| Summary: Using Palladium's post Rifts rule set, The Macross II RPG is essentially Robotech 1.5 as far as rules go. People who have played the original Robotech RPG will notice several similarities between this book and the last in terms of content, (such as its skill and class system) although this time, they are much more expansive and flexible in comparison. Almost all classes are military based with only one being devoted to civilians, but even then, that class allows you to fly a VF as well. An additional 20 skills were added to this book, (giving the book more skill choices than the Invid Invasion/Robotech II RPG books) and with enemy classes included, there are now a total of 14 character classes for players to choice from. As far as mecha is concerned, 3 VF's are featured,(2 military and 1 civilian) as are all the Zentran and Marduk mecha seen in the OAV's. Unfortunately, ground mecha (i.e. Destroids) and spaceships are absent, and you'll need either Sourcebook 1 or the three Deck Plan books for that material. Conventual equipment and vehicles are extremely lite in comparision to the Robotech RPG, and instead of including a few more pages dedicated to it, the author suggest buying another one of his products instead. Considering the fact that the Robotech II RPG book is 160 pages long, I can't understand as to why a few more pages of conventual equipment couldn't be included. Finally, background information pertaining to the series is minimal at best, (with a few NPC stats) and the book gives off the assumption that you've already watched the show. That's fine and all for fans who already know the back story, but it totally deters newcomers who haven't seen the series yet. All in all, this book is average. Sure, it does make some much needed improvements/additions that should have been addressed in the original Robotech RPG books, but the lack of content in certian spots make this book seem less complete in comparison. Also, the layout of the pages is questionable and seems to be less organized and out of place in general. Fans of Macross II or the Robotech RPG should get a kick out of this book and Rifts fans can easily converted this material to their games if so desired. It's a good book to buy if you're a fan of the series, but it does need the other 4 sourcebooks if you want to get the most out of your gaming. Just remember that this book still has the same sort of flaws to the game mechanics as the original Robotech RPG books, so if you didn't like them, then you'll probably won't like this one either. |
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