Gladiators Game Book No. 1
Author: Stan Nicholls
First Published: 1991
ISBN: 1-85283-865-5
Length: 96 pages (7 challenges)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must face one of twelve possible opponents in six
challenges, then face the dangers of the Eliminator on your own.
My Thoughts: This isn't a traditional gamebook; there's very little
text to read and no non-linear page-turning. It's basically like a less
interesting version of a Star Wars Episode I
Adventure. First you randomly select an opponent. Then, for six
challenges, you choose one of four possible actions, using knowledge from
your opponent's description to plan your strategy. After choosing the
action, you read the corresponding text, which inevitably reveals a
complication. After choosing how to deal with the complication, you look up
your choices under the name of your opponent and see how many points you
scored. After doing this six times, you enter the Eliminator, where five
times in a row you roll a die, which randomly gives you thirty points, takes
away thirty points, or does nothing at all (at equal odds for any option).
After this, your score is evaluated. The whole thing is pretty dumb, with
very little text and fairly obvious strategy. The replay value inherent in
having twelve potential opponents is nice, but the basically uninteresting
gameplay cancels out this benefit. The really big problem is that there's
something wrong with the scoring system, which is basically the only
potential source of interest in the whole book. The scores in the challenge
descriptions don't match up with the scores in the outcome sections, and the
scoring evaluation at the end makes no sense -- it breaks the scoring down
into "up to 350," "up to 600" and "over 600,"
but according to my calculations, the highest possible score is 330.
Something's not right here! Seems another case of rushing a product out the
door to cash in on a popular license without actually bothering to create
anything interesting first.
My High Score: 330
Gladiators Game Book No. 2
Author: Alistair Hemming
First Published: 1993
ISBN: 1-85283-885-X
Length: 92 pages (350 sections)
Number of Endings: 7
Plot Summary: As before, you must face the seven standard challenges.
My Thoughts: This is a more traditional gamebook than the previous
one. You first determine your gender and randomly roll up five attributes
(Stamina, Agility, Upper Body Strength, Lower Body Strength and Luck), then
you compete in the various Gladiators challenges. Stamina and Luck
work basically like the same attributes in Fighting
Fantasy. The other three are roughly equivalent to specialized versions
of Fighting Fantasy's Skill score. You compete
in events by rolling skill tests and making the occasional choice.
Challenges and opponents are different depending on your gender, increasing
replay value. Overall, it's a slightly better book than the previous one,
but it's not very exciting, especially if, like me, you're unfamiliar with
the show that inspired it. There's also far too much emphasis on luck to
make it much fun; point-based character creation would have been an
improvement, as would the inclusion of more strategic choices. I guess for
some this is something of a collector's item, but that's about all it's good
for.
My High Score: 16 points with a 4-second loss (male), 38 points with a 5.5-second win (female)