Review: Twilight: 2013
93 Games Studio is a roleplaying game publishing company based out of Raceland, Ky. Their first RPG was called The Swing. It used the Step System, which provides a high level of detail throughout the game. Character Creation was focused on defining well-rounded, believable characters. Combat is deadly, scary and dangerous, as in real life. The freeform Magick system was based on the Thelemic principles of WILL and Love, derived from Aleister Crowley’s vision of Magick as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.” The system encouraged players to use out-of-game “real-world” information to shape the game world. In 2006, they acquired the license to produce the next official edition of Twilight: 2000 (3rd edition).
It is the near future. The Collapse is over. Years of accelerating decay culminated in a brief and vicious global war. When it came, the final conflict seemed almost an afterthought in the wake of disease, famine, natural disasters, and economic and political failures on a previously unimaginable scale. None of these calamities could have ended the world by itself. Together, they brought the engines of civilization to a grinding, blood-soaked halt. Now, as the apocalyptic Last Year draws to a close, scattered survivors band together against the darkness. You are one of the ten percent of humanity to make it this far. Some would call you fortunate. You’re not so certain.
Twilight: 2013 is the licensed third edition of Twilight: 2000, GDW’s classic roleplaying game of gritty military conflict and grueling daily existence in the devastation of World War III. This core rulebook provides a complete setting in which players can take on the role of any survivors of the end of the world, from soldiers fighting the desperate last battles of the Twilight War to ordinary men and women struggling to rebuild shattered lives and cities. The staged complexity levels of the Reflex System, Twilight: 2013′s all-new game engine, allow gamemasters to balance speed, detail, and lethality according to their own preferences.
Will you raise the flag of a fallen nation in the hope of rallying dreams to rise phoenix-like from radioactive ashes? Walk across half the world to see home one more time? Carry on a fight in the name of causes and leaders you’ve outlived? Cast your weapons into the weeds and carve out a new life where you now stand? Will you light the watchfires against the coming night—or will you help kindle the pyre of history? The choice is in your hands now. The last words from home set you free:
Good luck. You’re on your own.
- Features:
- Brand-new game system devoted to realistic modern gameplay
- Expanded character creation allows for a diverse range of character types, from military to civilian
- Familiar features of previous editions such as the Character Generation process and Coolness Under Fire
- A modular ruleset to provide complete flexibility over the level of gameplay
- Advanced rules for squad-based combat
This game has three levels of complexity (Stages I, II and III). Stage III was the one that was playtested for this review, and we found it quite easy to learn.
Combat – the most important factor of this game – is fast and lethal. You are required to play smart, or you’re going to get the good news quite quickly. More than once my group found itself stitched up because they wanted to play Rambo.
All game actions are done as ticks (as in the tick-tock of a clock). Your initiative determines the number of ticks you have and all actions have a tick value. When you are out of ticks, you are out of actions.
The Good
Besides being an absolutely enormous book, the “Reflex System” is one of the freshest rulesets I’ve had the pleasure playing. There is a truly realistic setting that will appeal to those familiar with the military. I was pleased to see that the designers turned to an actual military member for guidance.
I played the original Twilight 2000 in Jr. / Sr. High School very nearly every weekend from 83′ – ’89. I know the game front and back. My friends and I even reenacted the game quite often. I never thought there could be a better version… until Twilight: 2013 came around.
As my most anticipated game for 2008, this exceeded all expectations.
The Bad
The only thing that kept this from receiving top marks from me is that I know gamers will be turned off by the PDF and hardcopy versions both costing $40.
The Ugly
None.
Product Summary
Name: Twilight: 2013
Publisher: 93 Games Studio
Game concept: Clayton Oliver, Simon Pratt, Keith Taylor
Category: Role Playing Game
Cost: $39.99 (print copy / PDF – I reviewed the PDF edition
Year: 2008
SKU: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Rating
