Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! Preview

Back in the early 80s, Steve Jackson created a four-part gamebook series entitled Sorcery! that took readers/players on an epic quest for a powerful artifact called the Crown of Kings. Now that tale of action and adventure is coming to the 21st century thanks to a team-up with developer inkle, which is recreating that four-part series as a gamebook for iOS devices.

Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! promises to be a fine addition to your iOS storybook collection.

Sorcery! will unfold as a four-part storybook, but it won’t be a straight-up adaptation. The game will be “massively expanded” beyond the original storybook, with dozens of locations to explore and thousands of decisions to make. Everything you do has the potential to change the direction of the story, and even the combat is “written on the fly” as the game unfolds, according to inkle Creative Director Jon Ingold. “Sorcery! was a gamebook when we started, but now it’s something entirely new,” he said. “I don’t think anyone’s ever made a game like this before.”

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Players will choose their own route across a gorgeous, hand-drawn 3D map and explore a “massively ‘branchy'” storyline. Nearly 50 magical spells are on tap, while warriors who prefer a more physical approach will enjoy the unique, “simple but deep” sword-fighting system designed specifically for touch-screen devices. Every enemy in the game has a unique strategy and weaknesses that must be exploited for victory to be achieved, and a procedurally-generated writing system describes all the action as it happens.

But the story is the rub, and possibly even more compelling than the swords and sorcery are the “moral tests that can make or break a hero.” Every decision is recorded and remembered, and the series will grow more complex and difficult as the story progresses toward its ultimate conclusion.

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The first part of the Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! series, “The Shamuntanti Hills,” is scheduled to hit the App Store in early May, while part two, “Kharé: Cityport of Traps,” is expected to follow in the summer.

Reviews
November 7, 2013
Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! Part 2 Review
By Andy Chalk
I'm going to save you minutes of precious time by cutting right to the chase: Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Part 2 is fantastic and you should buy it. There, that's it, this review is over. Go get your iThing, hit the App Store and grab it. That's S-O-R-C-E-R-Y, and you can probably find it alright without the exclamation point. Post your kudos in the comments when you're done.Seriously, people, I'm not kidding here. I suppose I can't stop you if you insist on reading this instead of playing the game, which is what you should be doing, but hey, it's your nickel.On the surface, Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Part 2 is almost indistinguishable from the opening chapter, but there are actually a few tweaks and improvements. The first thing you'll notice is that you may now play with a female avatar instead of a male, and the magic system has been upgraded as well, making it easier to use and to discover new spells. Part 2 will also import your saved games from Part 1, allowing for a direct continuation of that adventure for those who had the foresight to keep their saves around."The story picks up just outside the south gate of Kharé, a great, walled cityport and veritable hive of scum and villainy that you must traverse in order to continue on your journey. Getting in is tricky, as the looming gates of the city are guarded against outsiders, but it's a snap compared to getting out. As one character in the early part of the game explains, the walls weren't built to keep people out, but to keep them in. In fact, in order to make your escape through the North Gate and continue on your quest to recover the Crown of Kings, you'll need to collect the parts of a secret enchantment held by the city's nobles: no small task by any measure.
News
September 4, 2009
New York Bomb Squad: An interview with Detective Steve Lanoce
By Erin Bell
We've interviewed some cool people here at Gamezebo, but it was truly an honor to chat with Steve Lanoce, an NYPD Bomb Squad detective who received the Medal of Valor for heroism during 9/11. Steve and his bomb-sniffing canine, Duke, are starring in Merscom's upcoming hidden object game Bomb Squad: NY, where players jump into the role of the newest bomb squad recruit sent on assignment to hunt down the culprits responsible for planting bombs all over the city.

Andy Chalk

Long-time PC gamer and shorter-time freelance writer, with work at Gamezebo, The Escapist, PC Gamer, Joystiq and parts unknown. Owner of many cats, drinker of fine beers, eater of too much. A steadfast javelin in a flaccid world.