There are very few gaming themes that make my blood rush as much as controlling a giant monster or robot. So, when I heard that River Horse Games was producing a Pacific Rim game, I had to take notice. The game is currently in the middle of its Kickstarter campaign. I don’t know if this feature will stick on our website, but if enough people like it, who knows? I’m going to highlight some of the great things about this game, discuss some of the mechanics, stretch goals, etc. If you guys like the direction of this, we’ll make sure this becomes a regular focus for our content. So be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below.
Feel free to check out the Kickstarter campaign for yourself HERE. All of the information and pictures I’m going to give you can be found on the Kickstarter page. I’m just going to condense it and give you what I like or think is important. This is in no way an all-encompassing preview for the game.
So, Pacific Rim: Extinction launched on Kickstarter on March 12, and was successfully funded in just 2 hours. The game is “2 or more” players, which I’ll address later. It’s a tactical miniature combat game, where you move your miniatures, based on Jaegers and Kaiju from the upcoming Pacific Rim: Uprising movie, around the battle area trying to complete objectives and engaging in combat with your opponent.
There’s two ways to play the game: Quick Play or Constructed Battle. Basically, Quick Play gives you preset guides for younger or newer players. Once you understand the ways to fully customize your Jaegers or Kaiju, Constructed Battle lets you do so.
The “2 or more” player feature is kind of cool. Each game requires at least 2 players. 1 player on the side of the Jaegers, and 1 player on the side of the Kaiju. Each player can control multiple characters, OR multiple players can be on the same team, each controlling their own character. The game is even designed so that unbalanced teams are an option. There are in-game ways to balance the power levels regardless of how teams end up shaking out.
Both the Jaegers and Kaiju have corresponding boards that their players use to keep track of their modifications. The Jaegers’ boards are called Conn-Pods and Kaiju board are referred to as the Kaiju’s Signature. The Jaegers get Upgrades which can modify their weapons or other capabilities, while Kaiju apply Mutations to alter themselves as the battle progresses. One thing I really love about customizing the Jaegers, is that you choose two drift-compatible pilots, or Rangers as the game refers to them, that give unique benefits. That’s a fun nod to the movies, that different pilots will use the same Jaeger differently.
I’m not going to get in to what stats all the numbers represent. This is an overview.
Now, each character has Action Cards. These represent just about any action a character could take from attacks, to defense, to special skills. What’s unique is that these Action Cards are also how you determine how your character is damaged. When you take damage, your opponent takes one of your Action Cards at random and applies the Damage effect to your character. The card is then discarded, removed from the game. “In this way, dealing damage to an enemy not only brings them closer to destruction but can also render weapons or abilities useless.” I really love this method of damaging your opponents!
The one thing I wish I knew a little more about was the characters’ movement. I know you use the “Hex Gauge”. When moving, you move your character “up to its speed value forward…”. I don’t know exactly what that means. Is that its speed value in inches? In character bases? I just don’t know. But I’ll be honest, I don’t think it’s a deal breaker. The important thing here is that there aren’t any grids or spaces on the map itself that determine movement. You use the Hex Gauge to move freely about the map.
I don’t know all the details about combat, and what die rolls need to be achieved. However, In one of the videos on the Kickstarter page, they did talk about a “never say die” type mechanic. Each of the Combat Dice has a single critical strike face. If you roll one of these faces, you add it to your total number of successful strikes, and then reroll that die. So, in essence, as long as you keep rolling the critical strike face, you can fight your way back from the brink of defeat. I really enjoy that feature, and love that the window is always there for the dramatic comeback, no matter the odds.
Let’s talk about the components for a moment. Wow. These sculpts look beautiful. They are 3 inches tall, which is pretty massive as far as miniatures go. They ARE pre-painted. I just hope the quality of paint job is up to par. With a game of this scope and scale and cost (more on that in a minute) most players would prefer unpainted miniatures to poorly pre-painted miniatures. That said, I have no reason to believe that they won’t be high quality. The map, buildings, tiles… everything looks good from the Kickstarter page. It’s hard to gauge the quality of components like that from just looking at the picture of game contents.
I want to say first, that cost is totally objective. What’s a good deal for one player, might not be for another.
- The Core Set, which include 1 Jaeger and 1 Kaiju is $49.
- The Starter Bundle, which includes the Core Set, and 2 expansions gives you 2 Jaegers and 2 Kaiju is $90.
- Every other expansion is an optional add-on that will be available after the campaign is over. Stretch goals will either upgrade components in a previous tier or unlock another add-on Expansion. Those Expansions are $27 apiece. There are currently 3 planned expansions (2 of them already unlocked). Shipping will vary depending on what all you back. As of this writing, the “all-in” price is roughly $171 before shipping is calculated. As the campaign continues, and more Expansions are added, that all-in price will rise.
When I first heard that there was going to be a Pacific Rim miniatures game, I was definitely skeptical. I was worried the game would try to sell itself on the IP alone, and would offer no compelling gameplay. That doesn’t seem to be the case here. I love the similarities between Jaegers and Kaiju as far as gameplay goes. They both can be modified with new abilities as the game goes on. They both have Action Cards that function the same way. But they are unique in that the Jaegers are further customizable with the various Rangers to pilot them.
Am I backing this?
Time to put my money where my mouth is. No, I am not currently backing this Kickstarter. I like the game, and would love to back it. The cost is an issue. While the components of the game may justify the price tag, there is only so much room in my budget for games. Truth be told, that gaming budget is severely hindered while saving for our family vacation this summer. I will definitely be watching this campaign, and I may decide to back at the Core Set level. There are already multiple stretch goals unlocked which enhance the contents of the Core Set: more cards, more terrain tiles, more 3D buildings, etc. That makes it appealing. I’ll be sure to come back and leave a comment after the Kickstarter ends to give my thoughts on why I did or did not decide to ultimately back this game.
So, what about you? Are you backing this game, waiting for more reviews to come out before deciding, waiting until it’s available for retail, or skipping it all together? Let us know in the comments below. And if you have any questions, check out the Pacific Rim: Extinction Kickstarter page, or head over to the River Horse website or Facebook page for more information.
And it goes without saying, but get hyped for Pacific Rim: Uprising!!!