In a blaze of 1980's glory comes Twilight 2000! You better watch out Warsaw Pact loving Soviets.
Twilight 2000 was never a game I owned, or even played, but is one I have always found interesting. The game is set in the murky world of the aftermath of World War 3, in which the characters are members of military units who find themselves stranded in Central Europe. They must then decide what lives to make for themselves, whether that be trying to make the long journey home, keep fighting the war, becoming a mercenary or simply surviving.
The game took as its inspiration the cold war paranoia that dominated the 1970-80 which dominated much of the media of the time. The game paid close attention to detail, with limited supplies meaning that every bullet, litre of fuel or ration pack was important. Why this doesn't necessarily sound fun, it certainly makes player choice really important, and this finds expression in the modern day post-Apocalyptic vibe found in games like the Fallout series or TV shows like The Walking Dead.
Part of the interest for me in this game is that it really feels like a historical artefact, unlike many roleplaying games who are set in a less specific place in time. Only being nine or so when the Soviet Union split up, the world described in this game is very different to the one I grew up with in the 1990s. Although efforts were made to revise the game during its lifetime, these never quite compared to the original.
Ironically, an updated version of Twilight 2000 set in the hypothetical now makes a lot more sense. The Middle East after a limited nuclear exchange between Israel and Iran is a viable setting for a game with a similar aesthetic. Throw in the Caucuses and the Central Asian Republics, and combine it with Predator Drones and IEDs, and you could have a pretty compelling narrative.
The cover above comes from the second edition of the rule book from 1990. It betrays its vintage with the gratuitous use of headbands and some fierce mullets. It also reminds me a lot of a military colouring book I had when I was a kid, and those Osprey military books.
The original Twilight 2000 has been reprinted and is available in PDF. I haven't picked it up yet, but it's a game I would really like to play or run at least once is some form, if only to scratch a long held itch.
Comment from grandexperiment (http://grandexperiment.livejournal.com/):
ReplyDeleteNice. I also have never played Twilight 2000 and, as a survival horror buff, always wanted to. The vibe was very cool but the mechanics were always an issue and later revisions did not deal with this for me
I looked at this cover often in game shops in my earlier years. What I think is best is that you could replace the weapons with instrments so very easily. It's totally an 80's band shot, just add some guitars, keyboard and drums!
ReplyDeleteIt really could be. You would need some keytars as well though.
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