Garry's Mod RP - Review

For years, the software houses have not been able to revolutionize the RPG genre, since that distant 2001. RPGs have done nothing but following the same concepts and assets, making only minor changes to adapt to particular settings.

In Garry's mod we can certainly find servers where these limits have been far exceeded. Playing a RP makes any The Witcher, Vampire and Gothic obsolete. What we have in our hands is such a simple idea, that is a perfect compromise between CRPG and PnP RPGs.

A truly winning hybrid whose limitations are due to the poor skills of the modders who can not offer particular storylines or from the SourceEngine itself, which despite being brought to its maximum capacity, can not even maintain itself at 30 fps. The formula is as follows: A map set in the world of Half Life 2, where citizens (players) have a life mainly like The Sims. Work, home, friends, daily hobbies and various other activities. The Sims simulation-style element of a real life, makes the player dependent on his alter-ego and moreover this embraces the typical MMO element which consists of more or less large maps and with many people connected 24 hours on 24. The setting in question is dystopic. We are catapulted into a city where it reigns a rigid and authoritarian government that expresses itself through the Civil Protection (Local Police), which makes use of force brutality for any criminal violation, which can be a simple speaking loud or violate areas reserved for citizens of higher ranks. The division into more or less privileged classes of citizens, in fact, it creates a sense of distrust towards others because the slightest error can push a witness to spill all to the police just to receive better living conditions as reward. We do not take everything for fun because the Civil Protection and the "lecchè" are real and acid people by nature and you will end up immediately to take everything personal.

Miraculously mixed with the CRPG elements, which all of us already know, the quests are unlocked by REAL people like your employer, your friend or yourself (the NPCs are excluded because they do not generally exist); the factions that are also composed only of real people who determine the course of history. What frightens but at the same time it amazes, is that YOU, player, can really influence the surrounding world and not thanks to algorithmic systems, like single player games that are pre-determined by the developers but by ALL the choices you have made.

As for the PnP mechanics, these are as complex as the old D & D games, which makes the explanation in this review basically impossible. The gameplay is structured in such a way that in the end the experience will be purely role play and not action (if you join the Civil Protection instead it will be the opposite as the police officers and soldiers are brainwashed, turned into emotionless puppets , incapable of individualism). Every action of the player that requires the skills or the stats, need a roll of dice that can be easily used in the chat by typing "/ roll".

Dice are influenced by our character's stats and in terms of dialogue, "serious RP" does not have voice chat, but normal chat. This encourages the player to write not only the lines of dialogue but also the feelings of the character, the facial expressions and the actions he is doing. All this equals the old PnP RPGs.

EX. of dialogue in an RP server in Garry's mod.

- "Tom sees the officer approaching quickly towards him, panic takes hold of his face, as he tries to remember if he passed from the checkpoint with the ID -: Hello officer, what can I do for you?"

- "Civil Protection Officer: APPLY!" the radio receives a short transmission ".

- "Tom is nervous and shows hesitantly his ID, the sweat begins to wet his forehead."

- "Civil Protection Officer: notes immediately that the attitude of the citizen is a sign of awareness of the crime just committed - DETECTED INFRINGEMENT COD603 - ENTRY NOT AUTHORIZED! YOU CITIZEN, FOLLOW ME!"

Game si good!