3 out of 5 rating for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
I've always been a huge fan of Marvel comics, and that made me really want to like the Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game, but I simply could not due to what the game actually offers to the comic book fan/roleplaying game enthusiast. While the Cortex Plus system is interesting and innovative, it is not an easy system to pick up, and it makes comparing superheroes to supervillains, or to each other, not an easy task. The lack of a character generation system essentially forces players to adopt one of the heroes from the Marvel Universe, and only 23 of the thousands of heroes were offered, and some were frankly non-iconic compared to others that could have been included. And while there are some rules for Watchers to create their own Events, there are practically no resources whatsoever for villain stats and scene material, other than what can be cannibalized from the included Mini-Event: Breakout – which was also adapted from an existing Marvel comic series that many fans have probably read. So in essence, the Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game ends up being a couple hundred pages of rules and pre-made character sheets, just so a Watcher and his (or her) players can re-enact an adventure based upon a seven year old Marvel comic series of The New Avengers. Without considerable additional material, or further releases of Event products, Marvel Superhero Roleplaying Basic Game ends up being a pretty package, but a very limited one-shot adventure for a few super-heroes in a tiny corner of the Marvel Universe.