- Before hand held electronics (early 1980's), Sword & Sorcery geeks were enthralled with choose-your-own-adventure-books with a Dungeons & Dragons style of character development and adventure (dice required, but it was still portable adventure); in 1982 the best arrived in the form of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the first in a series created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston (famed originators of Games Workshop which spawned the Warhammer game system (table-top warfare) and the Black Library (awesome gritty sci-fi and fantasy).
- The artwork of the Games Workshop empire has always been top notch. The image below from Section 122 of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain has haunted me for two decades (artist = Russ Nicholson)!
- Still available by hardcopy, they are making their way in 2011 to the Playstation and the Ninendo DS, according the Fighting Fantasy website and PSPminis (PSP version to be made by Laughing Jackal). An electronic, Kindle edition is even available, which may spark a rebirth in the RPG-choose-your-own-adventure-style books as they become blended with the video-game.
- The Kindle Active Content version (made by WorldWeaver) is well translated into the electronic form. Several Way Points allow you to bookmark/return to sections upon untimely deaths; An automapping feature adds a new dimension to the game, tracking your progress (with options to use again in subsequent tries through the book); the battles are intense, and you even have choices on how to perform the dice rolls. Oh...on the way is the Kindle Version of Deathtrap Dungeon!
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| Kindle Cover |
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| Screen-shot of PSP version of Talisman of Death |
- On a related note, the legendary RPG for the PS-Vagrant Story (2000) is also finally becoming available for the PSP in the US this year.
- Actually, a must-have from PSN is the already available Blood Omen Legacy of Kain (1996), the game that launched the Soul Reaver and Blood Omen series.
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| Blood Omen |
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| Vagrant Story |
