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Post by CharlesX on Oct 30, 2023 13:58:27 GMT
These are in no particular order some FF which left me feeling 'OK', which is very, very common in gamebooks such as Montgomery's CYOA. Many were transparently written to a deadline and\or for money, they may have some good, appealing concepts, but perhaps the execution isn't brilliant, or perhaps they didn't have a story to tell in the way higher-rated ones do (are they beloved, overrated, or just pretentious?).
Return To Firetop Mountain - I sometimes like gamebooks featuring old foes, if they have enough new material and are well-executed. I wanted to like Port Of Peril on that basis and was disappointed. Return To Firetop Mountain has a very linear path, too many heavy do-or-die attempts, and many Livingstoneisms, without some of saving graces sudh as magic or original monsters, not to mention a high difficulty level. So why is it here being average instead of below-average? Nostalgia, puzzles, good illustrations. It isn't overlong.
Scorpion Swamp - As Per Jorner says, this reads too much like a video game rather than a gamebook. The difficulty level is off, the cursed golden magnet is inconsistent, it's probably too short but it 'wouldn't work even more' if it were longer. Descriptions are unmemorable and artwork is nothing special. But I enjoyed it when I was young, more so actually than Legend Of Zagor which for me was ruined by a combination of quite a few errors and the poor magic and character system. I believe it was aimed at a young audience and as such entertains with some passages, options and encounters - the darkness and flavour sometimes reminds me of Steve Jackson UK.
Trolltooth Wars - I haven't read Trolltooth Wars for a long time, but I remember enjoying a slightly generic fantasy adventure with good illustrations despite characterisation, plot and story that were pedestrian rather than phenomenal.
Rebel Planet - I definitely don't enjoy this sci-fi FF as much as some. Rebel Planet shares the bland feel of other sci-fi FF in spite of a rich world and some very original events and encounters. I think it's well-designed, but as Champskees mentions in the solution thread drags in the second half, and even the first half doesn't have enough drama and variety for me.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,472
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Oct 30, 2023 14:31:49 GMT
I always think of Battleblade Warrior as the most 'OK' book in the series. It has its flaws but nothing too bad. It has its strengths but nothing that makes it stand out. I enjoy it whenever I play it, but always feel I'm forgetting it as I'm playing it.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 30, 2023 18:58:06 GMT
I always think of Battleblade Warrior as the most 'OK' book in the series. It has its flaws but nothing too bad. It has its strengths but nothing that makes it stand out. It has its decisions, but not that many opportunities to move away from the rails... |
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Post by vastariner on Oct 30, 2023 20:05:39 GMT
Master of Chaos. In the first frenzy I literally could not remember any part of it even though I must have played it when it came out. So it must have been the most by-numbers book going.
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Post by CharlesX on Nov 2, 2023 14:13:43 GMT
Master of Chaos. In the first frenzy I literally could not remember any part of it even though I must have played it when it came out. So it must have been the most by-numbers book going. Might not be the most popular opinion as Keith Martin's Master Of Chaos is regarded as one of his better books for the city part and ending, but it may come across as average and underwhelming for those who aren't his biggest fans. Having to guess the 'metal torch' with no clue is also unfair, I don't think the true path is to accept the advice in exchange for a penalty, so I don't know what the author was thinking.
I thought Curse Of The Mummy was rather by-the-numbers, because it reads with a lot of tests and combats but without Jon Green's normal flair for description and colour.
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Post by vastariner on Nov 2, 2023 15:03:28 GMT
I don't think it was underwhelming, I quite enjoyed it when picking it up afresh. It's more that there was nothing about it that stood out, other than the stamina-sucking opening. You pop around looking for stuff, then head off, then end in a dungeon crawl.
So, basically, like City of Thieves, or Temple of Terror, or Seas of Blood, or Midnight Rogue, or Battleblade Warrior, or Fangs of Fury. If you're going to follow such a well-trod path you need some sort of standout point. MoC had less of a standout than any of the aforementioned.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 2, 2023 16:37:01 GMT
Maybe it needed something like a quirky sidekick, or an antagonist who wasn't just a bog-standard villain.
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Post by CharlesX on Nov 3, 2023 18:05:28 GMT
Maybe it needed something like a quirky sidekick, or an antagonist who wasn't just a bog-standard villain. What was Jesper if not a quirky sidekick?
Perhaps with time his quirkiness level could improve?
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Post by a moderator on Nov 4, 2023 0:17:37 GMT
Maybe it needed something like a quirky sidekick, or an antagonist who wasn't just a bog-standard villain. What was Jesper if not a quirky sidekick? And some might suggest that Naas, the Dark Elf whose sense of honour sometimes prompts him to assist you in spite of his being in opposition to you, could be more than just a bog-standard villain. It's almost as if I'd been implying that the book had certain distinctive features that vastariner might have missed. |
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Post by vastariner on Nov 4, 2023 12:53:34 GMT
I didn't "miss" them, it's that, again, they're not really novel. By this time we'd had a bloody cat as a sidekick.
In terms of Beatles tracks, you've got the Norwegian Woods like Deathtrap Dungeon, the Revolution 9s like Magehunter, the Yellow Submarines like Sky Lord. The classics, the experimental, the Marmite.
Master of Chaos was a Words Of Love. It's just there.
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Post by CharlesX on Nov 5, 2023 13:22:54 GMT
I didn't "miss" them, it's that, again, they're not really novel. By this time we'd had a bloody cat as a sidekick.
In terms of Beatles tracks, you've got the Norwegian Woods like Deathtrap Dungeon, the Revolution 9s like Magehunter, the Yellow Submarines like Sky Lord. The classics, the experimental, the Marmite.
Master of Chaos was a Words Of Love. It's just there.
Thinking in those terms I would say Master Of Chaos was like a Ringo Starr song, quietly a more than good enough piece if not particularly distinctive or genius-level. I would say Eye Of The Dragon was like Free As A Bird, being old-fashioned. |
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,472
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Nov 5, 2023 13:26:43 GMT
Adventures of Goldhawk is We All Stand Together - a spin-off more aimed at children, derided by many, but not without its fans.
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