Ambitious and fascinating survival game
The Boomtown is a fascinating attempt at a post-Apocalypse survival game that mixes in RPG elements but which is unfortunately let down by a few annoying niggles and which stand in the way of it being a classic. The background to the game is nicely detailed, and describes how the world ended after The Bomb was dropped, with the fateful moment itself being referred to as The Day Time Stopped. In the aftermath of the disaster, the world has been left an irradiated wasteland populated by mutants, with natural disasters and sickness rampant. The player is thrown into this world with one simple task: survive. You can either use a pre-built world or create your own by defining elements such as the environment type, number of enemies, characters etc, as well as choosing the type of game you want to play. This can be a simple survival scenario or you can add in more complex elements to create more tension, with things like weather conditions adding to the challenge. Survival means learning how to take care of yourself, by hunting, finding water supplies, engaging in combat with the mutants ad attempting to rebuild the world by constructing shelter and roads. The Boomtown is certainly ambitious and makes for a fascinating experience for those looking for something different. Presentation is minimal, which is understandable given its age, but the array of options on display here mean that there is a good amount of replay value to be had from trying out various scenarios and setting yourself or other players challenges like surviving for the longest period. The game is let down by the rather poor combat, but apart from this and a few other niggles, this is definitely worth checking out when you're in the mood for some post-Apocalyptic survival shenanigans, in the vein of Scavengers of the Mutant World or Fallout.
