Gamebook Adventures 8: Curse Of The Assassin Review

A sequel to Tin Man Games's first instalment in the Gamebook Adventures series, An Assassin in Orlandes, Curse of the Assassin tells quite the gripping story alongside its similarly entertaining combat and interactive moments.

Those who have yet to play the original tale needn't worry either, thanks to a decent introduction explaining all as to what has previously occurred. It's a fairly meaty tale of intrigue and violence, with a hefty dose of conspiracy, too. The story, besides offering a series of great illustrations, also happens to be pretty well told, proving gripping even without the interactive elements.

Such interactive elements do provide the icing on the cake, though. As before and is customary of the Tin Man Games way, there are plenty of opportunities to pursue different routes within the game. Whether it's choosing to ask someone certain questions or following a creepy passageway left or right, there's plenty of variety within Curse of the Assassin to ensure that one should really replay it multiple times. Of course, there are times when one fails, having made a very bad decision indeed, but it rarely feels like a cheap way to end the game.

The only somewhat frustrating omission here is that there's no auto-mapping feature, meaning that if one wants to track their progress carefully they're going to have to use a pen and paper to do so. Arguably, a mapping feature might have made Curse of the Assassin too easy, but as an option in casual mode (the easiest of the difficulty modes), it would have been pretty convenient. There's also no Game Center support, an issue that is out of the developers' hands, but at least there are in-game achievements to track.

Other than that, Curse of the Assassin is quite the delight. The combat uses a ruleset that makes logical sense but that can be easily circumvented by turning quick dice mode on, plus there's plenty of ways to cheat around battles if the player so wishes. Such a variety of difficulty modes is a particularly nice step, given it ensures that frustration is kept at a minimum regardless of the player's mindset.

Curse of the Assassin is another great hit for Tin Man Games, ensuring that the adventure game book concept continues to flourish under the team's capable hands.