Pendragon Rising

Ever wanted to take part in the Arthur saga? Now is your time to change one of britains most famous stories. While it differs in quite some things from the original (naturally), it catches the dramatic events of Arthurs way from bastard son to Ruler of the Kingdom in it´s war against the evil Saxon invaders. Offering a special treat, Pendragon Rising includes the option to change the whole main cast from male to female, which also presents a different take on the story itself. Will you strive to make peace via diplomacy wherever possible or be a revengeful ruler without mercy? An opportunistic coward or a true hero, who inspires your folk with brave speeches? The writing is also enjoyable enough to fit the theme, while friends of the classic adventure topic, where you rally your allies together with your close group of friends should feel right at home. Conclusio: This has to be one of my favourite CYoA books up to now, as the atmosphere is really enjoyable, the characters likeabl...

Bought it due to my love of the show Merlin, and did not even realise it was a text RPG at first. Tried it out regardless, and I definitely do not regret these past 3 hours. It's very immersive if you do read it through, and definitely worth a second, or third, or fourth playthrough, to see what would happen if you were a pious madman, or a greedy bastard, or a humble bastard trying to avoid the throne. All the choices you make will affect the things that happen to you, how people will respond to your actions, and so on. Sometimes, if you think you're making the wrong choice for the wrong reasons, you end up making the right choice for the wrong reasons... And sometimes it's the wrong choice for the right reasons that ends up being the reason your potential ally is now your enemy! Great, short game, worth the money. Live through Arthur's fight for the Kingdom.

Very much a big Choice Of Games fan, but I wouldn't recommend this particular one as an example of their output. The setting is interesting and seldom used, but compared to their better-composed RPG-style games I just couldn't get into this one; your character stats are in perpetual flux, so you cannot seem to make any decisions without undoing your other stats with no particular rhyme or reason. E.g. You've chosen to be a mighty Warrior thus far, then in the set-up for a battle you choose a solid not-too-crafty strategy option - come the finale for that scene you might be shocked to find suddenly your low Leadership and high Warrior scores have completely switched, meaning "challenge their leader one-on-one" puts you on the receiving end of a almighty whupping. It is - as ever - a robust game regardless, I just found this one quite flawed in terms of supporting role-playing.

Choices aren't really choices. There are multiple options which lead to the same ending. After the 1st playthrough this became quite apparent. Of course there are some events that matter, but for others you could pick 3/4 options with the same results... Mystifying... I understand the game is 2.99 but cmon. If you're too lazy to program different results for different choices, just make it 2 choices Aor B. Not ABC with the same result and choice D as something different... Makes the game to appear to have more depth than it actually possesses.

Well, this is the one that did it. This is the game that burned me out on COG-type games in general. I had previously sort of liked them because I liked the choose-your-own-adventure style, and I like shaping the story to my own liking. But the truth is, you don't actually have a choice in these games, except at the very beginning. You can choose to play one of a very limited number of ways, and that's it. All your subsequent choices had better fall in line with that initial choice, or you're sunk. It's the same problem with, for example, the paragon/renegade system of Mass Effect: you can respond how you want to the situations that arise, but if you don't play as either ALL paragon or ALL renegade, you miss out later because you haven't really gone full out and therefore don't have enough points to win. Only in COG games this is magnified, because in order to win you really, really need maxed stats. Pendragon Rising takes this a step further and makes the stats super ephemeral; I bu...

I really enjoyed the setting. The gameplay is mostly political intrigue with a few battles and puzzles thrown in. You're trying to build a strong alliance to defend Briton from the Saxons, you also have personal goals you can pursue. It's got a lot of problems though: -You have companions that could have been interesting, but they stay static throughout the game. One I particularly loathed got drunk at every opportunity and slept with everyone they could. That was all they did, and the game reminds you this is as often as possible. No drama or consequences, just pointless and boring reminders. -There's quite a few scenes where other characters are talking to each other, but you're not present. It really ruins the flow and immersion of the story. It just wasn't needed or wanted. -There's multiple endings, but the two I've gotten just end abruptly without explaination or resolution. The first ending I got flashed to an unnamed character getting off a boat. The End. Seriously wtf? -Y...

With [i]Pendragon Rising[/i], you can play a Choose Your Own Adventure Game in which you take on the role of a young Arthur or Arta, just having returned to your homeland of Britain after your education in Rome. Against your will, you get caught up in the war with the Saxons, and unwittingly become the Warleader of your people. Will you be able to gather enough allies to help you stand against the Saxons? And what kind of leader will you be -- a fearless warrior or a more peaceful diplomat? But the most important question of all: will you eventually take the crown for yourself? [h1][b]Pros[/b][/h1] + The atmosphere is fantastic; it oozes mythic warriors of long-forgotten times + The author obviously knows a lot about Arthurian lore + The relationships between the characters were superb; I felt really invested in my protagonist's friendships + Despite it being shorter than most CoG games in length, it feels just as rich as the others + You actually get to pick choices that are not "can...

[b]Do not buy this expecting a game in the common sense of the word[/b]. It is interactive fiction. The author obviously knows quite a bit about Arthurian legend and pre-Medieval Europe, and they have used this knowledge to weave a well-written narrative with compelling characters. If you enjoy reading and fantasy fiction, I highly recommend this. People looking for visceral and visual action should look elsewhere.

I have just finished my first playthrough and I plan on doing more to see what other endings I could find, though it did not took me very long, just over 3 hours, it was time very well spent and engaging enough to make me want to come back to it for another round which is rare for me. I will say that going into it I didn't expect much as my past experience with text based games was not great, however I am happy that Pendragon Rising was able to reverse that. It had some great reveals and for the most part delivered on the promise of the choices you make being something that matters. It is by no means perfect as sometimes I felt a lack of depth in the alliance building you can engage through diplomacy, but as I've only got 1 playthrough under my belt I bet that there is a lot I missed. Over all for the price it asks and the replay value I would suggest to pick this game up you won't regret it.

Damn 3 hours passed, Great if you like the genre and text based rpgs interesting developments. worth the money