Gary Chalk's Gun Dogs Review

Consistently enjoyable and very much in keeping with the rest of Tin Man Games' portfolio, Gary Chalk's Gun Dogs is a pleasant change from the usual Fighting Fantasy adaptations, offering a fresh take on a popular genre.

This time around players take the role of a Gun Dog: a soldier given near-impossible tasks in exchange for not being sentenced to death. In a sense it's a familiar world for those used to Fighting Fantasy tales, but refreshingly, this is a story one hasn't travelled along before. It remains at the same level of quality however, with the artwork proving a particular delight. Fans of the Lone Wolf books will particularly appreciate the work, given both come from the same illustrator.

In terms of game mechanics, it's business as usual here. The familiar Tin Man Games engine works well as always; offering a series of different difficulty levels depending on how the player wants to approach things. There's still always the choice of cheating and having a virtual finger in the book, allowing one to backtrack if they don't like the results. Plus there's the much more challenging difficulty level for those who want to face a few problems. Combat is easily conducted via dice rolls, with further dice rolls required for using the player's gun. After all, who could be called a Gun Dog without owning such a weapon?

While some adventure gamebook stories falter with a series of ways in which one can fail all too quickly, I didn't find this to be the case with Gary Chalk's Gun Dogs. Not that there aren't numerous ways in which to replay or discover new avenues to explore. It just doesn't feel quite as stop/start in nature as some can be.

It's all comfortably familiar here with a few small refinements littering the way. While Gary Chalk's Gun Dogs doesn't revolutionize the genre, it's still a very respectable entry into the adventure gaming field. Experiencing an original tale is the true benefit here and I do hope to see more again.