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Item - Revenant Rising

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Series: Gamebook Adventures — no. 4
Platforms: Android
Apple iOS
Windows
Contained In: GA Compendium 4-6 (Digital Gamebook)
Authors: Coghlan, Kieran
Drage, Andrew 'Brewin' (editing)
Rennison, Neil (editing and production)
Smith, Ben Britten (development)
Composer/Musician: Watkins, Adrian
Illustrators: Ferrin, Kyle
Maxwell, Dan (cover)
Rennison, Neil (user interface)
Date: December 9, 2010
Number of Endings: 96
Cover Text: The mighty city of Falavia, the military backbone of Orlandes, is under attack from an army led by a man claiming to be a God. How did this come to pass you ask yourself? You’re sure it all started as some innocent adventure in search of treasure but somehow it turned into a nightmare. Also, why are people staring at you strangely? It’s not as if you look like you’ve recently been brought back from the dead or something. Oh yes, that’s right. You remember now…
Malthus Dire's Thoughts:

After three conventional adventures, GA4 takes on a much more high-concept approach. Initially you are taken on a treasure hunt by a friend who then betrays you, leaving you to die. At this point your entire characterisation changes as you are brought back from the dead by a Necromancer and you become an anti-hero with all the expected problems that being the walking dead in a superstitious world can bring, especially in an ongoing sequence of encounters with the local priest-cult. Once you have dealt with the man who betrayed you at the very start of the book (a revenge which takes place in the midst of a major siege that you are engaged to fight in) you are then literally whisked away to a dead dimension to break your bond with the Necromancer who made you into a revenant. The frequent switches of location and concept actually work in this app's favour, keeping it fresh and surprising as it progresses. There are a lot of quirky cameos along the way, including the aforementioned zealots, other undead who need your help, and a recurring helper NPC, plus the gathering of intelligence regarding the latter part's siege is very helpful in negotiating that section. Trying to seem as human as possible is a key element of character-playing and your being a revenant can be both a blessing and a curse which adds a lot of flavour to your being able to "feel" your character. This is less varied than the immensely imaginative GA3, but is so unusual conceptually that it makes for a very memorable and enjoyable gaming experience. The almost comic book-style black and white art adds to the atmosphere of what is overall a very worthwhile fourth entry to an ever-improving series.

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Special Thanks:Thanks to Grue for the cover scan.
Users Who Own This Item: dArtagnan, drystan, Malthus Dire, mir1812, nerelax, Sir Olli
Users Who Want This Item: Aldrin23

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