REVIEWS
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Above the mud, dust and smoke of the modern battlefield roar the fast jets, inbound to their target, laden with free-fall munitions and precision-guided missiles… From the soldier’s perspective they seem distant, aloof and remote from the dangers and threats of the ugly ground war – but the fast jet pilot has his own war to fight - with its own dangers. At 8,000 feet there are no foxholes to hide inside, and every enemy gunner within five kilometres can see and hear you. And when your jet disintegrates around you, you’ll be parachuting into enemy-held territory, where, just a few minutes ago, you were dropping high explosives and cluster bombs on their troops and tanks. They’re not going to be pleased to see you, and there are no comrades behind you to drag you to safety.
A supplement for Modern War and Cepheus Engine. Airstrike simulates the air campaigns of modern conflicts and is designed to be used in conjunction with Zozer Games’ Modern War roleplaying game. Players are pilots and other combat aircrew flying dangerous combat missions, planning their own attacks and making decisions as the inevitable surprises and complications are thrown at them. 100 pages, PDF via DriveThruRPG Players and Gamemaster decide on a squadron and a conflict, and can then create their pilots. Options allow players to create ‘back-seaters’ if desired, these are the weapon system operators who operate the radars and drop the ordnance (particularly in the older combat jets). Helicopter pilots are also catered for.
Mission ideas, complications and explanations of the pilot’s routine are included as are brief descriptions of the air campaigns of the six fictional wars featured in Modern War. There are extensive air-to-air and air-to-ground combat rules and allowances made to enable the customisation of rules for play within historical air conflicts, such as Rolling Thunder or MiG Alley. Of course, a catalogue of 73 representative fast jet types as well as military helicopters from around the world is included. Finally, a set of guidelines is presented for converting aircraft and choppers that were not able to be featured within Airstrike, allowing the players to bring almost any aircraft type into the game. |
