" So, you’ve got a half-orc fighter and you think he’s a bad ass, huh? Try him against my Get of Fenris Ahroun; let’s see how you do. "

      Title: Werewolf the Apocalypse: Second Edition Revised by White Wolf

      Format: : Role-Playing Core Rule Book

      Reviewing Monkey: Chimpan-A

      The Hype: The most famous horror games in history get their latest release. Designed to work along side such epically popular games as Vampire: The Masquerade and Hunter: The Reckoning, with 2nd edition we finally get the Werewolf rules revised and brought up to speed with the current World of Darkness standards. Learn their history, their present struggles, get reacquainted with the tribes, and learn all the latest rules. We also get some story updates from the old version. So, the new rules all they’re cracked up to be? Let’s see…

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Story and Drama: Werewolf the Apocalypse, like all of the White Wolf games are filled to the brim with story. This newest edition brings some story updates. If this is your first Werewolf book (and a good place to start at that), it’s a game about everybody’s favorite shape shifters, the Werewolves (Called the Garou). Mother nature (Gaia) needed some fighters and decided to create these furry ass kickers. Now Gaia’s warriors battle the forces of corruption and evil in a struggle for her life. For those who are looking to update their old books, the biggest change here is that a very cool tribe of werewolves, the Stargazers are no longer one of the tribes (think, like tribes of Native Americans) in the western world. They appear to have all gone off back to their homelands in Tibet and India, and withdrawn from the other tribes. Some can still be found here or there (read, the occasional Storyteller player), and in the Hengeyokai courts (Where all the Asian shape shifters are). Since werewolf takes place in the western world (hence a different game for the far east), there are no Stargazers for playing. We also find out some of the nifty things that have been happening in the world since 1993 (when the last edition was released). Cool story stuff abounds here, even if it does suck that the Stargazers are gone. 4.5 out of 5

      Layout and Presentation: The book is laid out in a very sensible fashion. Story information, Character generation, rules, and complications. Quite useful really. It’s relatively easy to find what you’re looking for in the book. The artwork is really great, combining a comic art with the gritty, sometimes grisly, artwork you’d expect in a book that’s about badass killing machines. I was disappointed at the lack of a comic to accompany the example of play, but I suppose that’s just fluff (but I like fluff…) Even the opening of the book, which does a great job of setting up the book, is decidedly less comic like than its predecessor. 4.5 out of 5

      Playability: The revamping in Second Edition, revised, has made some rules and complications a little easier to work with. For example, the multiple action rules. The old way had you taking your dice pool for the weakest skill and splitting it. The new rules let you use them all, simply at an easily calculated penalty (one die for the first action, two dice for the second, etc.). Most of the rule changes are updating in nature. The newer rule set is a good one, and plays well. There are still a few oddities. Renown (experience points) makes little more sense now than it ever has, but it’s getting better. The umbra is still a little odd, but I suppose they have supplements for that. White Wolf has always had a good system going, and this book doesn’t mess with that at all. For those unfamiliar with White Wolf’s system, the d10 is used as your only die, and character generation/upgrade is done by points (or dots), rather than by random dice. Werewolf tries its best to cut back on the die rolling, and as most World of Darkness games focuses on the role-play. It’s a great system for those looking for in depth play. And the rule updates make this playability a bit easier. 4 out of 5

      Desired Content: Well, as a core rulebook, this book performs admirably. Everything you need to create your own fur-covered beast of destruction is in this book. We’ve got your fetishes, gifts, and rituals. The only thing missing are the Merits and Flaws that you find in many supplement books. It would have been nice to have them collected here for our use. Not only does it have most everything a player could want, but also it’s got tips for Storytellers. Useful adventure hooks, and ideas on how to run a game. A great starting book. 4 out of 5

      The Verdict:

So, you’ve got a half-orc fighter and you think he’s a bad ass, huh? Try him against my Get of Fenris Ahroun; let’s see how you do. If you want to play a game about being a combat monster killing Wyrm beasties for fun and profit, get this book. It will tell you how to do it, and you’ll have a load of fun with it. The rule set has been simplified and updated from the second edition (one might even say it’s been… revised!), and works quite well. If you haven’t tried out Werewolf, come see how fun it can be, the new rule set is a great place to start.

      The Good: Mari Cabrah. Okay, so actually it’s the simplified rules and great White Wolf system, but she is pretty cool.

      The Bad: No more Stargazers, d’oh.

      The Overall Ugly: Great role-playing game, get it and enter the World of Darkness.

      What it's Worth: a steal at $30.00