Step up from "Choose Your Own Adventure'

While listening to a recent episode of the Plaid Hat Podcast, I became aware of a genre of games that I can best described as a 'choose your own adventure' game mixed with an RPG. They play much like the classic book series that I was such a fan of as a child. You'll read a paragraph and then be presented with a choice which will then lead you to a subsequent paragraph and the cycle continues throughout the story. They do have an extra twist in that you also need some dice. Throughout the game there will be situations, such as combat, or performing tricky maneuvers, that the fates intervene.

Since discovering these types of games, I've been pleased to stumble upon a couple of them to explore a little deeper. The first one, "Cities of Gold & Glory" is the second book in the Fabled Lands series of books. The series of 12 books (although only 6 were released) spans the large region of the Fabled Lands, each books focusing on a certain region. You can start with any books, using either one of their pre-made characters or crating your own, and begin your adventure. Traveling from city to city and exploring whatever you come across. The interesting addition being that you can venture throughout the regions by moving between books, all while keeping your same character and stats.

inFamous: Festival of Blood

I finally finished playing through inFamous: Festival of Blood, the the download only entry into the inFamous franchise. The original game in the series was one of the first games that I played all the way through when I got my PS3. I had gotten it as part of Sony's forgive us promotion after their massive blackout last summer.

I was really impressed with the controls and the massive city that you got to play through. I often found myself killing a few minutes by simply running around the rooftops and searching for some of the games hidden items.

When I finished playing through the game I wanted more of Cole's antics but wasn't ready to buy the second game, so this seemed like a good fix. It used the same engine as inFamous 2 so I'd be able to see the evolution of the series as far as graphics and control which I was quite interested in.