Prior to this book's release, I'd been playing in a weekly Sidereals game and enjoying it greatly. When Exalted 2E came out, we embraced the new rules and looked forward to this book with great anticipation. We hoped it would match the quality of the revised core rules, and we were disappointed.

The setting material is good, but it assumes that you're familiar with the 1E book and omits material that players new to the Sidereal Exalted might find useful or necessary. The rules for Sidereal Charms are particularly bad, with many not integrating well with the core rules (particularly with social combat), missing keywords, having confusing or redundant keywords, and so on. We waited for White Wolf's promised errata, but after several months, we ended up rewriting the entire Charm set.

Every argument for and against this book has been made by now. Let me just repeat that my group of longtime Exalted players is still playing Sidereals and still playing by-the-book Exalted...just without this particular book. I would not recommend supporting White Wolf by buying material like this. I'm sure hard work went into this book, and it's a pity that so little of it seems to have made it in the published version.

This is the best system for the comic book superhero genre I have ever seen. Its effect-based system allows you to duplicate almost any power you can think of, and the mechanics capture familiar conventions of the genre like spontaneously pulling off incredible stunts with super powers or giving everything you've got in a pinch. It's clear that this game was thoughtfully designed by people who love comics, superheroes, and roleplaying.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: It's an excellent system, the book has great art, and having a copy in PDF is extremely handy.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: When I purchased my PDF, it wasn't current with the publisher's latest errata. Buyer beware.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

I considered running a game of Mutants & Masterminds with a completely home-brewed setting, but that was before I saw Freedom City. This book is packed with all kinds of story hooks and details that integrate the history of the setting with the history of comics publishing, tying the genre into the game in a satisfying way.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: There are TONS of heroes and villains to use, descriptions of government agencies and commercial enterprises, a detailed history and timeline, adventures, cool art, and extended information about the world outside the city limits. It's a total package.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The images in the PDF are of fairly low quality, which makes reading the maps kind of a pain. But I own the print version and the large map produced by Green Ronin, so it's not as big a deal to me.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

The Campaign Planner makes setting up your Mutants & Masterminds games a breeze. There are forms for keeping track of pretty much everything you need in here, including things you might not think of at first.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The forms are comprehensive, allowing you to get loads of your ideas for your game down on paper and keep them organized. I was very pleased that the package included a print version and a fillable-form version.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Nothing! Great resource!<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

A truly great character sheet does more than record a character's mechanical traits. It also guides players and GMs in fleshing out a character beyond the numbers and inspires new directions for a character's growth. This folio does all that, and it's a great resource for players and GMs alike.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Clean layouts, legible fonts, and a bunch of handy sheets for recording everything from vehicle designs to headquarters features to minion stats and more. Your players will love it.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This isn't really a personal complaint, but I'm sure some people would prefer a fillable form version.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>