very easy to have result in an almost guaranteed outcome, and somewhat imprecise, but in a game meant for heroic fantasy, that can be excused.

There is a mix of information overload and not terribly much in some parts. The section on casting magic takes about five pages, but the actual lists of spells go 21 pages, meaning that over a quarter of the book is devoted to magic alone (though, admittedly, the lists are nice to give diversity, and it beats a d6-style system in terms of how much math you have to do for the result).

There's almost no setting information, but this is not plain negative, since there is some merit in having the setting open to players and game masters, but the creativity elsewhere paints this in a bad light.

All in all, I like it, but instead of just leaving me wanting more, it leaves me hungry for more, which is probably not desired.