This book is a mix bag of adventures, with some feeling a lot better than others, with some feeling a bit too linear and falling into what another person described as "Save someone from the swamp". Otherwise I find it very good overall and well presented, with very nice art and organization, which is always a bonus. Maps presented were also very well done and are valuable to the game in terms of locations.

I do think it is weird to have alligators and pythons in the swamp, it feels like that is mixed up with something that you'd find in the American South than so far up North. In fact, for an Investigator to stumble onto a croc like that in the Hockomock would be a statistical oddity, the same could be said of Pythons, but you could say its all the Lizardmens doing, but it still doesn't sit right. In fact, you could have easily made this into a Southern Campaign book, Southern scenarios being an utterly lacking enviroment and setting for CoC.

I've mixed feelings on this adventure. The art is great, and the price for 8 adventures is very good. On the other hand, almost all of the stories are linear, (almost rail-roady), and too many of them are variations on 'save someone who is in the swamp'.

Things I like: -- Background info on the Hockomock swamp in Massachusetts, (a real, 'haunted' swamp). -- Two new spells. (I don't know of any other place they were published). -- The Migo base felt nicely horrific, and more fleshed out than other such bases I've read in adventures. -- Some of the horrors were not standard Mythos fair out of the book.

My favorite two adventures are: "Deeper than skin" and "Canned Articles".

Things I disliked: -- Things that seem to make sense but don't. The sidereal year for Jupiter is the period between strange effects, but why? The story has nothing to do with Jupiter, the sidereal year is not when Jupiter is closest to Earth, it is not when Jupiter is between Earth and some distant star. It feels like a random clue that does not lead anywhere. -- Often the Sanity rewards for doing good are better than the sanity lost in the adventure. If you are confronted with the horrors of the Mythos, it should not sooth you and make you more sane. -- I wish that the swamp encounters were split into natural dangers and mythos dangers. I like to keep the Mythos as much in the background (and fairly rare) as possible. -- Some text is repeated several times. If you go to the Library for the 3rd time, telling us something new about it would be nice, rather than repeating the same text again and again.

Overall, not great, not horrible. Warm regards, Rick.

I converted the Devil's Swamp into GURPS 4th Edition Horror and we started with Canned Articles where a PC sacrificed his life at the Mi-go lab to save the other party members. Next was Where the Spirts Dwell, another good adventure, where one of the heroes was almost killed by Miqo'te. Both adventures are well written and tests the sanity of the players. There's ample detail for the city of Bridgewater as a base of operations and the Bridgewater Preservation Society is a good source for adventure hooks. It was also fascinating to learn about the history of the Hockomock swamp aka The Devil's Swamp and King Phillips' war, both of which I never heard of before.

This is the second Top Secret:New World Order module by New Comet Games. I participated in the Kickstarter for this and the previous module and am nothing but impressed with the quality of both. This module weighs in at around 120 pages. It contains full color art throughout and beautiful isometric-style cartography. As with their first TS:NWO release (Operation: Deep Freeze), the text layout and editing is first class. Stat blocks are clean and placed exactly where I want to see the information. The module's descriptive text (the text to be read or summarized to the agents) is boxed in blue, not only saving the admin time but also preventing them from revealing bits of information that only the Administrator is cleared for. Each encounter area leads off with one of the fantastic, full color maps and is followed up with detailed descriptions of the area. Each of these descriptions is presented with the player text and the admin notes but then continues to also include the skill checks required to find a hidden item, unlock a door, note a hidden detail, etc. These skill checks take the form of the actual attrib + tradecraft(s) + decision die along with the relevant specialities or other factors. These 'formulas' provided inline with each area allow the administrator to keep the action flowing. No need to pull out the rulebook and try to figure out the relevant die pool! There are numerous tables included as well, listing mission specific information like enemy encounter chances and more general information (defensive modifiers during combat) that keeps the admin's attention on the mission and away from the rulebook.

Operation: Arctic Blast takes the agents to three wildly different locations, each with a very different feel. This design choice really allows agents with different skills an opportunity to be in the spotlight at different points along the way. It will take a thinking team to realize when they are 'weapons free' and when the need to keep their heads down. From scuba diving to snowmobile riding (and some tropical jungle thrown in for good measure) there is something for every type of ICON agent within this mission. There is a lot of background information provided and you will want to read this from cover to cover to be able to flesh out a lot of the wonderful details included. NPC motivations and descriptions are provide to allow you to set the mood for the players. Each section of the operation provides 'exit strategies' for teams that don't succeed. This allows the team to continue on to the next chapter even if they did not complete all of the previous objectives. The action and intensity ramp up as the mission comes to a conclusion and even if the agents are successful, there are plot hooks provided for future encounters with newly-made enemies and rules for playing in cold climates.

After the Operation has been completed and the file is sealed in the archives, the admin will still return to it time and again to use the included appendicies.

New Gear! New Vehicles! New Weapons!

With several new items, over a dozen vehicles and more that 40 new weapons detailed! Looking for stats on a sniper rifle? How about a certain agent's PPK? They are in there listed with other handguns and long guns. And not only that, there are a dozen shotguns with stats for buckshot and birdshot for each.

This module is chock full of great things. The art, maps, and appendicies make great additions to a wide ranging, fun scenario that I think your agents will love.

Here is my review. Please subscribe to my channel if you enjoyed it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YQ21fxoPoU