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Post by petch on Jan 12, 2022 23:08:23 GMT
Robin Waterfield's works up for your consideration next. With his books all finishing quite close together in the rankings thread (well, three of them anyway), this has the potential to be a tight contest.
Poll closes at 10pm Saturday 15th.
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 12, 2022 23:22:57 GMT
I had to go with Phantoms of Fear. The gameplay was rather flawed but I liked the idea of jumping between the real world and dream land.
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Post by The Count on Jan 13, 2022 0:39:22 GMT
This is easily the sublime Phantoms of Fear. There is no competition. Phantoms is a masterpiece of writing in terms of story and game.
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Post by vastariner on Jan 13, 2022 10:12:12 GMT
I like Phantoms of Fear, but went for Rebel Planet, because it is so well-written; the bit about students arguing is deeply authentic, and it is the best of the sci-fi adventures.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,472
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 13, 2022 10:45:55 GMT
Phantoms for me. It has some definite gameplay flaws - randomised provisions, dream combat, the Trial of Ghosts - but nothing too severe and it has a lot of nice ideas too - warping between dreams and reality, two routes to victory etc. But what really makes it stand out are the excellent writing and illustrations.
Rebel Planet has a great first half with lots of character and options, but a dull and unforgiving second half. Pity.
Masks has a few decent moments but it mostly feels underwritten and lazy. The plot is good but Waterfield is trying too hard to hide spoilers rather than to write the thing with any drama to it. Throw in a ridiculous dice roll and an abundance of instant deaths and we're left with a bit of a stinker.
Deathmoor is his best designed book with mostly fair gameplay and nice design features. The early stages have a bit of life and character to them. Unfortunately the plot is pretty pedestrian and the writing gets increasingly bland as the book goes on to the point of not having any sort of climax.
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Post by petch on Jan 13, 2022 15:03:54 GMT
For me, Waterfield's books vary in quality more than any other contributor. I can categorise them quite neatly in my head into one I love (Phantoms), one I like (Rebel Planet), one I think is just okay (Masks), and one I'm not really keen on (Deathmoor).
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Post by CharlesX on Jan 13, 2022 15:18:19 GMT
Masks has a few decent moments but it mostly feels underwritten and lazy. The plot is good but Waterfield is trying too hard to hide spoilers rather than to write the thing with any drama to it. Throw in a ridiculous dice roll and an abundance of instant deaths and we're left with a bit of a stinker. Technically Masks has two ridiculous dice rolls, because if it were any other gamebook series a 1 in 3 chance of dying would be considered seriously unfair. I say the same about House Of Hell, naturally. |
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Post by nathanh on Jan 13, 2022 22:06:58 GMT
I enjoyed solving Masks of Mayhem but didn't enjoy playing it at all, and it's only so-so to just read for fun. Rebel Planet is a better game and no worse in other respects, so it comes out on top. Phantoms sounds intriguing, but I don't have it, while Deathmoor I only played when I was young, but remember not being a fan.
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 13, 2022 23:33:32 GMT
Masks has a few decent moments but it mostly feels underwritten and lazy. The plot is good but Waterfield is trying too hard to hide spoilers rather than to write the thing with any drama to it. Throw in a ridiculous dice roll and an abundance of instant deaths and we're left with a bit of a stinker. Technically Masks has two ridiculous dice rolls, because if it were any other gamebook series a 1 in 3 chance of dying would be considered seriously unfair. I say the same about House Of Hell, naturally. I really got my money's worth on the rerolls when playing through Masks for my thread! |
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,472
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 14, 2022 11:47:09 GMT
This is a close one! What happens in the event of a tie?
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Post by petch on Jan 14, 2022 14:19:18 GMT
This is a close one! What happens in the event of a tie? It is, I've been keeping my eye on it - a good battle this one! Phantoms was way ahead at one point but Rebel Planet is mounting an impressive comeback. In the event of a tie, both books would go through to the final vote-off. |
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Post by petch on Jan 15, 2022 22:48:56 GMT
I mentioned in the opening post that this could be tight, but I didn't anticipate it being this close! Rebel Planet stormed back from several votes down to tie things up, only for one final vote submitted near the deadline to clinch it for Phantoms of Fear. A great contest ends with Phantoms going through to the final.
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