Sorcery! Part 3 - Released

HiddenX

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The open-world adventure Sorcery! Part 3 has been released for the PC on Steam:
Sorcery! Part 3 is an open-world narrative adventure through a cursed wilderness of monsters, traps and magic. Hunt down the Seven Serpents, cast powerful spells that shape the story, and explore everywhere. Begin your journey here, or continue your story from Parts 1 & 2.
  • Explore everywhere - move freely through the world, any way you want, creating your own unique story
  • New time beacons allow you to alter the world dynamically - travel through the present, or into the past, or mix the two
  • Thousands of choices - all are remembered, and shape your adventure
  • Thirty new enemies, including seven deadly serpents, each with their own strategies - and weaknesses
  • Adapted from the best-selling gamebook series by legendary game designer Steve Jackson
  • Swindlestones is back! The game of bluff and deceit is back, with new, smarter, opponents
  • New spells to discover and new magic to master
  • Five Gods, all with different quirks and powers
  • Start your adventure here, or load your characters and choices from Parts 1 & 2
  • New music from "80 Days" composer Laurence Chapman
  • New 3D hand-drawn maps to explore by Mike Schley
More information.
 
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The reviews for this game are very good:

"Sorcery! 3 demonstrates just how wonderful interactive fiction can be." - 148apps

"A seminal moment in interactive fiction" - Gamezebo

"A vast and engaging third chapter that expands brilliantly on the first two" - PocketGamer (Gold award)

"An amazing adventure… easily the biggest and most satisfying gamebook ever released on iOS" - TouchArcade, 5/5

Adapted and expanded from the million-selling gamebook series by legendary game designer Steve Jackson, co-founder of Lionhead Studios (with Peter Molyneux) and co-creator of Fighting Fantasy and Games Workshop (with Ian Livingstone).

Using inkle's unique inklewriter technology, the story is written in real-time, built around your choices and actions.

Praise for the Sorcery! series:

"I love this app… better than any gamebook ever was in your head when you were a kid" - 5/5, Interactive Fiction of the Year, Pocket Tactics

Top 20 Mobile Game of 2013, Touch Arcade

Top 25 Mobile Game of 2013 Gamezebo

Gold Award, Pocket Gamer

"Some of 2013's best interactive storytelling" - IGN

"inkle's adaptation of Sorcery! takes the genre to a whole new level" - Kotaku
 
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Thanks for the coverage on this game-book series, HiddenX! Good to know this has come out as it's been on my steam-wishlist. I'll certainly keep supporting the evolution of classic game-book adventures.

I recall that the Seven Serpents was extremely challenging; it was actually the first in the series that I'd tried to read as a youngster. The very idea of "memorising" spell-codes and finding the correct moments for their usage was great fun.
 
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I've been playing through part 2 on my Android device, and it's quite fun. Part 1 was rather short, but part 2 seems considerably more meaty.
 
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I've been playing through part 2 on my Android device, and it's quite fun. Part 1 was rather short, but part 2 seems considerably more meaty.

Yeah the first was one was the least ambitious, it was mostly just a reasonably faithful recreation of the original with a few differences and the overland map. The next 2 are much more abitious, they combine gamebook elements with much more open exploration and puzzle solving elements that would not work in a gamebook, to create a much more elaborate game.
 
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How many parts for the full story ? Four ?

Yes, four. The next book The Crown of Kings was a beast, about 100 pages more than this one, and you really need to take out all seven of the serpents for an easier ride in the next book.
 
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So this is based off of a book ? Is the book worth reading ? I.e, is it well written ?

It's a game book, kind of like a choose your own adventure, but with dice and a character sheet. The book series was a huge deal when it came out 30 years ago, but it's not necesarily the sort of thing that I'd recomend that someone track down today.
 
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Sizes of the original books just in case anyone is curious:

Book 1: The Shamutanti Hills (456 entries)
Book 2: Khare; Cityport of Traps (511 entries)
Book 3: The Seven Serpents (498 entries)
Book 4: The Crown of Kings (800 entries)

And an overview for "you" and anyone else potentially interested in an introduction to
Fighting Fantasy history.
http://fightingfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Fighting_Fantasy
 
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I am so getting this.

I got stuck in part 2 repeatedly though. Do I suck at CYOA or... ?
 
I am so getting this.

I got stuck in part 2 repeatedly though. Do I suck at CYOA or… ?

I haven't played these since I was nine, but you're going to die while you learn the best way through the book/game if they are anything like the originals. Kharé is a complete dive.
 
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