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As for my vote: it depends. I dare not challenge the depths that are F.A.T.A.L., based solely on the few horrors spoken on here, though I have not, & from what I can gather, will not read it. However, as for games that I have read/played, I don't have problems with their concepts, but definitely their execution:
*Amber Diceless: I played this thing once. IMHO, it is not for 95% to 99% of the gaming masses out there, whether fans of Amber or not. It is something which, IMHO, works great onyl in theory---the level of unbias required on the part of the GM (since I can't recall the official term) just really isn't out there. It takes a good, strong group who have no doubts about their GM or his judgment.
*GURPS: Once again, great concept, yet lacking in execution. IMHO, it is not pick up & play friendly. It has a lot of resources which are spread out amongst various books. Characters for the game don't seem to be easily portable from one campaign to the next---quite a few disadvantages seem to be hardwired to the setting, or can be mere elements of roleplay rather than reasons to gain a few extra points.
*Palladium: It doesn't matter which Palladium setting---it all stinks, especially since they now use the Rifts system. Combat is abyssmally long; any sense of balance is thrown to the wind, penalizing players who want to work with a concept they enjoy instead of taking the most benefit-laden combo they can. It seems to have started as the creator's answer to everything that D&D didn't offer, & festered into the system it is today.
*Marvel (dice) RPG: Utterly failed to capture the four-color feeling that the SAGA version provides. Luck of the dice worked against the setting instead of helping it.
*TORG, then Masterbook System: Love the concepts, but (thanks to 3rd Ed.) have sheid away from the "roll a die & see what the result equals on a chart" style of resolution. Absolutely hate the damage resolution system, as well as the magic system. I think it tries too hard to cover all the bases.
*d6 System: Just get tired of the ton of d6. Can get to ridiculous lengths against powerful opponents.
*Battlelords of the 23rd Century: Good god, how I hated combat in that game. The degree of chart rolls for character creation were ridiculous.
There are quite a few more games I'd vote, but I'm having trouble recalling details in my old age at this time. Always enjoyed D&D, even more so with each edition that's been released, though I still have a soft spot for "Basic"---3E reminds me of it sometimes. Marvel SAGA's proved very easy to use, & IMHO, works great for the superhero genre over dice-based systems (especially Marvel dice-based & Heroes Unlimited).
Then again, one person's treasure is another person's trash. Certain games are great for me because they meet many (if not all) the requirements I ask of it. Other games aren't because they don't meet those demands, or just fail all together.
Well, that's my 2 cents.
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