Item - Sword of Caesar

The writing here is pretty good... The time jumps are occasionally confusing, and there are some continuity errors having to with who you've met before and where you've been before - these were probably difficult to prevent because of how this series is designed. There are some amusing trips to the modern day, and the ending is very satisfying, with some real emotion!

If you want to see my map for this book, it's here. (The circled number is the end of your adventure, and the "A" indicates it's a happy ending.)

More reviews by DavidSky

This is a good entry in the series; not only does it deal with a number of important Roman historical figures, but it also gives a good first-person look at Roman life in various periods and social classes. This diversity of educational content more than makes up for the fairly familiar subject matter. My biggest criticism of the book is that its artwork seems rather rushed in places and is definitely below average for the series.

More reviews by Demian

[Rating: 1/10]
[Recommended? NO]

While the promising potential of the premise in the Time Machine adventure "Sword of Caesar" is at least partially well-handled, there were particularly few redeeming components to save the quest from its prominent, pitiful weaknesses. It's unfortunate how the dangers are kept at arm's length even though the era's appealing visual-oriented choice-based design system fares well as far as reader immersiveness goes. The writing drifts from uninspired and clunky to very much aware of the narrative's potential, but - as with the majority of the books in the series - I think the adventure would've been more enjoyable had it avoided limiting itself to a single correct path; the inventory selection at the start is a bit arbitrary, I might add, and less seamlessly woven into the story compared to the databank, use of setting and handling of "characters". While the year it take place in may be 44 BC, you won't find too many pointers suggesting a whole lot of imagination was put into the writing of this quest apart from what had commonly been covered in existing documents/research books or documentaries at the time this was written; though the research isn't exactly dated, per se, retrospectively there are parts scattered about here and there which feel a bit incomplete.

These books, which in all truth are merely self-indulgent and hard-to-find excursions into a different point in time, appear hyper-focused on their short-lived novelty value - a real shame, since the design and the execution of the linear quest itself isn't all that great to begin with. With the exception of collectors of the series or the most ardent of pseudo-history buffs, I'm afraid I can't recommend this title or any of its time-traveling trepidations. ^^

(Mysteriously disappears into the shadows.)

More reviews by Shadeheart