It’s a book. A good and interactive one, but it doesn’t get much flashier than this

The game follows the plot of the book by the letter, with your character being snatched by the mystical land of orb and tasked with recovering and protecting the Talisman of Death. The only way to protect it is to return with it to your own world so that it is out of the dark lord’s reach. It’s all very standard high fantasy, but it is altogether a very engaging experience, provided you can enjoy the clichéd nature of it all. The pacing too is immaculate, with a well struck balance between action and role-playing. Considering a game like this lives or dies by the story, it’s a good start knowing that Talisman of Death is an exhilarating tale and a real page turner. I guess page turner isn’t appropriate to the video game adaptation, but you get what I mean.

Whilst the story is as rock solid now as it was back in the 80’s, the video game conversion is a mixed blessing in my eyes. The game is recreated very faithfully, to the point where the text has literally just been copied onto your screen. I was kind of excited at first to see how the world of Orb would be rendered in a PS minis title, and so was a little disappointed to suddenly see a book not dissimilar to the originals I enjoyed in my youth show up on the right side of the screen. That said, it’s how Fighting Fantasy was supposed to be enjoyed, so I can’t really complain too much. The concern I have though is this classic text based format might put off those new to Fighting Fantasy due to the excessive amount of text you need to read through.

The log book offers more insight into your quest, but it adds to the sheer amount of text in the game

As far as additions are concerned, there are a few things that make this version an improvement over sitting there with the book on your lap. A logbook is available that you can access at any time with detailed information on the items in your inventory and the characters you have encountered during your journey. It’s a nice touch in case you forget about something, but it’s unlikely to revolutionise the way you go about playing the game. Further enhancements come in the form of how combat is handled, with a choice of dice or non-dice based methods. The dice method plays out exactly as it did in the old books, with random dice rolls being added to skill scores to determine your success in a combat scenario. For those who want a more standard “game” style of combat that isn’t as random, the non-dice method offers a moderately enjoyable alternative. A selection of different symbols appear that result in you winning that particular turn, losing or clashing swords with your opponent. The ratio of these symbols is based on both contestants’ skill scores, with more appearing in your favour or vice versa based on how high your skill is in comparison to your opponent. You get to see all the symbols, which are then jumbled up and flipped over. You then have to try and find a favourable symbol in the mashed up pile. Success makes you damage the enemy, but drawing an enemy symbol means you take damage. It’s a simple and fun way to make more of a game out of the combat, but it is exceptionally easy. You can almost always see where the positive icons fall and, because of this, combat is an absolute breeze when you play without dice.

Non-dice combat makes a proper game out of the proceedings, but it’s a little too easy

All in all Talisman of Death offers a fun way for those who never read the book to experience it. It’s a functional port that tells a fantastically involving choose your own adventure, but those who’ve already read the story won’t find anything here worth concerning themselves with. If you like these style of books then you could do worse, as the game version offers good value for money. It’s worth thinking about however, as there is a lot to say for having an actual physical copy of the book. It’s your choice whether this is enough to make or break the deal but, rest assured that if you do pick up a copy on your PS3 or PSP, your money will be well spent.

This game was reviewed on the PSP.

With the European release of  Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death only a week away, Laughing Jackal has got a new release date and price.  First up, Laughing Jackal can confirm that while the SCEE release date of Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death will remain as 17^th August, unfortunately the SCEA release will now be slightly later on 23^rd August.  The game will be priced at just £3.49 in theUK and $4.99 in the US.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt.com for more news and updates.

The first instalment of the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks: Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death,  will be released as PlayStation minis on the 17^th of August 2011 (SCEE) and the 16^th of August 2011 (SCEA).  A brand new trailer showing the game in action can be seen above.

This PSN-exclusive version of Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death features a Tarot Card character generation system, and dice-rolling rule set , with optional all-new Battle and Test Your Luck systems for bold adventurers to explore.

The Fighting Fantasy series of roleplaying gamebooks has sold more than 16million copies worldwide and Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death is considered one of the most controversial books in the series

Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death will be coming soon to PlayStation Minis and will include a new tile-based combat system as well as the classic dice based system the fans know and love, so players can experience the classic gaming book in a whole new way.

Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death also features a wealth of other features which build on the books. A 3D interface brings the book to life, an all-new Log book will now show you every previous journey through the game, preventing any unnecessary backtracking, and a Bios book will give you inside information on all the game book’s characters, items and weaponry. New Character Creation, Luck and Skill test systems are also on hand to enhance the experience on PSN, keeping the old rule set but presenting things to the fans in a new and exciting way.

So, be sure to return to the warmth of Laughing Jackal’s hearth again soon… more details will be forthcoming, for those adventurers willing to brave the journey to Orb, and the quest for the Talisman!

Established in 2005 Laughing Jackal are the developer of Playstation Minis such  as Duael Invaders, Stellar Attack, Ace Armstrong Vs. The Alien Scumbags,Vibes and of course Cubixx.  We are currently working on a PlayStation Minis conversion of the Fighting Fantasy series of books and our first PlayStation 3 game Cubixx HD which will be coming soon to PSN.

Source: Press Release