Post by Gilvan Blight on Oct 11, 2010 15:58:49 GMT -5
Quickly: Lots of fun, some disappointments though.
Summary:
Wizards of the coast will soon be officially releasing the 7th edition of Gamma World. I managed to snag a copy at our FLGS as they are a Premiere store and got it in 11 days early! Gamma World was first released in 1978 and is a Science Fantasy RPG. This is the first time I've played Gamma World. I personally inherited a copy of the first printing but have never played it or any other edition.
The game is sold in a very large and very green box. The box contains a 160 page rulebook, 2 double sided maps, 2 sheets of monster and character tokens, 4 two sided character sheets and a 80 card deck of equipment and mutation cards. My box also came with a free booster pack of cards. I think that every box has this, as the "Bonus" is printed right on the box. Every copy the Store had in stock had this as well so I don't know if it's a limited time thing or what.
I'll get through the small support stuff first before delving into the rules.
Tokens or pogs:
Each sheet has 30 pogs on it, 6 of which are large size. The character tokens are two sided with one side being red for 'bloodied' The character tokens have an orange background while the monster tokens are green. There are monster tokens for all of the monsters that are in the rulebook and where there are multiples of a monster type these are numbered.
Poster Maps:
The poster maps are half the size of what we are used to seeing from other D&D products and each side of each map is divided into two encounter areas. So you get 8 encounter areas total but they are all fairly small. These areas all represent spots from the included module in the back of the rulebook but are pretty generic and I can see them getting some re-use.
The cards:
A set deck of cards comes with the game box and it contains 40 Alpha Mutation cards and 40 Omega Tech cards. This is a pretty substantial set of cards and more then enough to play the game. The added booster is a nice touch but only contains 8 more cards so not even enough to make one 'player deck'.
The Character Sheets:
This one is confusing. The included module is for 5 players and a DM, but the box states that the game is for 4 players and there are only 4 two sided character sheets included. These are digest sized which is annoying as you can't even copy two on one 8.5x11 piece of paper. As of right now WotC has not released a PDF copy of these sheets either. The sheets themselves are small and contain all of the character creation rules right on them (nice touch), but don't give much room to note things down except by name. So you can note your powers but not really list what they do.
The rules:
The rulebook is 160 pages and contains all of the info for Players and Games Masters in one place. The book is divided into 6 chapters after an introduction. The book ends with a very scant and small index.
The introduction gives you a bit of info on what you are getting into. The basic premise of the game is that the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) messed up somehow and caused "The Big Mistake" which combined all of the possible dimensions and realities to merge into one world, Gamma Terra. Each reality was based on a different premise like what if the Nazi's won, what if Dinosaurs never died out or what if Tesla took over the world with an army of robots. Due to 83% of the realities having had a Nuclear War, most of the world now is a irradiated wasteland with only ruins of past times and other realities left. So you end up with a Science Fantasy Setting that is kind of like a mix of Mad Max, Trans-dimensional TMNT and Buckaroo Banzai.
Chapter 1: details how to play. Dice, the GM, character sheets, the cards, tokens, etc. Combat, Death and Dying, using Powers etc, all of the crunch is in here. It's interesting to note that this game uses the 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons rules sort of. This is like a rules light version of 4th edition D&D. Healing is simplified without any surges and your second wind becoming a minor action that heals half your HP. There are no action points. Many of the combat options are absent, like Grappling, Bull Rushes and Charging. Cover and Concealment have been changed to be GM judgment and none of the skills contain hard and fast rules, everything is very open and left to player and DM interpretation. You also won't find any feats in this game.
Chapter 2 is all about character creation. Here we find out that the game only plays to level 10 and that character progression is much quicker then 4e D&D. Character creation is extremely random and also very quick. Players roll twice on an Origin Chart and end up with wild and often amusing combos like Electorkinetic Plant, or Android Yeti. These origins determine your primary and secondary stats which get a 18 and 16 respectively. The remainder of your stats are determined by the good old 3d6 roll. Each origin also gives you a power at first level in addition to other specific traits (Hawkoids can Fly, Mind Breakers and talk telepathically, etc). Each origin gets a full page spread listing it's benefits and the powers that the character will gain as they level up. Skills listed next and are even simpler then 4e D&D and there are only 10 skills now, some of which are the same as 4e D&D and others new to this (like Computers, Mechanics and the new Interaction that combines Bluff, intimidate and diplomacy). Characters start with some bonuses in skills based on their Origin and then also roll a D10 to find out one other skill they are trained in (oddly training only gives +4 here). I'll note here as well, that everything in Gamma World uses + your full level. So skill checks are skill rank + stat bonus + level. To hit is usually primary stat + level. This is another big change from 4e D&D that makes me wonder about the claims that the systems are compatible. The rest of chapter two fills out character details. Roleplaying and personality and Alpha and Omega tech cards. More about those later.
Chapter 3 is a short chapter on gear. Like other systems in this game gear has been simplified. There is no money in this system and characters start with one set of armor, one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. Specific types of weapon are left up to the player and they choose between heavy or light armor, one handed or two handed light weapons, one handed or two handed heavy weapons then heavy or light ranged weapons. The type determines which stats are used as well as an accuracy bonus. Players also get to roll on a random starting gear chart. Once the game starts they are stuck with bartering and scavenging. The most unique rule in this section is the one on ammo. Players can start with guns, both light or heavy. They come with "ammo" Ammo is generic and simplified (and remind me of Supply days in Dark Sun a bit). If you have Ammo and you fire your gun only once an encounter, you still have Ammo at the end. If you choose to fire your gun more then once, then at the end of the encounter you are out of ammo. Which means if you shoot twice you might as well go all out. More ammo is found as treasure during the game.
Chapter 4 is the GM chapter that contains information on how to run the game. There is a tiny bit more info on the setting, a great ancient junk table to use for giving out 'treasure', rules for the various status effects, rules for quest and encounter experience and a section on building encounters. The encounter building system is the same as in 4e D&D and uses an XP Budget based on party level and number of characters to buy monsters. The section on skill checks includes a chart for figuring out Easy Moderate and Hard difficulties. The chapter finishes with some interesting terrain options that have a very Gamma World feel. What's oddly missing is a section on skill challenges. It's just not there.
Chapter 5 is basically a mini monster manual. According to one of my players Saturday night all of these monsters are pretty much classic Gamma World mobs going back to the first edition. There's a great mix of creatures from level 1-5 but then only 3 level 6 monsters and then nothing again until level 10 where there is only one monster. I found this very odd. There are no rules given for 'leveling up a monster either' like can be found in 4e D&D. At the very end are 3 traps of various levels (oddly one being level 8).
The final chapter is an 8 encounter module called Steading of the Iron King. This is a straight dungeon crawl with pretty much no chance for interaction and roleplay. Good for learning the rules but not a great example of the new looser skill system or much of an indicator of what you can do with the setting.
So what's up with these cards?!?
I've left this for last as this is the most controversial aspect of the game. All Gamma World Characters are mutants. They constantly shift and change, gaining and loosing powers. At character creation you draw one Alpha Mutation for your character. This can be used once an encounter. As you level up you get access to more mutations and will eventually have the ability to have 3 mutation cards 'readied' in front of you. After each encounter you discard these cards, used or not and draw new ones. So each encounter your character changes. You have the option of drawing from the GM deck made up of the cards that come in the box combined with any 'booster' cards he has decided to add or to draw from your own deck that also must be made up of these 'booster cards'. Creating your own deck means you can seed it with powers that compliment your character. Now there is one more fun twist to this. Any time you roll a 1, your mutations shift, and you have to discard the ones you have and draw from the GM deck. This came up over 15 times in our game Saturday night and was the main source of fun and laughs.
In addition to these Alpha Mutation cards there are also Omega Tech cards. These represent gear and equipment found during play and are the primary source of 'treasure' after an encounter. You start with one piece and find more during play. Unlike Alpha Mutations you can carry any number of Omega Tech cards and you don't loose them on a 1 or after an encounter. The stuff is fragile though and each time you use them you roll a save at the end of the encounter to see if you get to keep them. There's also an interesting salvage rule that lets you keep some expended items as permanent equipment (somewhat like magic items in 4e D&D). Like the Alpha cards players can make their own deck, or draw from the GM deck. What most people don't like about the cards is that they are sold in 8 card booster packs that cost just under $5 Canadian. These packs are randomized and have rarity.
The Good:
I had 7 people playing this Saturday night and we all had a blast. The character creation system creates very amusing and memorable characters and everyone at the table came up with a compelling look and short personality back-story just based on randomly determined origins, equipment and stats. Everyone who played had some experience with 4e and picked up this system extremely quickly because of it. Some of us questioned the fact that some of the 'core' D&D rules like Charging were missing but overall it means that the game played much more quickly. I wouldn't want to run a 7 player 4e D&D game but it was no problem in Gamma World.
The background and world are great. I loved the suggestion to create your own setting based on where you live. I took this suggestion and even made up a map of Winds Soar that the player's all loved and instantly recognized as being our city. I was able to interject real life places and the players all had a sense of attachment and familiarity that you don't usually see in a RPG.
The tone of the book made for a fun read. I managed to devour the entire thing in one night over some coffee and had no problem doing so. It's written very amusingly with quite a few jokes thrown in.
I really like the way the skill and combat system was loosened up a bit. A lot more is left to GM interpretation and that is a good thing. It removes some of the boardgame feel that is prevalent in 4th edition D&D and allows for more creative use of skills as well as more descriptive use of terrain in combat.
The best part of the game was the randomness of the Alpha Mutation cards. In one scene a Giant Albatross grew a third arm. At a critical point in the combat Alba Portage pulled out his Handgun with the third arm and fired at a Porker and rolled a 1. So his arm fell off, and the gun fired harmlessly. It was hilarious and had all of us laughing for most of the night. We had a ridiculous numbers of 1s rolled and every time was a good laugh fest. The equipment charts also added a good bit of laughter to the game.
The Bad:
One thing I noticed right when opening the box is a ton of wasted space. This box is huge and there isn't much in there. The rulebook is digest sized and the maps are half the size of the usual WotC poster maps. The token pages could have easily fit double the amount of pogs as there are on the sheet or at least combined them all into one page. I get flashbacks to Star Trek The Voyage home and the 'save the whales' 80s and wonder what the heck happened when I see stuff like this.
Why the omissions from the core 4th edition rules? I understand wanting to simplify things to make for a faster game experience, heck I even appreciate it, but I have to wonder why some things were left out. No grappling, that's fine, but no charging? Even stranger was the total absence of a Skill Challenge system. The new open ended skill descriptions are perfect for a Skill Challenge system and I'm baffled by the lack of this. Right now the only way to get XP is through quest rewards and combat and that seems like a step backwards to me.
All seven of the players in my game had complaints about the Character sheets. The first one echoed by everyone was that there was no PDF sheet available yet. The game only comes with 4 and we had to do something to get copies for the game. The remainder of the complaints had to do with functionality. No where to note your powers was the main one but there were others. Thankfully fans are already busy making better more functional sheets.
The Ugly:
Editing. Always editing. Every WotC product I review I have to complain about editing. "See Page XX", yep it's in there. The biggest confusion though is the number of players. The box says 5, so I would assume a GM and 4 players. Inside the box are 4 character sheets. So still sounds good, then I get to the Module in the back and it's for 5 players plus a GM. What happened there? My other major beef is the huge gap in the monster section. Where are all the level 8, 9 and 10 monsters? Skipping them just seems like a cheap way to sell a future module (of which there are two planned).
My Thoughts on the Cards:
When I first heard about the collectible card aspect of the game I was very disappointed. I wasted a fortune on collectible things in my university days and generally avoid them at all costs. I almost skipped Gamma World due to them. Reading previews coming up to the release date, I started to change my mind and decided to give them a chance. I'm happy to say I'm glad I did. I actually like the collectible card aspect of this game. The game comes with more then enough cards to play without them. You really do not need them at all, but I love the idea of using them to customize the game. As a player you can set it up so that the mutations you get fit your character theme and concept. As a GM I'm looking forward to stacking an Omega Deck with all Area 52 tech to enhance the theme of an adventure. Some people have talked about unfair advantage for players who buy cards. I don't agree with this, due to the fact that this is a RPG, the players are working together, it's a group experience. Also it's not like these characters are balanced like the 4e classes, one rare mutation isn't going to make one character overshadow another. My only complaint with them is the cost. They do seem a bit overpriced for 8 cards. Also they aren't distributed evenly meaning you will probably need more then two packs to be able to make a legal player deck.
Overall:
I decided to run Gamma World the day after it was released. Thankfully the book is a hilarious read and I got through it in one night. I was a bit worried when 7 players showed up to play but the rules light version of the 4e core rules played much quicker then expected and the extra players weren't a problem. All 8 of us had a great time, the most fun being had rolling up bizarre Origins and when players rolled 1's and had their mutations change mid battle. Personally I was confused by some of the rules changes, especially the removal of Skill Challenges, and disappointed by the packaging and editing but none of this impacted the fun we had Saturday night.
Summary:
Wizards of the coast will soon be officially releasing the 7th edition of Gamma World. I managed to snag a copy at our FLGS as they are a Premiere store and got it in 11 days early! Gamma World was first released in 1978 and is a Science Fantasy RPG. This is the first time I've played Gamma World. I personally inherited a copy of the first printing but have never played it or any other edition.
The game is sold in a very large and very green box. The box contains a 160 page rulebook, 2 double sided maps, 2 sheets of monster and character tokens, 4 two sided character sheets and a 80 card deck of equipment and mutation cards. My box also came with a free booster pack of cards. I think that every box has this, as the "Bonus" is printed right on the box. Every copy the Store had in stock had this as well so I don't know if it's a limited time thing or what.
I'll get through the small support stuff first before delving into the rules.
Tokens or pogs:
Each sheet has 30 pogs on it, 6 of which are large size. The character tokens are two sided with one side being red for 'bloodied' The character tokens have an orange background while the monster tokens are green. There are monster tokens for all of the monsters that are in the rulebook and where there are multiples of a monster type these are numbered.
Poster Maps:
The poster maps are half the size of what we are used to seeing from other D&D products and each side of each map is divided into two encounter areas. So you get 8 encounter areas total but they are all fairly small. These areas all represent spots from the included module in the back of the rulebook but are pretty generic and I can see them getting some re-use.
The cards:
A set deck of cards comes with the game box and it contains 40 Alpha Mutation cards and 40 Omega Tech cards. This is a pretty substantial set of cards and more then enough to play the game. The added booster is a nice touch but only contains 8 more cards so not even enough to make one 'player deck'.
The Character Sheets:
This one is confusing. The included module is for 5 players and a DM, but the box states that the game is for 4 players and there are only 4 two sided character sheets included. These are digest sized which is annoying as you can't even copy two on one 8.5x11 piece of paper. As of right now WotC has not released a PDF copy of these sheets either. The sheets themselves are small and contain all of the character creation rules right on them (nice touch), but don't give much room to note things down except by name. So you can note your powers but not really list what they do.
The rules:
The rulebook is 160 pages and contains all of the info for Players and Games Masters in one place. The book is divided into 6 chapters after an introduction. The book ends with a very scant and small index.
The introduction gives you a bit of info on what you are getting into. The basic premise of the game is that the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) messed up somehow and caused "The Big Mistake" which combined all of the possible dimensions and realities to merge into one world, Gamma Terra. Each reality was based on a different premise like what if the Nazi's won, what if Dinosaurs never died out or what if Tesla took over the world with an army of robots. Due to 83% of the realities having had a Nuclear War, most of the world now is a irradiated wasteland with only ruins of past times and other realities left. So you end up with a Science Fantasy Setting that is kind of like a mix of Mad Max, Trans-dimensional TMNT and Buckaroo Banzai.
Chapter 1: details how to play. Dice, the GM, character sheets, the cards, tokens, etc. Combat, Death and Dying, using Powers etc, all of the crunch is in here. It's interesting to note that this game uses the 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons rules sort of. This is like a rules light version of 4th edition D&D. Healing is simplified without any surges and your second wind becoming a minor action that heals half your HP. There are no action points. Many of the combat options are absent, like Grappling, Bull Rushes and Charging. Cover and Concealment have been changed to be GM judgment and none of the skills contain hard and fast rules, everything is very open and left to player and DM interpretation. You also won't find any feats in this game.
Chapter 2 is all about character creation. Here we find out that the game only plays to level 10 and that character progression is much quicker then 4e D&D. Character creation is extremely random and also very quick. Players roll twice on an Origin Chart and end up with wild and often amusing combos like Electorkinetic Plant, or Android Yeti. These origins determine your primary and secondary stats which get a 18 and 16 respectively. The remainder of your stats are determined by the good old 3d6 roll. Each origin also gives you a power at first level in addition to other specific traits (Hawkoids can Fly, Mind Breakers and talk telepathically, etc). Each origin gets a full page spread listing it's benefits and the powers that the character will gain as they level up. Skills listed next and are even simpler then 4e D&D and there are only 10 skills now, some of which are the same as 4e D&D and others new to this (like Computers, Mechanics and the new Interaction that combines Bluff, intimidate and diplomacy). Characters start with some bonuses in skills based on their Origin and then also roll a D10 to find out one other skill they are trained in (oddly training only gives +4 here). I'll note here as well, that everything in Gamma World uses + your full level. So skill checks are skill rank + stat bonus + level. To hit is usually primary stat + level. This is another big change from 4e D&D that makes me wonder about the claims that the systems are compatible. The rest of chapter two fills out character details. Roleplaying and personality and Alpha and Omega tech cards. More about those later.
Chapter 3 is a short chapter on gear. Like other systems in this game gear has been simplified. There is no money in this system and characters start with one set of armor, one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. Specific types of weapon are left up to the player and they choose between heavy or light armor, one handed or two handed light weapons, one handed or two handed heavy weapons then heavy or light ranged weapons. The type determines which stats are used as well as an accuracy bonus. Players also get to roll on a random starting gear chart. Once the game starts they are stuck with bartering and scavenging. The most unique rule in this section is the one on ammo. Players can start with guns, both light or heavy. They come with "ammo" Ammo is generic and simplified (and remind me of Supply days in Dark Sun a bit). If you have Ammo and you fire your gun only once an encounter, you still have Ammo at the end. If you choose to fire your gun more then once, then at the end of the encounter you are out of ammo. Which means if you shoot twice you might as well go all out. More ammo is found as treasure during the game.
Chapter 4 is the GM chapter that contains information on how to run the game. There is a tiny bit more info on the setting, a great ancient junk table to use for giving out 'treasure', rules for the various status effects, rules for quest and encounter experience and a section on building encounters. The encounter building system is the same as in 4e D&D and uses an XP Budget based on party level and number of characters to buy monsters. The section on skill checks includes a chart for figuring out Easy Moderate and Hard difficulties. The chapter finishes with some interesting terrain options that have a very Gamma World feel. What's oddly missing is a section on skill challenges. It's just not there.
Chapter 5 is basically a mini monster manual. According to one of my players Saturday night all of these monsters are pretty much classic Gamma World mobs going back to the first edition. There's a great mix of creatures from level 1-5 but then only 3 level 6 monsters and then nothing again until level 10 where there is only one monster. I found this very odd. There are no rules given for 'leveling up a monster either' like can be found in 4e D&D. At the very end are 3 traps of various levels (oddly one being level 8).
The final chapter is an 8 encounter module called Steading of the Iron King. This is a straight dungeon crawl with pretty much no chance for interaction and roleplay. Good for learning the rules but not a great example of the new looser skill system or much of an indicator of what you can do with the setting.
So what's up with these cards?!?
I've left this for last as this is the most controversial aspect of the game. All Gamma World Characters are mutants. They constantly shift and change, gaining and loosing powers. At character creation you draw one Alpha Mutation for your character. This can be used once an encounter. As you level up you get access to more mutations and will eventually have the ability to have 3 mutation cards 'readied' in front of you. After each encounter you discard these cards, used or not and draw new ones. So each encounter your character changes. You have the option of drawing from the GM deck made up of the cards that come in the box combined with any 'booster' cards he has decided to add or to draw from your own deck that also must be made up of these 'booster cards'. Creating your own deck means you can seed it with powers that compliment your character. Now there is one more fun twist to this. Any time you roll a 1, your mutations shift, and you have to discard the ones you have and draw from the GM deck. This came up over 15 times in our game Saturday night and was the main source of fun and laughs.
In addition to these Alpha Mutation cards there are also Omega Tech cards. These represent gear and equipment found during play and are the primary source of 'treasure' after an encounter. You start with one piece and find more during play. Unlike Alpha Mutations you can carry any number of Omega Tech cards and you don't loose them on a 1 or after an encounter. The stuff is fragile though and each time you use them you roll a save at the end of the encounter to see if you get to keep them. There's also an interesting salvage rule that lets you keep some expended items as permanent equipment (somewhat like magic items in 4e D&D). Like the Alpha cards players can make their own deck, or draw from the GM deck. What most people don't like about the cards is that they are sold in 8 card booster packs that cost just under $5 Canadian. These packs are randomized and have rarity.
The Good:
I had 7 people playing this Saturday night and we all had a blast. The character creation system creates very amusing and memorable characters and everyone at the table came up with a compelling look and short personality back-story just based on randomly determined origins, equipment and stats. Everyone who played had some experience with 4e and picked up this system extremely quickly because of it. Some of us questioned the fact that some of the 'core' D&D rules like Charging were missing but overall it means that the game played much more quickly. I wouldn't want to run a 7 player 4e D&D game but it was no problem in Gamma World.
The background and world are great. I loved the suggestion to create your own setting based on where you live. I took this suggestion and even made up a map of Winds Soar that the player's all loved and instantly recognized as being our city. I was able to interject real life places and the players all had a sense of attachment and familiarity that you don't usually see in a RPG.
The tone of the book made for a fun read. I managed to devour the entire thing in one night over some coffee and had no problem doing so. It's written very amusingly with quite a few jokes thrown in.
I really like the way the skill and combat system was loosened up a bit. A lot more is left to GM interpretation and that is a good thing. It removes some of the boardgame feel that is prevalent in 4th edition D&D and allows for more creative use of skills as well as more descriptive use of terrain in combat.
The best part of the game was the randomness of the Alpha Mutation cards. In one scene a Giant Albatross grew a third arm. At a critical point in the combat Alba Portage pulled out his Handgun with the third arm and fired at a Porker and rolled a 1. So his arm fell off, and the gun fired harmlessly. It was hilarious and had all of us laughing for most of the night. We had a ridiculous numbers of 1s rolled and every time was a good laugh fest. The equipment charts also added a good bit of laughter to the game.
The Bad:
One thing I noticed right when opening the box is a ton of wasted space. This box is huge and there isn't much in there. The rulebook is digest sized and the maps are half the size of the usual WotC poster maps. The token pages could have easily fit double the amount of pogs as there are on the sheet or at least combined them all into one page. I get flashbacks to Star Trek The Voyage home and the 'save the whales' 80s and wonder what the heck happened when I see stuff like this.
Why the omissions from the core 4th edition rules? I understand wanting to simplify things to make for a faster game experience, heck I even appreciate it, but I have to wonder why some things were left out. No grappling, that's fine, but no charging? Even stranger was the total absence of a Skill Challenge system. The new open ended skill descriptions are perfect for a Skill Challenge system and I'm baffled by the lack of this. Right now the only way to get XP is through quest rewards and combat and that seems like a step backwards to me.
All seven of the players in my game had complaints about the Character sheets. The first one echoed by everyone was that there was no PDF sheet available yet. The game only comes with 4 and we had to do something to get copies for the game. The remainder of the complaints had to do with functionality. No where to note your powers was the main one but there were others. Thankfully fans are already busy making better more functional sheets.
The Ugly:
Editing. Always editing. Every WotC product I review I have to complain about editing. "See Page XX", yep it's in there. The biggest confusion though is the number of players. The box says 5, so I would assume a GM and 4 players. Inside the box are 4 character sheets. So still sounds good, then I get to the Module in the back and it's for 5 players plus a GM. What happened there? My other major beef is the huge gap in the monster section. Where are all the level 8, 9 and 10 monsters? Skipping them just seems like a cheap way to sell a future module (of which there are two planned).
My Thoughts on the Cards:
When I first heard about the collectible card aspect of the game I was very disappointed. I wasted a fortune on collectible things in my university days and generally avoid them at all costs. I almost skipped Gamma World due to them. Reading previews coming up to the release date, I started to change my mind and decided to give them a chance. I'm happy to say I'm glad I did. I actually like the collectible card aspect of this game. The game comes with more then enough cards to play without them. You really do not need them at all, but I love the idea of using them to customize the game. As a player you can set it up so that the mutations you get fit your character theme and concept. As a GM I'm looking forward to stacking an Omega Deck with all Area 52 tech to enhance the theme of an adventure. Some people have talked about unfair advantage for players who buy cards. I don't agree with this, due to the fact that this is a RPG, the players are working together, it's a group experience. Also it's not like these characters are balanced like the 4e classes, one rare mutation isn't going to make one character overshadow another. My only complaint with them is the cost. They do seem a bit overpriced for 8 cards. Also they aren't distributed evenly meaning you will probably need more then two packs to be able to make a legal player deck.
Overall:
I decided to run Gamma World the day after it was released. Thankfully the book is a hilarious read and I got through it in one night. I was a bit worried when 7 players showed up to play but the rules light version of the 4e core rules played much quicker then expected and the extra players weren't a problem. All 8 of us had a great time, the most fun being had rolling up bizarre Origins and when players rolled 1's and had their mutations change mid battle. Personally I was confused by some of the rules changes, especially the removal of Skill Challenges, and disappointed by the packaging and editing but none of this impacted the fun we had Saturday night.