An optional book. It's full of various alternate rules, most notably for character creation; new races, new qualities, karma gen and priority character creation. I think a few of the qualities might have ended up in the Anniversary edition.

I happen to like the more detailed Lifestyle rules, they appeal to the obsessive interior decorator in me.

It's been my experience that GMs tend to not use a lot of this book.

Overall, it's not bad, but it's not great, and it's probably better to get one of the other supplements.

A good update of the previous editions. Some of the alternate character concepts seem a bit munchkin at first glance, but the high BP cost of the more exotic ones balances them fairly well. The Group Contact rules are an especially good addition, hearkening back to the Tribe rules of 1st and 2nd edition, but expanding the concept to cover everything from NAN tribes to gogangs to megacorporations. Want your runner to be secretly backed by SaederKrupp Prime? It'll cost you, but you'll end up beholden to ol' Golden Scales himself (just don't mess up, for your boss views you as crunchy and good with ketchup.) Enemies are another good addition, and are compatible with the Group Contact rules. Now you too can be on Aztechnology's 10 Most Wanted list! Rounded out with tips, tricks, and plenty of additional positive and negative qualities, this book is well worth the price. My only real complaint is the interior artwork. While the cover art is up to the standards of previous editions, the interior art continues to (mostly) disappoint. Where's Scott Prescott, folks? Or any of the other highly skilled artists from before the Crash 2.0? Still, at least the good folks at Catalyst seem to be getting better in this regard, so it's far from a deal-breaker.

This book was well put together and adds some more depth to a game I love