This is one of the first two Fighting Fantasy books I got, the other being Beneath Nightmare Castle. I only recall one of those fondly, and I'll reveal right now that it's not this one. House of Hell frequently gets on the list of "best FF books ever," and while I would like to respect the opinions of other gamebook fans, I have to ask... why? Is it nostalgia? This was one of my first FFs and I don't feel that way about it. While I really like the concept of the book (I'm a fan different settings in FF than Titan, and I'm a fan of Resident Evil-style claustrophobic horror,) the execution is lacking, and "good concept, poor execution" gamebooks are a dime a dozen (most of which are much better than this one).Like most horror gamebooks, you might imagine that this book is going to lead to lots of terrible deaths, but it's really just leading to lots of rather dull ones ("you are captured and sacrificed, the end"), some of which really just feel like UK Steve Jackson wanted to force there to be only one path through the house with no tolerance for failure (he seems to take the "One True Path" design philosophy very literally--too literally for my tastes. I prefer gamebooks to have multiple paths to victory, ideally of varying difficulty, but Steve seems to be allergic to that concept). There are entire rooms with multiple options that all lead to automatic death. Some others are just plain illogical; I'd be more scared of fighting two Dobermans with my fists than four men in goat masks with a magic demon-killing dagger, but the first is presented as a winnable fight and the second is presented as impossible to overcome. This book can also get insufferably smug at times, even by Steve's standards. I do not think that any book has the right to tell the reader that they "deserved to die," even a gamebook where you do something reckless for the genre.The biggest problem with House of Hell is the book's single new mechanic: the FEAR score. Basically, certain scary things give FEAR points (this isn't terribly consistent as to what is scary and what isn't--I don't think that I would find a talking painting as scary as even a friendly ghost) and if you go above your FEAR score, you die instantly. FEAR is rolled and despite the lying introduction claiming that you can make it through with minimum rolls, you need at least 10 FEAR to survive. It's a massive disincentive to going around getting scared, which seems rather unforgivable for a horror gamebook. (Technically there are opportunities to lower your FEAR points, but the only one you get on the One True Path is after an optional FEAR point; more opportunities to lower your FEAR could have made for a One True Path where even a FEAR 7 character could have made it through). Instead of "Scooby Doo adventures where the monsters are real and can kill you" you get "Ruh roh Shaggy, my FEAR score is at 9, if I see one more painting talk I'll literally die of fright!" Getting a creepy bad end would make up for this bad gameplay by actually providing scares, but you just get a game over with no accompanying text. In the end, it's a dungeon crawl through a bunch of random horror movie clichés stuck together. That might sound like an insult, but I honestly could have enjoyed that. The real problem is that you can't have the haunted house adventures that this concept would suggest, because of the FEAR score and all the auto-deaths, which as mentioned don't bother to actually provide scares. It's a place of stupid grimdark where everyone and everything wants to kill you, except for those that are killed by someone else and you can't help them (or you get killed in the process of trying to rescue them and then mocked by the author). This book is really just the experience of being a Last Girl in a horror movie that happens to be directed by Gary Gygax, which isn't really that fun to play. I can't actually think of a worse horror gamebook out there that I've played. Not even the worst Give Yourself Goosebumps books leave as bad a taste in my mouth; at least they're quicker and don't take themselves too seriously, which makes the occasional smugness and random deaths go down easier. I give this book one ZOMBIE out of 10, and that's more than it honestly deserves. More reviews by Darth Rabbitt
This is my first Fighting Fantasy book, and needless to say, I am glad I learned about this series from this site!Quick background, back in the '80s, I was deeply involved with game books and spent countless hours reading & rereading them.In my adult years, I had forgotten about them and grew on to other things.I found this site and reading all the reviews, good & bad, has reenergized me and brings me back to some of the happier times in my childhood.On to the review!I am quite pleased with my initial foray into the FF series. I have to concur with another reviewer's comments about it being more 'reality' based -- you are just somebody that got caught in a storm driving and happened to knock on the wrong door for help!It was fun to take my time with this book... first doing basic read through until dice rolls were needed to get a feel for the book.Then during my 1-hour lunch breaks, I'd break out the book, dice, paper & pencil and foray into the House of Hell.This was a quite enjoyable approach compared to my early days of gamebooks of spending a complete day or two doing nothing else but trying to finish the book.Each day was an interesting challenge and intrigue of mapping the house... passing by some doors in one setting... then the next day evaluating the map and figuring out where to send the next 'victim' to learn more about the House and the events going on.While most of the side stories & events are not required to complete the book, I am glad the author went the extra mile to give more backdrops into the dealing of the house. It provided more depth and made me want to explore more of the house... even though it might have been a dead-end... it made things all the more colorful.Just an odd aside... but I always wondered how a 'Satanist' could wear a severed goat head? The logistics are practically impossible... animal heads are much smaller then an adult head... and what are the people looking out of? Popping the goat eyes out and after the ceremony, they all take baths to wash off all that dried blood caked into their hair?Well, back to the book... game play was good... wasn't too excessive of 'random monsters' to fight. Fear is a nice touch, and a few times I was frightened to death. I like how FF has Luck involved... where eventually you will run out of luck.I felt the story was well written... frustrating at times to map when things would lead back to other areas you had been before.I have to admit... I did require an online walk-through to help me finish the book. I had been so well trained with the other gamebooks that if a choice wasn't obviously stated, I never would have guessed about how to figure out the secret passage trick. Plus my mapping wasn't detailed enough to catch another trick the author used to hide the iron key. Makes me realize there is more thinking I need to do when reading other FF books... which I find as a great plus. As an adult, it is harder to be as captivated as I was before reading some of those fantasy books.All in all... I highly recommend this book and suggest taking your time to take nibbles when adventuring... make a map... explore around a bit... then come back the next day by reviewing your map and then figuring out what is important and what isn't.Have fun and stay away from the white wine!! More reviews by noonxnoon
Fighting Fantasy House Of Hell Map
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