This article starts with an admission... I never got close enough to this game to actually play it. This game was so darned popular at Gen Con Indy 2008 that I simply couldn't find a time when a seat was available to sit down and get a demo. The tables were full any time Fantasy Flight Games had someone there who could run a demo. That tells me they must be on to a winner with this title, because I managed a demo with some of the other "hot" titles this year, such as "Humans!!" from Twilight Creations. (That took several attempts as well, as it was also quite popular.)
This article therefore is NOT a review. I stood nearby, slightly jealous, watching others play the game for as long as my feet held out (plantar fasciitis is a tough adversary). While I think I have a reasonably good feel for how it plays, I'm not going to try to convey that here except to say that all the elements you think of as integral to the current Battlestar Galactica series appear to be present in the prototype being demonstrated at Gen Con.
It is my understanding (i.e., subject to correction) that the game incorporates the major characters of the series. It incorporates the fact that some of those characters could be Cylon agents working among the humans. It encourages players to put the main characters in harm's way (e.g., loading Starbuck onto a Viper makes it more effective in combat). It also puts the Galactica into specific situations that it has to fight its way out of, just as it would in the series.
It LOOKS like it will be a great game. I wish I could say it "IS" a great game, but the darned thing was just too popular for me to get the chance to find out. I talked with some of the people who played the demo, and periodically walked by to gauge their reactions. People seemed to be having a genuinely good time with it and getting into it. Had it been available for purchase, I might have bought it sight-unseen based solely on the popularity and reactions I saw. Oh well... Maybe I'll get to play it next year...
This article therefore is NOT a review. I stood nearby, slightly jealous, watching others play the game for as long as my feet held out (plantar fasciitis is a tough adversary). While I think I have a reasonably good feel for how it plays, I'm not going to try to convey that here except to say that all the elements you think of as integral to the current Battlestar Galactica series appear to be present in the prototype being demonstrated at Gen Con.
It is my understanding (i.e., subject to correction) that the game incorporates the major characters of the series. It incorporates the fact that some of those characters could be Cylon agents working among the humans. It encourages players to put the main characters in harm's way (e.g., loading Starbuck onto a Viper makes it more effective in combat). It also puts the Galactica into specific situations that it has to fight its way out of, just as it would in the series.
It LOOKS like it will be a great game. I wish I could say it "IS" a great game, but the darned thing was just too popular for me to get the chance to find out. I talked with some of the people who played the demo, and periodically walked by to gauge their reactions. People seemed to be having a genuinely good time with it and getting into it. Had it been available for purchase, I might have bought it sight-unseen based solely on the popularity and reactions I saw. Oh well... Maybe I'll get to play it next year...
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