A little gem of fast and furious skirmish Mission Critical is a condensed and sharpened version of Hostile Takeover, with only 3 units per side (Ronin, Razor and Specialist) fighting for the control of Tactical Assets on a battlefield of limited size (2x2). It is the perfect game for those times when you look for serious wargaming action but have only limited time and limited space. Dice mechanims are the usual ones in Patrick Todoroff's universe (3 actions, D6, D8, D10 - success on 4+). They are both simple and elegant, and allow for fast moving games. The three units are well differentiated and it rapidly appears that protecting the Specialist (who is best to interact with the Tactical Assets) rapidly becomes an objective in itself. Although probably designed with competitive play in mind, this set of rules is equally pleasing in a narrative style of play. Ease of play, elegant mechanisms, tactical depth... What else can we ask? Highly recommended to all the skirmish fans.

5150 SATW is a great game, offering a fantastic combination of various elements that are rarely combined to such a level of efficiency: flexibility, depth and coverage, quality of rules engine and ease of play. > Flexibility: The game can be played as a classic tabletop miniatures game (with one-off encounters or full campaign), or as a combination of tabletop and battle board play, or as a series of encounters resolved entirely on the battle boards. It can be played solo, or coop or player vs. player. You can even transform the game into a RPG-light experience with a lot of non-combat interaction between game characters. > Depth and coverage: Several "factions" are offered to the players, from humans to alien bugs, with everything in between (several different races with different attributes and play mechanisms are present in the game). > Quality of the rules engine: THW rules engine is an extremely efficient mechanism, with what is probably the best Reaction system on the market. Opposing forces keep reacting to each other's actions, depending on different factors. This is not an IGOUGO system, it is much more dynamic and much more engaging for all players involved (even in solo mode). > Ease of play: The originality of the Reaction system, which is quite different from the usual way of playing, may appear disconcerting at first. But the rules are realy easy once you get into them and the mechanism flows perfectly. If there are so many tables in the rulebook, it is because a myriad of possibilities are covered. In the end, mechanism wise, only two or three tables are used constantly and they are very esaily memorised. I highly recommend that game, which I consider as one of the most polished of THW products.