sAgI's FF Gamebook Countdown

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#	Book	Rating (1-5 stars)	Comments and Rants
1	Sorcery (Series)    SJ		Nothing more to say here - the best of Fighting Fantasy. As a whole series, I believe this is as good as it gets. Includes a great magic system, a good plot line, and most of all - true RPG continuety; There's nothing like sorcery to show you how badly FF is missing continuety between books. If I were to consider them seperately I would probably put The Seven Serpants as my favorite. Kahre would be second, Shamontanti Hills third and The Crown fourth.
2	Creature Of Havoc (#24)    SJ	No Rating	Why no rating you ask ? Well, here's the thing. From what I gather most people would put this in the top. It definetly has the best plot of them all - the most unique one and with a great ending. The gamebook design is however somewhat problamatic - there are way too many sudden deaths, and there's one gamebook flaw which no one warned me of, and completely ruined the first part of the book for me. Also SJ messed up a good opertunity for making a fun unlinear adventure in the "outside the dungeon" area, and instead put up a sudden death at every other passage (it would have been easier and fun if you explored even if you had no chance to finish the overall book). So - I'm simply too confused about this book. But rating or not - its a must read.
3	House Of Hell (#10)    SJ		My favorite of the regular FF's. This book is real fun read, especially on a rainy night. The house is designed beutifuly, riddled with the misterious famous "named doors". I even recodnized some of the names as Hebrew ! (probably taken from the bible). Even though it is not on the true path -  you have to try the torturer's quiz of the misterious house. Too bad all the misteries in the house didn't come to some final riddle in the end. Also there is a great anti-cheat trick in the end, one which I completely fell foul of until I gave up and looked up a soloution (well done SJ !). You have to cheat in order to fall for it, so some may have not noticed it at all. So, if you are anything like me, you will like this book. A lot.
4	Seas of Blood (#16)    Andrew Chapman		This book has simple yet great new rules for sea travel and combat. Its a lot of fun (playing a pirate), very unlinear and very challenging (i should say very hard). You also get to handle large quantaties of gold ! The ending scenes are also great fun - the Cyclops fight and the shock you get when you reach Abdul and see the huge lot he collected. Thumbs up !
5	Masks of Mayhem (#23)    Robin Waterfield		Here's what gives - I loved this book as a small kid, (don't get me wrong - Im just 18 now) but have not re-read it again lately. Most books seem a lot less good today then what they used to. So, I fear reading it and ruining the illusion. Still, as far as I remember, this was a great book. A very challenging book - yet on finding the cruisial items rather then on huge quantaty of high-skilled enemies. Some lovely tricks and brain challanges involved (I won't give'em away). Also, there is a marbelous sabre-tooth tiger hunt which is great fun. The final riddle is wierd - too easy, yet too hard (Im afraid you have to read a soloution for this one). The plot is also good, twisting and turning as you go rather than remaining boring.
6	Deamons of   The Deap  Steve Jackson (2)		SPOILER, the only complaint I have here, is that more than 14 pearls can be obtained, yet only 8 are required to finish the adventure. Also most monsters here are fairly weak whilst great stamina and luck rewards await at every corner. But it is fun and challneging none the less.
7	Appointment    With F.E.A.R (#17)    SJ		Playing a superhereo may not seem like such a great idea for gamebook, but I certainly got hooked on it. Why? First, the new inovative rules here are ausome (and they differ between the choice of 4 super powers). Second, the unlinearity here is humangouse (and I love it), right from your basic choices in the start. The letdown here is with the way way too many deduct this add that refferances, it gets terribly annoying. In addition the  final show down is lame.
8	Forest of Doom (#3) Ian		An excellent book. Some claim its too easy. I think it isn't, although it does lack replay value.
9	Phantoms of Fear (#28)    Robin Waterfield	?	This book is just too wierd so I am not sure how to judge it. It definetly screams MissOut however. The idea is great, the illustrations are beautiful, but something just doesn't add up. You have all these great dreams but you never use them ! And why is the magic system killed off in the middle... and why can Ishtra be killed without a fight... and why is the dream world inside the caverns so poorly designed... and why and why and why... Ouch. (But check out the sphinx riddle...).
10	Warlock Of    Firetop Mountain (#1) SJ / Ian		Being the first, this book is ofcourse not one of a very good gamebook design. Still I adore Zagor's Maze - an all time favorite. But why is Zagor himself so darn easy ?
11	Space Assasin (#12)   Andrew Chapman		Its not as bad as people think it is. Its got great new rules (which I think should be the standard for ff sci-fi) plus you have here two fun places to enjoy - the donut geometry planet, and the ausome virtual simulator game (which is both fun and brain challenging to pass !). In addition its got my favorite sudden death... (check out the funny #128  and compare it to #328 and #396). But why are the enemies too easy (especially Cyrus) ?
12	Caverns of The    Snow Witch (#9)    Ian		This is actually quite a fun adventure, though quite linear in the first part (things get better when head out in the open). Though not like in other books, Ian was pushing it here a little with the high-skilled enemies. But then again you have Redswift and Stubb at your side...
13	Deathtrap Dungeon (#6)   Ian		I liked this book when I was a kid, but dislike it now days. Its a nice read, but not very intresting. Although the tunnel forks for short whiles in occasions, if you really go and check all the side tunnels you would relise the path really is quite narrow and its annoying. And, as always, Ian is pushing the limit with battles towards the end. (and whats with those pathetic riddles ?).
14	City Of Thieves (#5)   Ian		The begining is fun, until nicodemous, but the book sets off later on into a linear path, with check it or ignore it options.
15	Trial of Champions (#21)    Ian		I was really looking forward to reading this book when I put my hands on it. However, after failing the stadium games (and no, I don't consider a skill test to be a fun game!) or the first some paragraphs into the dungeon for the who know's what time, I realised it was a dissappointment. I know many people like this book, but I dont.. Its got too many 12 skilled monsters too little stamina flaw. There is no way anyone ever passed this book without cheating on a large scale. Also, the encounters (though not the dungeon itself) are awfuly linear. You rarely get more then two choices.
16	Starship Traveller (#4)   SJ		The horribly bad new rules, the imitation of Star-Trek (which I like btw), and the 360 paragraphs might have set it straight at the bottom if it werent so nicely written. good encounters make this book fun to read, but not one deserving play.
17	Star Strider (#27)   Luke Sharp		Too wierd.
18	Talisman Of  Death (#11)  J.T. & M.S.		On the dry, this book was suppose to be good - challanging, unlinear and all. Playing it, however, I got bored. I can't put my finger on it, but I think the cause is the too complicated plot, which is very uninresting.
19	Island of the    Lizard King (#7)    Ian		Linear! This here is one long long corrdidor. On top of that, its got the usual too many 12 skilled monsters, too little stamina.
20	Sky Lord (#33)  Luke Sharp		Atleast Lizard King had an intresting plot. This one just goes on and on... (I never made it to the end just from boredom).
n/a	Freeway  Fighter(#13)  Ian	No Rating	The most obvious problem here is the new rules - they are just too complicated for me to have the patience to play them. I have read the book without playing the combats and rolls, and its not bad at all. Still, it remains to be seen if I will ever truely play it...