It can be a lot to take in and the book can be all over the place, but the base game system is solid and fun to play. This edition also includes so much extra material for different settings and genres it makes it easy to play nearly anything right out of the box. You can't be that for the price.

A nice change of pace from D&D and OSR games. Easy but fun mechanics and everything you need is included. Would love to see expanded material, especially for magic, but what's included will keep you playing for a long time.

Great bestiary for an excellent game. Monster entries are well written and give ideas for how to use them in encounters.

I have been looking for an alternative to 5E D&D and this caught my eye immediately. I think its a very well thought out alternative that has some very interesting ideas but also has a few things that didn't quite grab me.

PROS The character creation system is excellent. The mixed heritages are a great idea and allow for countless options and variations. I really like how the system removes standard classes, giving a character's background a stronger emphasis and using steps to truely customize the direction they go on their adventuring career. I also how the steps expand out to give you more paths along the way but they go back to simpler choices after you gain an ability increase so you can chart a different path. I also am a fan of the heirloom items. I've often incorporated the idea that heroes should have signature pieces of gear that grow with them or help make them unique and the heirlooms do just that. I also appreciate that everything you need to play is in the book, including a full bestiary and some additional optional rules such as curses. There are some very detailed rules on crafting that I also liked, giving it the feel of something like video games where you must gather the proper materials before you can create something.

CONS One thing I was disappointed by was that combat is still the standard war of attrition that is typical of D&D and games like it. Aside from making players roll defense checks instead of monsters rolling attacks, its pretty much standard D&D combat and the monsters included are mostly straight out of the Monster Manual except for a few new creatures. With all the great innovations for character creation I would like to have seen some new options for combat. The Combat Order that is noted in the book's description sounded interesting but its just using different ability modifiers for initiative instead of Dex and seems like a wasted opportunity. There are also some rules that aren't really clarified well or don't seem finished. For example you use Health Dice (i.e. Hit Dice) to heal during a short rest, but I can't find where it explicitily clarifies that you need to track the health dice you gain so they can be spent on healing. There are also rules for playing through the curses of vampirism and lycanthropy and while they seem like an interesting idea, some of the entries in a system to add disadvantages to customize your curse list a variable cost with no explanation of the values. I'm also not fond of the term "drops" to describe hit points but that is a personal gripe.

Despite some of the quibbles above, overall this is an great product that is well-written, has great art, and the fantastic character creation system is worth a purchase on its own.

I have been looking for a good universal system for some time now, and I heard some buzz about EGS and thought I would give it a look. At first glance, it reminded me strongly of Savage Worlds, classic Cortex, and the combat and power system evoked Legend/Runequest to me. There was a nice mix of simplicity in character creation and general rules, but with enough tactics and crunch in combat and magic to appeal to gamers who want more depth. The Qualities of characters seem especially interesting, as they can simulate all sorts of advantages and disadvantages by using pretty basic mechanics. The core mechanic is add an attribute due type with a skill die type, roll, and attempt to beat the difficulty number (7 being the standard). One minor issue for me is that I feel eight attributes are far too many and some of them seem either unnecessary or redundant, but its not a deal breaker and is an easy fix if you feel the same. Hero points, which are the game's resource for important characters, are very important to the system and figure strongly into the previously mentioned Qualities of characters. Like classic Cortex, these points seem pretty vital to success especially when the difficulty of the task is high. Combat feels tactical but fluid and quick, and while it has many of the options of Legend/Runequest, it does not feel as complex. As written damage is fixed and it not modified by anything except Hero Points and called shots, but there is an option to roll it randomly. Armor is treated as extra health points, and when those are depleted further damage is taken directly from health. This is a decision I feel is a bit odd, and is justified in the rules as pieces of armor being loosened or knocked off. After combat armor points are restored, but it doesn't feel like even heavy armor is terribly useful except for absorbing a few more points of damage. There is an option in the book for treating it more like ablative damage resistance, and I prefer that to the standard rule. Special powers feel like a mix of Savage Worlds and Legend/Runequest, with a general system covering everything from sorcerers to superheroes but powers can be manipulated and tweaked on the fly depending on the situation. There is a good range of powers and options in the core rules, so there is a lot of potential for different character types for different genres. There is also a good section on running the games for GMs, and a solid list of adversaries. The basic book seems more focused on fantasy and modern games, but a science fiction supplement is forthcoming. Basic rules for designing various racial and cultural backgrounds are also in the GM section and there are good examples of stock fantasy and sci fi species. Aside from a few minor quibbles, the Entropic Gaming System seems like a good option if you are looking for a universal system with a simple mechanic but potential for depth and complexity. And even the quibbles I have with it are easy fixes if you feel the same, and at $5 it is well worth a look.

I am a big fan of superhero systems, and I was really looking forward to this game. My first impression was that it would be a quick and unique narrative experience, but after some playtesting I came away a bit disappointed. The rules are a bit clunky to read through but the actual gameplay is easy to understand and pick up. Just keep in mind this is a narrative style game meant for short term events, not long term campaigns with strong character growth and progression. Powers are just descriptive benchmarks and die codes, so don't expect extensive rules on how they work. At best it seems a short term beer and pretzel game. If you are looking for depth and crunch, look elsewhere.