So I am in the mood to buy a few games from Choice of Games, yet what are the better games on the site that give the longest in terms of game time and make it feel like what you do matters? I enjoyed the superhero game and the Zombie one if that helps any.
Have you played JimD’s Zombie Exodus? It’s excellent.
Yeah that is the Zombie game I could not recall. Waiting on the new things for it as I saw or thought it was not done yet.
There’s two Zombie games on the site, hence the asking. There’s also Choice of Zombies.
I’ve not actually purchased any games yet. I’ve been concerned that some of the games aren’t actually finished and don’t have proper endings so I’m going to be looking here with interest too to see which ones people reccommend.
I have purchased Heroes Rise, Choice of Kung Fu, Way Walkers, and Life of a Wizard. I enjoyed all of them, some more than others but they were all enjoyable.
Way Walkers is really well written I recommend you and life of the wizard is addictive with a lot of options and difficult achievements to gain but maybe aren’t so characters interation like other games here ZE is amazing well written and only one chapter to the great ending the choice of zombies…well it isn’t half of well written but is fun at least I recommend you try the demos to choose your preferences
The Fleet is the least bookish and most game-ish. It was very difficult to get all six endings, and you find a lot more gameplay and balance involved in it than in the others, which is why I recommend it. Choice of the Vampire 2 is about to be released soon, and from what the beta-testers say, it’s pretty good.
I wouldn’t recommend Choice of Zombies, as it requires an in-app purchase for the full story ever since the update, which seems hardly fair to me. But what was written so far was good.
Hero’s Rise was one of the most well-written, but had little deviation in storyline. However, it was still a good read, despite most of its choices being false and the only influence you have over the storyline limited (it was broadened a little since the update, though).
Eerie Estate Agent is good, but tedious over time as the only deviation in the storyline is when you get to the end of the game. Most of the time, the stats you have are not showed in the stats screen, and there is a lot of hidden stuff at work, which means that the words are the same no matter what you choose until the very end.
I wouldn’t recommend City of the Clouds, I felt like opening a thread just to complain about it on CoG forums. Poorly written, hastily released, meagre characterization, no gameplay at all to speak of.
If you are looking for a fun time, Choice of Kung Fu was reasonably well-written, if lacking in research and somewhat too-western in its portrayal, which I really hated. I won’t go into the details, because I could type forever about it.
Life of a Wizard, in my opinion, had the best of it, but it was rather linear, despite the many stats you could master. So, like the Fleet, lots of gameplay, less of literal value. Think of it as a longer version of the Fleet in a different genre.
In other words, I can complain just about everything in Choice of Games… There is no perfect paying CoG so far, which is ironic since the free games were all much better. I have bought all of them except the Star Captain one, which I heard didn’t do so well. But then again, those are all opinions of mine, and everyone else seemed to like Choice of Kung Fu, and nobody seemed to like the Fleet. Everybody is talking about Life of a Wizard, though, so it might be the best paying CoG so far.
If you really want my advice, though, I would say that the free CoGs are still the best. Maybe it was because they were the first to come out, and were not affected by predecessors, making them free to express their own thoughts on what CoGs should be like without having pressure from precedents forcing them to write in unnatural ways.
If by “in-app purchase” you mean the SEAL add-on, it is not required for the full story in Choice of Zombies it just adds an additional background and scenes relating to that. Playing as the other backgrounds you do get their full story.
Oh, sorry, didn’t know. But still, wouldn’t it be better to make it as a separate game? I’d be willing to buy it for 14 dollars if it was a full and separate game, but not if it is only the same game with better stats and a more scenes. If they told me it was the second episode, I’d feel a lot better about it. Currently, from what I know, it seems that it is the same as the original ones with a different intial skill set and a wider storyline.
I’ve not played it unfortunately so I can’t confirm or deny what exactly is in it. I just knew that it was an additional background and someone else mentioned in another topic that there were new scenes related to it.
Personally I tried the demo and didn’t like it, Zombie Exodus is a much better game imo.
Thank you very much for your thoughtfully written reviews of the games. It’s really helpful.
Of those games you’ve played how many have proper endings and how many have left the end open for a possible sequel or are to be continued?
Really? I think it had the CoG-style more than Zombie Exodus. Zombie Exodus was written more along the lines of the Walking Dead. At first, the resemblance was not so clear, and it was more original, but the writing style seemed to evolve (or digress, depending on your point of view) into something that constantly reminds me of what might have happened in the Walking Dead Series. It is much longer and there is more gameplay in it, but it no longer seems so original.
Choice of Zombies, on the whole, had what appeared to be a more shallow and lighter writing style and is better for a quick laugh or a good game. The characters were all distinct stereotypes, which could have made the game more vibrant if it had been longer or the plot more complicated, but sadly it wasn’t developed more.
On the whole, Choice of Zombies reads better as a game or a book, while Zombie Exodus is better as a movie-type, half-terrifying-to-read zombie piece.
No offense, JimD, but I just don’t like Zombie Exodus as much as the other zombie game. Might be because I don’t like television and movie style writing in general, or maybe it’s because the writing style visibly changes starting from the third part… more mature, but also less unique. This style might be better, but I think that the original style was fresher and the dialogue didn’t look so much like the stuff you see in Zombie Movies. That doesn’t mean, however, that Zombie Exodus is worse than Choice of Zombies, I just think it doesn’t quite sound like the unique part book, part game, and part humorous style you find in Choice of the Dragon.
Zombie Exodus is an amazing game, it delves into an interesting story and the characters are written to the finest of quality. While I do admit I feel a bit anchored into the main setting (Not going to reveal for those who haven’t played yet) you don’t really notice because of the hard choices you have to make and make sure your fragile family still keeps together, it also manages to add a bit of super-natural elements which adds alot more depth into the already great plot. So I would recomend getting ZE especialy since the last chapter is being written. So basically: It’s great.
Way Walkers University has a unique world which has a rewarding experience to explore. At first I though it was just Harry Potter spin off.
I was wrong, so wrong.
I found myself in a well-written and diverse world which added a unique flavour. The chatacters are thought out well and makes them belivable and interesting. No character in the game will be a ‘extra’ EVERY character has an impact on the MC and that is something I love. The plot-line is very well planned and is not as predictable as you may think. While at the end I did feel that you had to have a specific Way to get another ending (Which most consider prefable) and that really squeezed out other skill sets, I understand why this has happened and it’s not really story-breaking just a pearsonal prefrence. Other than that it’s an amazing game with so much flavour and diversity that I am the edge for two.
These are two Games which have become favorites of mine (But these are the ones published on the website) and I tip my hat to the writers for making such a wonderful and thrilling read. If you feel that you don’t like the payed ones, You could try beta-test developing Games here. In my opinion that’s where the real fun begins.
@Wyrmspawn Choice of Dragon was the game that got me into these types of Games I loved it!
Of the games that I have played, I can’t really be sure. Every game might have a sequel if it was written well.
The Fleet: It probably is close-ended, since the endings were all drastically different, meaning there would have to be quite a couple of sequels for it.
Choice of Kung Fu: My least favourite good game, it was probably close-ended, since it ends when you are very old and there are dozens of endings depending on your “question”. However, the endings are only slightly different, so at the least, I can forsee that three sequels would be enough, so one sequel with three different introductions can still continue the game.
Choice of Zombies: There could be a sequel on how you rebuild the world and work on a cure for the zombie virus, but that is only the most successful ending. You could end up as a zombie, or survive and not know the secrets of Damariscove Island… So, if there was a sequel, it would probably have the same problems as Choice of Romance (some endings cannot have sequels).(P.S. I always wondered why there wasn’t more elaboration on what happened to the zombie captain you imprisoned. I thought I could do experiments on him…)
Heroes Rise: It was definitely open-ended. It only had one ending with varying degrees of success, and it sets you up with a different enemy. So, a sequel’s probably in order.
Eerie Estate Agent: Again, too many endings. This makes the game more interesting on its own, if making the task of creating a sequel more difficult.
City of the Clouds: Even if they make a sequel, I doubt anyone would buy it. This game practically ruined my confidence in CoG. It only had one “good” ending, though, so it is fully possible, but I would advise them to re-write the game first.
Life of a Wizard: From what the author has said, it doesn’t sound like there would be a sequel, although a sequel is possible. There was only one “good” ending, although what you end up with can vary enormously. The only problem is the stats would need a great amount of adjustment, as you can end the game with 100/100 in almost every stat. The writer, however, has said that he is writing a new game, so, of there is a sequel, it won’t come out soon.
I think that covers everything. Except for Hosted Games, of course. However, since most Hosted games are still free, you can see for yourself.
@Wyrmspawn I don’t mind the criticism at all and agree my writing style has changed over time. I have been writing ZE for 2 years and have altered the style based on my own interest. Not everyone will enjoy it, but I enjoy writing it that way. Thankfully there are great games here for many tastes.
@Xavim I’d try Zombie Exodus since the first 3 parts are free. I’d also play some of the works-in-progress, like Unnatural and Vendetta, which work on mobile browsers and are fairly long and make you feel like your actions matter. Choice of Vampires and Broadsides are my favorite CoG games, and I’d recommend them.
I’d like to put in a good word for Choice of the Star Captain – it’s hilarious, clever, and gripping, though “The Tentacle of Humanity” would have been a better title. My own favorite of the CoGs so far. And I’ve put my money where my mouth is… it’s one of the four choicescript games I’ve paid money for so far (along with Eerie Estate Agent, Life of a Wizard, and Zombie Exodus). I’ve played most of the others at beta.
City of the Clouds should come with a warning saying, “If you haven’t been to humanities grad school, you’ll probably not like this.” A lot of what’s best about it hinges on grad student/academic humor, and you’re unlikely to overlook its (significant) flaws if you don’t enjoy its strengths.
@Havenstone I was arguing for that to be the title of Star Captain, in fact.
Yeah, our mutual friend mentioned in an email that CoG was suggesting that to the author… and I agree it’s more in keeping with the tone of the game (as opposed to the rather toneless “Choice of…”). But c’est la vie.
Thank you everyone for the reviews and ideas for the games. Today I got Life of a wizard and I have to say I have enjoyed it a lot. Will try Way Walkers University later on today as that sounds fun as well.
I have enjoyed a few of them tremendously!
I have played through Choice of the Dragon numerous times, and that game was, like with many other people, it seems, the one that I played first that got me into Choice of Games. Even though it is a pretty basic game, I love the writing style and the effects of the different choices! I was just looking in the app store for a good dragon game, and this came up, so I gave it a shot, and I’m so glad I did! It is still one of my favorites despite the more intricate and longer games coming out now!
Choice of Romance is also great in my opinion, and I am actually a bit disappointed that nobody else has mentioned it so far! The sequel, Choice of Intrigues, was just as fantastic. I have seen a few posts of people raging at this game saying it is horrible, but I disagree. I have played through it trying to do different things with it many times, and I enjoy it every single time! There is also, as far as I know, another sequel coming out at some point in the future, though I have no idea when.
Choice of Broadsides was the third game I tried. I didn’t know what to expect with this one, but with the awesome image of the ship as the icon, who could resist? It is one of my favorites! I have had numerous successes and fails with this game, though I feel as though I have died more often than I have survived… Anyway, that just makes it more interesting to me, and I love this game!
Way Walkers is also amazing. It is the main reason I made my forum account on this site- so that I could comment and make suggestions for that game and its sequel. I will leave it at that. That is how much I enjoyed it. It is my top recommendation.
Choice of the Vampire is also phenomenal. I’ll admit that I was skeptical in buying this one. I didn’t bother with any sort of demo- I just went for it not knowing what to expect. I looked at it many times, trying to decide if I should buy it or not because I knew that it was semi-historical, and I don’t generally like anything having to do with history. As soon as I began playing, I was hooked, however. I found myself sitting in class playing this game instead of listening to lectures! (Good thing I generally sit at the backs of rooms!) It is incredibly well-written for its genre, and there are so many different possibilities that I honestly have not discovered yet after many more games how to get the story to go in the same direction as my first one did. There are a few odd things that shouldn’t be there (such as when the word “soiree” displays as some strange thing with a radical sign and another symbol instead of letters) but it is easy to ignore the errors because it is so engrossing a game!
Then there is Life of a Wizard. It is, despite the fact that the story is very linear in many places, one of the best games there are on the site. It is written very well, though not as well as some of the others, I’ll admit. When I play this game, I find myself transported into a Dungeons and Dragons game (in which I always play wizards anyway!) and it is glorious! I didn’t bother with any sort of demo with this, since I knew there was no way I would not immediately fall in love with this game. All of the different stats and achievements make it a very interesting game with many things to strive to do with different characters. It seems that every time I play it, there is something new to find in spite of the linear structure, and thus I have played through it many times trying to find all of the various small, exciting, changes to the story. I highly recommend this one as well!
I, unfortunately, do not enjoy Science Fiction, preferring to stick to my fantasy realms. I have not tried either of the space ones or the zombie games (I despise zombies!), and nor have I played Choice of Kung Fu or To the City of the Clouds. I played the demos for both of the last two mentioned, and neither appealed to me at all. I did play Heroes Rise and Eerie Estate Agent.
Heroes Rise was great on my first time playing! It took me the third longest amount of time to play the first time I played it, behind Life of a Wizard and Way Walkers: University. The first time through was amazing and I enjoyed every minute of it! It was very engaging, and well-written, however there are many, MANY fake choices, something you don’t necessarily realize when you play the first time. The second time I played I was a bit disappointed with it because I was expecting the same magnificence as the first time, but when I got to the end and I saw that the story was the same exact thing, I assumed I simply had picked choices that were all too similar. My third time I realized that that was not the case and that the story does not change except for very small differences that are quite lackluster. I still recommend it because the first time through is amazing, but after the first time, there is really very little value in playing again.
Eerie Estate Agent is… different from other Choice of Games games, I suppose. I didn’t like it, and I don’t necessarily recommend it, but I’ll refrain from actually saying anything specific since I will have a very negatively biased opinion on this game. Who knows, just because it didn’t appeal to me doesn’t mean it won’t to you! You might enjoy it very much!
I hope I was of some help!