Calling all 80s gamebook fans and fantasy nerds!
Tickets for the the second dedicated Fighting Fantasy Fest are still on sale but time is running out. Click here if you wish to drop by this day long event organised by gamebook guru Jonathan Green, with guests of honour Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, plus an army of the series’ authors and illustrators.
»»Warning, contains spoilers
Port Of Peril was always going to to be met with critique, with it being a brand new story in a brand new series relaunch. Many people including myself have already given their opinions but this post is to purely point out the bits I really enjoyed.
My first favourite bit was the delve into ‘the cellar’. Half expecting there to be something large and ravenous down there I never expected to find a zombie mooching around. Although these are never much of a threat on their own to a tough treasure seeking adventurer, Ian Livingstone incorporates a bit of character history behind the shambling wretch with a letter written by the unfortunate before they turned. It wasn’t just there for sword fodder there was a reason and a rewarding one at that. Given that this takes place in a single entrance/exit room, a greater threat comes along in another simple but cruel form.
Another piece I really enjoyed was exploring the Skullcrag. The bit in particular was the encounter with the Lavaworm. I had recently watched Tremors 5 with my niece and nephew from which I could vividly set the scene. Luckily I had a possession which could deal with this slimey brute and avoided hand to hand combat. The result was a pleasing descriptive demise for the creature and an even more pleasing discovery within the creatures innards.
Given that this was written for a younger audience, I still didn’t manage to complete it first go, I got captured once and didn’t have an essential item to complete the quest second time round. Though it isnt Deathtrap Dungeon or Crypt Of The Sorcerer, its above average and shows the series still has it’s flair for any gamebook fans.
The Fighting Fantasy world is continuing to strike out with a brand new competition to all budding fantasy artists. To celebrate the relaunch of this iconic gamebook series tomorrow, a #competition is being held to re-imagine one of Russ Nicholson’s groundbreaking illustrations from The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain. CLICK HERE for the official page about the competition .
The Guv himself, Mr Ian Livingstone has been hard at work signing 500 hardback copies of the brand new adventure, Port Of Peril ready for sending out to all avid fans.
Ian Livingstone signing hardback copies of Port Of Peril. He’s running out of ink.
This week I couldn’t have been luckier in the world of Fighting Fantasy. Last week I discovered I had pride of place in the You Are The Hero part 2 backers page. Saturday I was lucky enough to aquire a free copy of Ian Livingstone’s latest adventure Port Of Peril. Today I’m thrilled to inform that I have won a free NomadGames Fighting Fantasy Legends pack on android and a signed FF book. Jammy Jam or what? Would love to thank NomadGames for the wonderful prize and hope to see them at the Fighting Fantasy Fest in Ealing if they’ll be there.
Enter the Jam!
So today my copy of You Are The Hero part 2 arrived much to my excitement and delight…and then I woke up. Got you reading though right? There are still several weeks to go before SnowBooks get these sent out to Jonathan Green and I’m picking mine up at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 anyway. But I’m sure we will be able to expect a lot of interesting articles especially what never quite made it to YATH one, and stories behind all other related FF ventures over the past three years, from comics to book and apps to video games. Here’s the promotional video.
Nomad games have done a terrific job on Fighting Fantasy Legends and you can purchase all three games – The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain, Citadel of Chaos and City Of Thieves – on both Steam and the Android market for around £5-£7. Great value.
Hark! What is this?
Hot of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series new release it continues into the digital realm once again with a set of brand new games by the boffins at Nomad Games with Fighting Fantasy Legends. They are also currently running a competition whereby a lucky winner will recieve a free copy of their new game. All you have to do is like and share their posts for a chance to win so why not check them out on Twitter and Facebook today!
Take a look at @Nomadgames’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/Nomadgames/status/889047492142223362?s=09 and watch this promotional video for more.
Whilst many of us have still to get our hands on a copy of the Scholastic reissues of Fighting Fantasy, the gang have been circulating enough plot points and pictures to do a personal mini review here. We find that the illustrations are not really what us fanboys turned men (and women heheh) are used to. They are very angular and cheap looking which has come as a downer. The good news is Ian Livingstone’s new adventure is true to his usual form, with an enjoyable yarn in which you need to find a multitude of items to take along the way.
(The Ghoul in Warlock Of Firetop Mountain by Vlado Krizan. That’s a skeleton not a ghoul. “Semi decayed man…”? Theres nothing left of him grrrr!!!)
(Foiled again! Photos by Kevin Abbotts and Paul Berry)
People are already having trouble with the gold foil in the bookspines. They haven’t had their copies more than a day and its beginning to fray and peel already. All in all, production and design of the iconic book series’ new look is quite a hash. Personally I’m only interested in the new adventure and hope their are more thus I shall only invest in the limited edition of Port Of Peril at this point partially due to Iain McCaigs incredible cover for now. 
I very much doubt scholastic will care to actually give their audience what they want with their daft ‘we are selling to kids of today art’ approach …(this is bum cum, the cover and internal art are no different to some tacky Choose You Own Adventure books of the early 80s they’ve just gone for the cheap option) …while alienating a 30 year fan base of thousands. My gut reaction is this could all fizzle out soon like it did for Wizard books only much faster and that would be a great shame given the writing of the new adventure is on par. I hope not, but I’m listening out…
