The newest incarnation of Gamma World really delivers an excellent gaming experience! I would best describe this as a roleplaying/boardgame hybrid. Using a simplified version of the Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition ruleset, anyone with a passing familiarity with D&D could have a game using the premade adventure up and running with little preparation.

Character-making is a real gem in this game, and sets the tone for the experience. To make a character, you roll up two character archetypes and you have your own unique mutant. Archetypes include android, plant, hawkoid, rat swarm, pyrokinetic, among others, a total of 21 archetypes that may each combine with any other. Some don't make sense entirely, but the player is encouraged to figure out some wacky way to reconcile them. In all, you can have a character built in 5-15 minutes, which few roleplaying games can boast. Standard equipment is also basic, with the designers leaving description of weapons to players and just giving basic stats for 'light one-handed melee weapon' or 'heavy two-handed ranged weapon', for examples.

Beyond the powers granted by player archetypes, there are also Alpha Mutations and Omega Tech, which are distributed as cards. These really add a lot, but they also represent a little frustration (more on that later). At game start, each player is dealt a random mutation and a random tech. Due to the zany nature of the game, you'll only have the mutation for the duration of a single encounter, though it is worth noting that any time you roll a natural 1 (on a twenty-sided die) in an encounter, you will discard it and draw a new one. The mutations range from growing extra limbs or enormous feet to powerful psychic or radioactive attacks. The tech tends to be single-use items. I had a handheld spy computer, a 'lightsaber'-like weapon and an inflatable companion in my playthrough.

As I mentioned, there are several points of frustration with the cards. First, the Alpha and Omega decks have the same backs, though they should never be mixed (you only ever draw from one type, not a mixed deck). Second, there is no art on the cards. It seems a little cheap to not even have a generic line drawing on each, particularly due to the next, and most irritating, feature. Additional cards are available, but in randomly assorted boosters and with varying rarities. The boosters are available in eight card packs at $4 a pack. Compare to Magic: The Gathering boosters (also a Wizards of the Coast product): 15 card boosters, retail $3.50, unique art. It really feels like gouging. Of course, these are not necessary... but I don't feel that an RPG needs this collectible element.

Despite this, I really like this game. It is far lighter in tone than the d20 edition of Gamma World (based on 3rd edition D&D). Consider this game if you think you would like a light-hearted, fast-paced dungeon crawl-type game. Easy to jump into, easy to like. I fully expect to play this again and again, despite my mild irritations about the cards.

Let me start by saying that the game itself is pretty fun. As the other reviewer mentioned, it's DEFINITELY beer and pretzels gaming- I can't imagine it being able to support the weight of an extended campaign out of the box. The setting is downright flimsy, leaving the GM to fill in details. This seems inconvenient given that the game is likely to see most of its use as an on-the-fly distraction from another campaign at my table, or else be used for something to do when part of the group can't make it.

The rules are light, bordering on incomplete, but anybody with decent knowledge of 4th edition rules can fill in the holes. I'm personally not a huge fan of 4th edition, but I actually really enjoy this use of the ruleset.

My main beef is actually a combination of pricing and the intent behind it. The box is largely empty- the rulebook is 160 pages, stapled softcover. The character and monster tokens are thick and reminiscent of Fantasy Flight Games- they're decent quality, but still just tokens. Then you get 40 each of two types of cards, one for mutations and one for equipment. For $40 I would expect quite a bit more out of this box set.

I'm tempted to lower my rating by another star simply for the obvious money grab being done here by introducing a CCG element to the game. At $4 per pack, you get 8 random cards; none of the cards have unique art, it's just a bit of flavor text and the mechanics. WotC also sell Magic booster packs, which run $3.50 each for 15 cards which have some pretty stellar art on top of the mechanics and flavor text. I won't let that affect my rating, though, because out of the box the boosters are an optional add-on, not required.

This is most assuredly a beer and pretzel rpg. I am not a big fan of 4e but must say the engine really works well for Gamma world. The card thing is ok but the collectable aspect kind of stinks. The game itself plays well and the character creation although random may well be almost as entertaining as the game itself.