My Life As A Gamer: "Systems Failure" Returns For A Limited Time

Palladium Books isn't afraid to put out a product every so often that is just goofy enough to work. One of them is coming back in about a week or so.

This was a one-off product meant to play on Y2K hysteria, but--as the cover suggests--in a goofy way that reminds a viewer of Tremors and similar kitch fare.

On an alternate Earth, all that is left are the Survivalists, Nature-Lovers, Farmers, Gun Bunnies, Eggheads and backwoods wackos living on the fringe. Either people found in remote regions or those who were prepared for the Y2K Bug and the collapse of civilization.

What you do is simple: avoid being snatched by the Bugs, build up your survivor community, and retake Earth from said Bugs over time.

It's goofy in all the good ways that 70s and 80s American comics got goofy, and it's a very playable scenario. The goofy part keeps the actual mood light while the situation is serious for the characters--being caught by the Bugs is no good--and because, like all Palladium products, it can be plugged into RIFTS there are conversion notes as well as setting notes for resetting the scenario off-world.

It is like every other Palladium game in that it has the mechanics for play and info for setting, but it doesn't go the extra steps that many trendy RPG products do as make it into a flat-out railroad that might as well be an uncoded videogame document. It doesn't hold your hand. You're expected to use whatever external resources you have--and today, that includes the Internet--to fill in blanks and add details relevant to you, your group, and your campaign.

And Systems Failure is one of those games where you can just use real world documents as game supplements. Just log into an archive, actually go to the library, read non-fiction, etc. and extrapolate from there to fit your campaign. (That most gamers have proven resistant in doing so is for another post.) That's why the most extra material this game got was an article in the house magazine.

It's worth having in your collection, but the scenario--being akin to a zombie scenario--is going to have limited appeal. (That too for another post.) It will be available very soon, and that means you can include it on your Wish List for when you put in for a Grab Bag.