Pyramid Pick: Systems Failure

Pyramid Pick

Systems Failure

Published by Palladium Books

Written by Bill Coffin

$12.95

Let me preface this review by saying that I don't really like most Palladium games. Rolling for attributes isn't my thing, and the rest of the system tends to be passable, yet clunky. And we'll just leave the actual settings and ideas right out of it.

Having said all that, the latest Palladium endeavor gets it right. Fascinated by a new, cheap ($12.95!), stand-alone RPG, I picked it up -- and was not at all disappointed. Both as its own game and as an example of the Palladium system, Systems Failure is a gem.

From a glance at the cover picture of an SMG-wielding man in a survivalist bunker fending off a giant bug, it's apparent that something post-apocalyptic is going on. Palladium has sort of jumped on the Y2K bandwagon here, with a twist. The basic setting is the future world of 2009, nearly a decade after the Y2K crash. It doesn't end there, though. The crash prompted an invasion by a massive army of insectoid energy junkies. Greedy and malicious, the giant bugs have taken over the planet, keeping humanity alive to provide the power they devour. Technology is no refuge, since the bugs can travel through power lines and control machines. People aren't always safe, either. Little critters called Silkworms crawl up noses and turn humans into walking bug zombies.

The themes in Systems Failure are pretty heavy for a Palladium game. Most humans didn't fight the bugs for years simply . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: August 27, 1999

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