Not very good.
Pass on this. This series is not anywhere near the best, though the publisher does have better offerings that are not tied to this series.
Just ok - decent first attempt.
Tin Man really should not have lead with this book, as the first installment. It's just ok - not bad, not great. Luckily for me, I started with book four (which is amazing) and I was hooked. I think that if this book was the first one I tried, I would not have read any of the others. If you are looking to try one of these books, start with books three or four (both really good). And don't worry - you don't have to read the books in order. They are stand alone titles.
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Simply Amazing!
If you like choose your own adventure books and RPG's ,then you must buy these series of games! Truly a labor of love by Tin Man games.
In a marketplace chocked full of crappy fermium shlock, this was a breath of fresh air. Great writing, great music, achievements (no Game Center but that doesn't bother me), and more replay value than arguably any game on the App Store.
Loved this Gamebook and plan to buy the whole library. Thanks again to the devs! Please keep these coming and I will keep buying!
In a marketplace chocked full of crappy fermium shlock, this was a breath of fresh air. Great writing, great music, achievements (no Game Center but that doesn't bother me), and more replay value than arguably any game on the App Store.
Loved this Gamebook and plan to buy the whole library. Thanks again to the devs! Please keep these coming and I will keep buying!
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Something to consider for the price.
After finishing the current part of zombie exodus, I was looking for another text game to immerse myself. This game doesn't have the same level of immersion. There are a lot of passive writing and so far I haven't ran into a companion. It tries to be engaging by using d&d rolls for attacking creatures, but its still not all that interesting. What was really memorable to me from other game either from other companies that does text games are the illuminating 1st person stories and descriptions that make you feel like you're there. the story kind of just lacks charisma on some level. Everything is matter of fact and people seem really one dimensional. I guess since this is the first story book produced it might have gotten better over time. All I know was I skimmed most of it and couldn't even focus on the story in great detail because the writing was really passive, and described a lot if stuff that i can care less about? it tries very hard to Spend most of the pages describing the environment, but that in itself seems like a chore to read. It's still worth it to try it out.
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Wow! That was awesome!
I just happen to come across this because a game site had it listed on sale, but I gladly would've paid full price. I've heard of choose your own adventure books, but the interaction brings so much more tension and gratification when you succeed in a good dice roll or decision. If you like a good story and want a compelling causal game you can pick up and put down as needed, don't think about it. Just buy it! I stayed up till 3 in morning to finish the game and right this review so I'm goin to bed now.
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Incredibly Difficult to Win
This is waaaaaay harder than any other game book I've ever played (and I've tried a few different series). Although I've restarted it at a couple dozen times, the closer I get to the end the more it reveals that I was supposed to have done somethignearlier that was completely on-obvious. You can actually make it to the last "scene" and find out you're missing something in your inventory you would've had to have taken off of a murdered man and worn - heroes don't do that!
There is no common logical thread through all of the decisions, just completely random solutions to choices presented. With a game book this big I shouldn't have to play dozens of times to find out all the trial-and-error minutiae.
Hopefully these get much better in later volumes. Plus, as others have pointed out, the combat system is pretty weak.
There is no common logical thread through all of the decisions, just completely random solutions to choices presented. With a game book this big I shouldn't have to play dozens of times to find out all the trial-and-error minutiae.
Hopefully these get much better in later volumes. Plus, as others have pointed out, the combat system is pretty weak.
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Excellent game
This was the first gamebook game I have played. I was really impressed on how nice this game looked. I also love all the choices this game offers. It took me several tries to beat the game. I see this as a good thing. I don't like games that take me only thirty minutes to finish, especially if it's expensive. The combat in the game was easy to learn and a lot of fun. I do wish that I could have chosen a personality for my character. It would have been interesting to see how personality affects the people and scenarios in the game.
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Not Lone Wolf
So after playing this game for around a week i finally got the ending we all hope to get. And while i do like these types of books i can say that compared to the lone wolf series, this book lacks alot of choice. For the price i dont imagine it would be too hard to mimic in some respects the various choices that the lone wolf series allowed the player to make. That said, its a decent start and i will be purchasing the second book to see if it gets better. I would like to see a less linear style of gameplay at least as far as what your allowed to do in the game. In the lone wolf books the side paths were alot more than a simple, "you stumble upon a bad guy, beat him and you can get back to the main quest." The depth of gameplay is definetly something these guys can use to improve and make the 5 dollar price tag seem a bargain. Check my review in the next installment to see if the books get better.
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Somewhat Frustrating; Overall Enjoyable
I'm currently reading/playing this book, and my character has just arrived at Eltane's castle. This is around my 100th time trying to complete this book. My character keeps getting killed. This is frustrating! The book could be made easier by having more health potions available, etc..
The writing is good, but I've noticed some grammatical errors here and there. The bookmark feature is nice. The background music does get repetitive. Illustrations are nice but need to be in color. The dice mechanics seem "rigged" because nearly every roll will have at least one or more 6's and 5's. Doesn't seem totally random.
Developers might want to consider making the book easier to solve because I won't buy another one until I solve this one. What would be the point?
The writing is good, but I've noticed some grammatical errors here and there. The bookmark feature is nice. The background music does get repetitive. Illustrations are nice but need to be in color. The dice mechanics seem "rigged" because nearly every roll will have at least one or more 6's and 5's. Doesn't seem totally random.
Developers might want to consider making the book easier to solve because I won't buy another one until I solve this one. What would be the point?
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Challenging but rewarding
Yes, you'll have moments of frustration when you have to restart the game after a bad fitness roll. But the reason you're frustrated is you're completely engrossed in the story and you want to track down the assassin and make him pay. Those of you from a previous generation who thought the "choose your own adventure" game genre was dead and buried are in for a pleasant surprise. As soon as I post this review, I'll be purchasing the next gamebook adventure in the series.
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Great game...
I really enjoyed this gamebook though it can be a little frustrating at times if you don't know where to get an item you need to get past an area. Still a lot of fun and very exciting when you find a entirely different path to take you didn't know was there. Definitely grabbing the others too :)
Excellent
The story is well written, and the descriptions keep you feeling like you're really involved with the story. The decisions are realistic--usually something I would have considered doing in that situation. You have the normal, "do you go left or right" but there's also very detailed selections as well. It took me about six weeks of casual reading and one day of intensely trying to figure everything out to get to the ultimate ending, which to me is worth $5.99. It's a bit pricy, but worth it if they continue making more books.
I really liked this series and I will be buying all the others as well.
I really liked this series and I will be buying all the others as well.
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Insanely Great!
This is my favorite game on my iPad, bar none. The writing is good - very good. And the play is solid, too. There is also a tip of the hat (if I read my game right...) to Herbie Brennan's GrailQuest series. Seriously high production values and enthralling adventure. If you've never played a game book but love adventure stories, you've GOT to try this! And if you have, you need to play this, because this is as good, if not better, than any other game book you have ever played.
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Great
I cannot think of a better format for the gamebook. It's nearly seamless. The illustrations are quite good and, of course, very welcome (the bookmark is a nice touch --I didn't realize the bookmarks given out at PAX were replicas).
I enjoyed the narrative quite a bit. It had a very strong old-school feeling while avoiding some of the nastier tropes of the bad ol' days.
The app could, perhaps, benefit from a wider variety of music (some shifts in bgm would really add to the atmosphere and break up the feeling of "same-ness" one gets from hearing the same tune, no matter the scene or action).
I enjoyed the narrative quite a bit. It had a very strong old-school feeling while avoiding some of the nastier tropes of the bad ol' days.
The app could, perhaps, benefit from a wider variety of music (some shifts in bgm would really add to the atmosphere and break up the feeling of "same-ness" one gets from hearing the same tune, no matter the scene or action).
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Sequel desired
This is a wonderful Throwback to the age old choose your own adventure books.
Brilliantly written, Beautifully illustrated and with an ending that left a heavy desire for a continuation of this old chap. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 1st iOS Gamebook adventure.
I hope to enjoy other fantastic tales from Tin Man Games.
Brilliantly written, Beautifully illustrated and with an ending that left a heavy desire for a continuation of this old chap. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 1st iOS Gamebook adventure.
I hope to enjoy other fantastic tales from Tin Man Games.
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Very Clever
Easy to pick up and play, yet challenging to master. I remember reading "choose your own adventure" books in my youth, but this brings the genre to a whole new level. An entertaining distraction and masterfully written, with enough variety to keep you playing for hours on end. A must have for any adventure, table top gaming, fantasy or book fan!
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Amazing
This was totally worth the money and is very immersive. But after several updates the only problem was that when starting the slung always blasts up to maximum and if you are listening to music then your are temporarily deafened. Other than that it is near perfect
Very engaging!
Really enjoyed this app despite vein unfamiliar with fighting fantasy and gamebooks in general. Story is engaging and well written, and I like the dice rolling mechanic. I don't know I'd further iterations add complexity, but I wish there were more elements in battle ( adding different types of abilities, stats, etc.). A bit pricey, but I saw this adventure to the end, so I'd say it's well worth it! will be buying more of these.
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Excellent choice
This is an excellent piece of work. I enjoyed finding my way through this story immensely. The combat is well developed and easy to learn. There are so many path options in this story. I will continue working through alternate paths to find the story fragments I missed. This story is that good.
Ahhhh. Reminds of Pen and Paper RPG.
I normally hate "rpg" games as they remind me how much I miss old style AD&D. However . . .
I have enjoyed playing this soooooooo much. Reminds of playing (a simple version of) D&D long before all the stuff that ruined D&D.
This is admittedly closer to Tunnels and Trolls solo adventures. But still.
I have not had one crash.
Great use of bookmarks. Would like them not the page but where. Good writing enjoyable to read and fun to play. Worth the couple of bucks.
Kudos and thank you for making the game.
I am not part of Tin Man and I don't know anyone who works there, nor am I invested in the company.
I have enjoyed playing this soooooooo much. Reminds of playing (a simple version of) D&D long before all the stuff that ruined D&D.
This is admittedly closer to Tunnels and Trolls solo adventures. But still.
I have not had one crash.
Great use of bookmarks. Would like them not the page but where. Good writing enjoyable to read and fun to play. Worth the couple of bucks.
Kudos and thank you for making the game.
I am not part of Tin Man and I don't know anyone who works there, nor am I invested in the company.
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