This wins my award of worst gamebook I've ever read.
Story: Divided into three weak parts - the titular caverns, a journey sequence, then a survival seThis wins my award of worst gamebook I've ever read.
Story: Divided into three weak parts - the titular caverns, a journey sequence, then a survival sequence. For all the vaunted evil-ness of the snow witch and her minions, no one seems to mind you just strolling in and start taking things out room by room. You obviously don't expect character development in a gamebook, but the reason the author gave as to why you went after the titular snow witch is just plain ridiculous - nothing more because the author wants you to. Same thing with the motivation for part 2 - you just have to, never mind the logic of it. The motivation for part 3 is survival, so that's fine, except for how you're supposed to go about it - it makes absolutely no sense.
(view spoiler)[The titular caverns just happens to be primary setting of the first part. The titular snow witch? Just a checkpoint for the first part. For all evil-ness that's attributed to her and her minions, she's nothing more than just than just two encounters, the 2nd one being really tacked on. And speaking of tacky, I got the feeling that the editor or publisher rejected the gamebook initially because it was submitted with just part 1. So parts 2 and 3 were appended just to pad it out. The later parts were just as horrible. Why travel with two complete strangers to their hometowns instead of just back to what you were doing before? And the steps to cure yourself of the so-called Death Spell just borders on stupidity. No wonder only one other person in the world had survived it - and that person just happens to be living in a nearby cave where you need begin with the weird "healing" steps. (hide spoiler)]
Gamebook: Very "One True Path". There are many items that you must obtain to get past certain encounters - miss them and you die. And it's very easy to die. In fact, the chances of winning this gamebook honestly is very low. The game mechanics of needing to roll higher than your opponent just to damage them a little means you need several lucky streaks to get through the numerous fights thrown your way. The enemies are very tough, especially right at the start. This is the first gamebook I've died in the first fight I got into. You really must roll max skill, max stamina, and max luck to even have a reasonable chance of reaching the end....more
I'll give the book props for cheesiness ala Army of Darkness and budget zombie flicks. Aside from that, there's not much to recommend. It's supposed tI'll give the book props for cheesiness ala Army of Darkness and budget zombie flicks. Aside from that, there's not much to recommend. It's supposed to be a special edition gamebook, but there's nothing spectacular about it.
App-wise, it's similar in polish to other Tin Man Games, so there's no complaints there. The game system is different from all other Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and is in a way too simplistic and punishing. One - just one - unlucky roll can kill you or basically makes it impossible to finish the gamebook. It's so superfluous that it's almost pointless to play. Doing hardcore mode is basically just abusing the unlimited bookmarks the app allows you.
The story itself is ok - you've been kidnapped while being a mythology-obsessed student - and now needs to put an end to a dastardly plan to eradicate all humans. Even the premise is a bit silly - for example, you got kidnapped while touring the world (student? really?). The writing itself is pretty bland and ignores it's own inconsistencies - like zombies crawling all over the manor despite it not being ready to release them yet, or none of the still living inhabitants reacting to grenades and machine gun fire all over the manor. Or the fact that you had been starved for almost a week and still rather hale.
I know, the tone of this gamebook is such that it's not meant to be taken seriously. I just got the feeling that there's no attempt at storytelling, and just glossing things over to get to the zombies. It also only works if you enjoy the journey, which I didn't. This gamebook adhered absolutely to the One True Path approach. Deviate even slightly (right instead of left, for example) and you either die a horrible death, or miss out killing one zombie and lose, or miss out one item and lose. With each replay you get a little further in, following the exact same path you took previously.
One of the better stories of the series, despite a few oddities in the plot. It follows a soldier who was kidnapped and then sold as a slave, trying tOne of the better stories of the series, despite a few oddities in the plot. It follows a soldier who was kidnapped and then sold as a slave, trying to make his way back home.
The gamebook is divided into 3 major milestones, and the good thing is that there are actually multiple paths to complete the game. The only thing I have to complain about is that there are several combinations of choices early on that makes it impossible to complete the game - but you won't know it until you get to the last milestone. But other than that no complaints at all....more
Ok, so I didn't know about the author before I got this off the App store at a discounted price. Would've skipped it had I known. The premise sounded Ok, so I didn't know about the author before I got this off the App store at a discounted price. Would've skipped it had I known. The premise sounded interesting so I took the bait.
I'll start with the mechanics. The system is pretty simple and for the most part works. It's just that the challenges are pretty unevenly and poorly placed. It is fight-heavy towards the end so depending on how you started, it may be virtually impossible to finish since low fighting skills plus few opportunities to heal plus numerous heavy-hitting foes is guaranteed to make certain paths through the book unviable without the cheat mode. But it is pretty nice that there essentially three approaches (fighter, medic, engineer) you can start from and three different endings you could reach.
The prose itself is quite... something. It's mostly juvenile in a nerdy just-hit-puberty way, filled with crude sexual innuendos and trivialised violence. After dying a few times, you'll realise that the stupid choices are usually the better choice, although this is sometimes flipped and the absurd jokes are usually in the poorer choice. While I laughed at some of these jokes and tongue-in-cheek moments early on, they were far too frequent (something like every other sentence) for me to the point they just become predictable cringing and eye-rolling exercises. It doesn't help that the protagonist, i.e. the reader, is an idiotic dork.
At least the plot comes with a nice twist and and endings that I find satisfying. Too bad the journey to get there was not fun (and yes, I perservered for a couple of playthroughs just so to get a more complete view of the gamebook)....more
The final book of the Magnakai Lone Wolf series, stretching 12 gamebooks up to this point. And you'd better hope you did start from book 1, since not The final book of the Magnakai Lone Wolf series, stretching 12 gamebooks up to this point. And you'd better hope you did start from book 1, since not having that one key item from book 1 will make book 12 very difficult to complete due to the overpowered enemies. Unfortunately, having the one item will make most of the fights bearable will make the finale such an anti-climax that it's almost a joke. A poor choice of a series finale, considering the 12-book journey to get there.
Still, the writing is one of the best as Lone Wolf delves into the heart of the enemy. The prose and descriptions were top-notch. Despite the rant about finale scene, the story does comes to a nice closure and puts to rest a long and memorable adventure. I still look back at the first time I've read a Lone Wolf book with nostalgia. And every decade (gosh, I'm feeling old) or so, I seem to pull them out and start the 12 books over again (don't know why, but I seem to have less fondness for books 13 and onwards)....more
In book 9, Lone Wolf and Banedon will need to reach the city of Tahou before the invading darklord army arrives to attack the city. The first part of In book 9, Lone Wolf and Banedon will need to reach the city of Tahou before the invading darklord army arrives to attack the city. The first part of the story deals with reaching Tahou; the second part is a dungeon crawl through an ancient buried city to find the lorestone. As usual, with milestones in the middle, it tends to reduce the amount of paths available, since it divides the paragraph count in two portions.
There's also the existence of a really bad path in this book where you can lose every single special item and weapon you've accumulated so far (eight books worth). Not a good thing to put in.
As I recall, this book was deviously difficult. Too many instant death situations due to a mismatch of Kai disciplines....more
One of the better ones of the entire series. This is the turning point of the series from the Kai to the Magnakai - or in other words, you're levellinOne of the better ones of the entire series. This is the turning point of the series from the Kai to the Magnakai - or in other words, you're levelling up! The basic abilities from the first 5 books are now getting upgraded powers.
It's not just the mechanics are getting an upgrade, but also the lore. Lone Wolf is finally taking the battle to them as the hunt for the lorestones truly begins. You're thrust into civil unrest among the darklords, hence lots of flavour material, making for a really great read....more
I enjoyed each and every Lone Wolf book. Book 5 sends you off to Vassagonia as an emissary of peace, but of course, things can't be that simple and yoI enjoyed each and every Lone Wolf book. Book 5 sends you off to Vassagonia as an emissary of peace, but of course, things can't be that simple and you end up having to escape.
The "two adventures in one" tagline sounds great, but doesn't really work out well. The number of the paragraphs was increased by 50, but it's hard to offset the fact that there is a bottleneck in the middle, resulting in what feels like less paths that you could take to end the book.
Still, the plot is great, taking you to several new places and situations not done in previous books....more
Can't say I enjoyed reading it. Playing it, yes, but reading it? This gamebook is more game than book, as it doesn't have an ending. I guess some peopCan't say I enjoyed reading it. Playing it, yes, but reading it? This gamebook is more game than book, as it doesn't have an ending. I guess some people might like its open-ended nature, but I didn't. I found it repetitive and I found myself "cheating" some rolls, just so my character is not reset to an empty inventory and having to start over. Or just repeating something until I got the results that sent me off to a particular paragraph. I found myself playing this book as if I was playing an old school computer game - saving, loading, and trying again. And then I realise I'd rather play an actual game instead of "turning the paragraph" to book 2....more
I had mixed feelings regarding this lengthy gamebook. Generally-speaking, it's like a traditional gamebook done in Fabled Lands style, with an obviousI had mixed feelings regarding this lengthy gamebook. Generally-speaking, it's like a traditional gamebook done in Fabled Lands style, with an obvious influence of CRPGs. It features an epic-length story where you get to choose which quest to do first, no perma-deaths, lots of gear, secret items, and even combat achievements.
I enjoyed the story and the writing, but I really disliked how it integrated with the gamebook part of it. The main problem was pacing. Once the book enters act 2, there's actually a serious sense of urgency, yet the Fabled Lands structure basically means you are taking your own sweet time before going after the main quest (ala the majority of computer RPGs). It breaks immersion when you stray from the all-important time-sensitive quest to do lots of little side quests that mostly have nothing to do with the main quest - and you have to do these, just to get better "loot". But on the plus side, unlike Fabled Lands, DestinyQuest forces you to discard - you only have a limited number of slots, more akin to traditional gamebooks (and computer RPGs).
The other part about pacing was how each act ended (there are 3 acts - the last act is basically a cliffhanger for book 2). The way the acts end were badly done, from a storytelling point of view. The second-to-last quest is basically your climactic ending - the "boss" fight, so to speak. You finish that, and... you start the last quest of the act - it ended up really anti-climactic, a serious dampener to what was a "high". It's like a really long epilogue that just drags on for no reason when all you want to do is to reach the next milestone.
While the combat mechanics are easy enough, it gets really tedious once you get to the middle parts, to the point where I mostly couldn't be bothered anymore, especially since you just get to try again anyway. Way too much dice-rolling when you're facing multiple enemies, and multiple special abilities. And each time you get "loot", you'd likely have to look up and remind yourself what those abilities do (there's a lot of abilities). And just like computer games, these "item drops" can be rather silly (e.g.: body parts being used as "equipment"). It depends on what you're looking for when you read a gamebook I suppose.
On the side, it's actually rather interesting that the gamebook adopts the video-game style of letting you pick a character class/role/job/profession/path (whatever you're familiar with), and you even get variants depending on your choices. It's nice, and I do think they offer different fighting styles, but ultimately the fights are not balanced - there is one class type and one stat/attribute that's simply better than the other two. Also, too bad the narrative doesn't really distinguish between the classes.
For the book itself, unlike traditional gamebooks, there are zero illustrations (aside from the nicely-done coloured maps). Also, due to the book size, gamebook length, and large font, it's actually a bit unwieldy to play and read. But then again, despite the length, a lot of the paragraphs simply offer the illusion of choice. Many just branch off for one or two sections and then merge again - even when the choice is as significant as good intentions vs evil intentions (and that happened not just once!).
In summary, the writing was pretty solid - it's a good story with personality, to the point where I actually like the few recurring NPCs. There's enough "meat" and "flavour" in the plot plus the world-building that would have made a very nice high fantasy story - without it needing to be a gamebook at all. On the gamebook side, I didn't really enjoy it much. ...more
I suppose that this being the first gamebook in the series, it would have noticeable flaws. I bought it on the App Store at a discount on a whim, and I suppose that this being the first gamebook in the series, it would have noticeable flaws. I bought it on the App Store at a discount on a whim, and this being a book review site, I'll refrain from commenting on the application itself.
The overall plot itself was pretty shallow. The entire premise could've been substituted with different keywords and you wouldn't have noticed much difference: The (generic villain guarding treasure) of (any dungeon that can hold treasure). I would actually substitute the "villain" with something far less intelligent, considering the fact that this warlock just waits for people to come in to try and steal his treasure.
This gamebook uses the "one true path" approach. I don't have anything against this approach as long as it's reasonable. But I dislike this book for the manner at which you will fail - you won't know that you missed something until the end, and then you just fail.
While the writing and the flow is fine for the most part, there is a maze section in the journey that's nothing short of frustrating. It forces you to draw out a map using the giving passageway descriptions and directional references (so you get dozens of short paragraphs that adds nothing to the story). They acted more like filler. The second time you read through, you'd just flip straight to the maze exit. Most of the encounters acceptable except for a few that were strangely out of place and illogical considering the "dangerous dungeon" setting.
Sure, this gamebook was targeted at much younger readers, but there are much better designed gamebooks out there targeted at the same age group. ...more
I leaned towards the story side with the four stars. I don't want to say too much about the science fiction themes used in the gamebook because I thinI leaned towards the story side with the four stars. I don't want to say too much about the science fiction themes used in the gamebook because I think not knowing about it on the first playthrough is what makes it nice. Suffice to say, I really liked how the plotline ties into gamebook gameplay, which ties into the gamebook's name, which ties back to the plot. Gamebook aside, it's a nice casual read. The humorous tone and style of the writing reminds of the Trial of of the Clone gamebok (same developer/publisher) but much less exaggerated.
Gamebook-wise, it's very linear. The plot is divided into several parts, so there's really only so much the branches can take you. Many of them are superfiical, serving primarily to tie in to the overarching idea of what this gamebook represents. It's one of those gamebooks that's nicer to read through than to play through....more
The third of this series of game books I've read (previous two were 5th and 6th), and it's the best so far. There's lots of varied paths to get to theThe third of this series of game books I've read (previous two were 5th and 6th), and it's the best so far. There's lots of varied paths to get to the end, and they're not too forced. One problem with the best ending is the reliance on the reader having collected several items - these items are really quite easy to miss on most read-throughs - you have to follow a very specific route to gather them. Other than that, the writing is really well done, and the spider theme well implemented. It's both a good story and a fun game book....more
Gamebooks have to be considered on three levels, as a game, as a book, and as a gamebook. I only liked them separately, not how they came together. TwGamebooks have to be considered on three levels, as a game, as a book, and as a gamebook. I only liked them separately, not how they came together. Two stars is for the story. If I evaluate it as a gamebook, I'd give just one.
The plot was all right, featuring a somewhat typical hunt for a lost item in an abandoned locale. The writing is fairly well done, and there are no problems with continuity. The little twist at the end with what happened to the high and mighty of the lost city proved to be something I didnt expect. So the story alone was fine, although I thought the protagonist was poorly introduced and doesn't quite match the personality needed to complete the quest.
As a game, the mechanics are the same as the other Tin Man gamebooks, so no complaints there. The pacing was all right, with fights and random rolls, and ways to avoid fights spread out evenly.
What I didn't like was the gamebook being too highly item-dependent; match the wrong item to the wrong path and you'll lose. So the majority of the restarts was spent figuring out which item goes to which path. And speaking of paths, it's actually pretty linear, but obviously not balanced well. The first path I went through got me into a lot of fights and half a dozen unavoidable "you lose x vitality" situations because I didn't buy the right set of items. Another path ended up with me having two reset-to-full-health, and having almost half a dozen healing potions.
The end result was I couldn't really enjoy the book until I unlocked the cheat mode. Couple this dependency on items and the need to buy everything right from the start means that if you bought the wrong weapon or armour, well, tough luck. The game expects you to be fairly well-armed and well-armoured....more
The story itself reflects a nice dungeon crawl, going through the "catacombs" to reach the titular Undercity. The encounters themselves are all quite The story itself reflects a nice dungeon crawl, going through the "catacombs" to reach the titular Undercity. The encounters themselves are all quite varied and very interesting. The only thing I'd complain about is that there are quite a lot of grammatical errors.
As a gamebook, it leans towards the difficult side - there are a lot fights and a lot of random rolls, many of which lead to a bad end, or at least gets you there really quickly, since it's almost always followed by a fight.
As an application, on the whole, very polished; although I did find two or three minor paragraph-related bugs. The achievements are great, although the remianing ones that I didn't manage to unlock are too tedious to obtain (e.g. Find all ways to lose...).
Overall, it's a fun if somewhat difficult gamebook with an interesting enough plot to keep you playing....more
As a story, I like it. The twist of who you are and how it's basically divided into 3 portions is a great division and a fun read. The way the book enAs a story, I like it. The twist of who you are and how it's basically divided into 3 portions is a great division and a fun read. The way the book ends is kind of cheesy and feels like a B-grade movie, but in a good way.
As a game book, this one is of the sort where there's a one-true-path to victory. The point at which you can make a wrong choice comes very early in the book. Once you've made that wrong choice, it's impossible to progress to the third portion of the book. And the third portion of the book fully embraces the one-true-path approach....more
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it could've been much better.
The main thing I didnt like about it was the motivation. You have a miner I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it could've been much better.
The main thing I didnt like about it was the motivation. You have a miner returning home to find that the outskirts of his home city has been taken over by invaders. the protagonist just makes a series of decisions from that point on that's very unrealistic. The back story was really just a sorry excuse to get you onto the island fortress where the Lord of the city resides. How the invasion even managed to happen and how things became a complete rout of the human army were completely ignored - it's just so. Another bad is the editing - there were a lot of grammatical and descriptive mistakes.
But on the plus side, there are a lot paths through the gamebook. Sure, a lot of them are just illusions of choice, but on the first play through, it was nice. There are two paths to complete the game, although one of them relies much more significantly on luck, given the tougher battles you'll face. Still, I sort of liked the romp through the fortress....more
I read the later ones in the series first, so I came in knowing to expect less, being the first effort and all. My expectation was accurate.
The overalI read the later ones in the series first, so I came in knowing to expect less, being the first effort and all. My expectation was accurate.
The overall story itself wasn't bad, just nothing spectacular, and a little bumpy. There's a nice twist towards the end, but I was sort of expecting it. I found both the protagonist's motivations and the villain's scheme to be very weak. I can think of much better ways for the villain to achieve success, and with much less variables and risks. Together with a very generic protagonist, there's little in the way of empathising with them.
App-wise, being the very first one was fine. In fact, it's better in one way - the casual mode allows you to roam where you will right off the bat. The later versions lock it behind a "cheat mode" that you must first unlock. Depends on what you're looking for in a gamebook I suppose, but I didn't really see the point of preventing me from just freely exploring the gamebook right from the start....more
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