I looked forward to this game coming out and I haven't been disappointed. Miami in the 80's is such a rich setting for the modern action genre and the author has succeeded in getting the most out of it.
Miami in the 80's is akin to Chicago in the 20's, LA in the 50's and New York in the 70's it was the place to be, it's where things happened. You had the cocaine explosion, the Cuban crime wave, Columbian Drug Cartels, anti-Castro groups, Jamaican Posses smuggling arms, Haitian voodoo sects, and Mafia crews from all over the country operating in an open territory.
Against this diverse bunch of bad guys there are forces of law and order. Grizzled, hardboiled detectives that play by their own rules, gung ho S.W.A.T. boys who live for the buzz and clean cut, rookie cops keen to make difference. The author plugs you in to the time and place with the right references. The excess of Scarface, the flash cars, pastel rolled sleeved suits and swanky lifestyles of Miami Vice, and the textured playability of Grand Theft Auto Vice City with its bikini roller girls and sunsets. The pdf is nicely laid out and easy to read thanks to the separation of text and reasonably large font size. The editing is also excellent. The game uses Politically Incorrect Games's Genre Diversion i rule set, which is not included with the pdf. I bought the rule set afterward and it is a solid straightforward system and overall pretty good. PIG do a number of games for the system so it is not a bad investment around $4. Though an idea might be to offer the two as a product bundle. Vice Squad: Miami Nights offers a number of character options to play. There are several cop types ranging from beat cop to Internal Affairs Detective. There various criminal options and several in between options like bounty hunter, terrorist and vigilante. The author covers these in a succinct, energetic style giving you what you need to know to get playing. In addition to the character options there a number of interesting genre specific gimmicks and cliches for the players to choose that help emulate the genre and spice up play. For instance a maverick cop that bends the rules may have "Squeaky Clean" as a cliche, which makes doubly difficulty for Internal Affairs to build a case against the character. There are a large number of these and they really focus the players and GM's minds on recreating explosive, high action 80's tv drama. What I also like about Vice Squad: Miami Nights is that layers real, historic Miami with a fictional overcoat. Your playing in Miami with its actual neighbourhoods and waterways, history and culture, which is a nice change from some fictional, hellish creation where everything is over the top and the worst evaaar!!!!. Each neighbourhood, organization and hangout is given concise but informative coverage giving the players and GM a colorful and well stocked, stomping ground to play around in.
The author blends in real history like The Liberty City race riots and The Mariel Boatlift with made up gangs and prominent people so what you get is a solid context for the substantial offering of potential plot hooks and storylines that are presented as kick off options for you to jump right in on. These are diverse and help draw you into the setting. I could go on but suffice to say this is a very thorough job that got me really wanting to play a swaggering, stubble jawed cop with a likening for fast boats and busting heads.

<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: The vibe, the detail, the attention to genre conventions. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: nothing<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

The author nails the B movie genre of the 1950's squarely in a fun evocative style. Freely mixing and matching icons, tropes and fads its rock and roll meets attack of the fifty foot woman, its James Dean with three arms blazing nickel plated .45's featuring in Plan 9 From Outer Space, its voluptuous cavewomen named Lalula riding Harley's being pursued by giant radioactive ants. Its a pulp game of over the top B movie madness combined with a Rockabilly flair where the atom bomb and science are king. The world encapsulates everything, Femme Fatals, crazy scientists, mysterious swamp creatures, vampires, gumshoe PI's and sinister Nazi mooks ('45 supposes everyone nuked each other so the war isn't exactly over)
The rules are succinct and to the point and there are plenty of interesting character examples and plot hooks to get you started. Indeed the book is a perfect length giving you just what you need in a comprehensive well laid out format. Art is thematic and sexy and overall its a good looking book. <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: It explores with enthusiasm a largely untapped genre with some cool art and wonderful ideas. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: nothing<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

As an avid reader of mafia books I was pleased to find a well researched supplement that revealed the treacherous day to day workings of the mafia and the lifestyles of it's members. Good slang and flavor text too. Too many books just tell you the mob's history and not much else. The crime section was a little sparse however (what about pornography the Mob's second biggest racket next to narcotics)and the book could have done with some illustrations depicting crimes and violence instead of old black and white mugshots of bygone war time gangsters. Also at $6:45 for 36 pages of actual info it's a bit pricey.

<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>