Pyramid Review
Motocaust
Published by Ronin Arts
Written by Philip Reed
Illustrated by Christopher Shy
6.85 Meg 50-page full color PDF (5.25 Meg Zipped); $10
The post apocalypse genre has seen a small resurgence of late, headlined by the d20 System modern updating of the original classic Gamma World. The other d20 System title, Redline -- High Speed Road Duels In A Post-Apocalyptic Future, took a less thoughtful more mechanistic approach in bringing Mad Max-style vehicular combat to the genre, while Politically Incorrect Games' genreDiversion title, EarthAD: Post-Holocaust Adventures provided an overview of the genre. Like EarthAD, the latest entry to the genre has been released in PDF format, but shares more in common with Redline. Developed within the space of a month, Motocaust is written by PDF guru Phil Reed, and benefits greatly from the artwork of Christopher Shy.
Motocaust is set in the years following an asteroid striking Missouri. The face of the world has changed: America, England, and Japan were devastated. America has recovered, but the USA is no more. In its wake, China and Germany have risen as the world's super powers. America is governed on a state-by-state basis, some democracies, some dictatorships, and some communist collectives. Life is more simple, having regressed to that of the mid-twentieth century or earlier. But each town or settlement has fortified itself and taken on a cowboy attitude to security -- all in the face of a new threat that the asteroid left behind . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: October 22, 2004
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