Focused on combat, not story

If you love traditional/ classic gamebooks, I think youll enjoy this game. Be aware that it is very much a *game* (i.e., combat, stats, luck), not a *story*.

Storywise, I found it disappointing. I wouldnt call the plot "epic in scope"--its actually quite linear, with only minor divergences along the way (ex: if you go one way, youll find a spellbook, if you go another, youll find a sapphire, and they both help you down the road, but you end up at the same place regardless). Characters were also not very developed; in fact there pretty much isnt any other important character besides yourself. I was also disappointed that your protagonist is automatically male, especially since there are female slaves and gladiators in the story--it was just jarring to keep hearing everyone refer to me as "he" and "him", but YMMV.

The thing that irks me about interactive fiction is where there is a "best way" or "right choice", and I definitely felt that with this story. You want to pick up as many random things as you can, because they all make your life easier later on, which means there is a best way of going about it to make sure you pick up as much stuff as possible.

On the plus side, the gamebook is very polished. The soundtrack is engaging, the interface is attractive, and the bookmark system is useful. My one complaint about the UI is that sometimes its not very responsive--I often had to press several times to open my stats/inventory page, which is a minor annoyance in an otherwise very polished product.

Sophia2M about Gamebook Adventures 3: Slaves of Rema, v3.50