Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone’s Fighting Fantasy series of interactive Gamebooks – “The adventures in which YOU are the Hero!” – have been published in 27 countries in 23 languages and have sold over 16 million copies.
Talisman of Death, one of the best-known Fighting Fantasy adventures, is the latest minis title from Laughing Jackal. Talisman of Death has also been the most controversial title in the series, with gory passages quoted by the Evangelical Alliance in their campaign to have Fighting Fantasy books banned as unsuitable for children.
Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death takes you to the once peaceful world of Orb, which is now in terrible danger. Dark forces are working together to unleash the awesome might of the Evil One. Your mission is to destroy the Talisman of Death before the dark lord’s minions reach you. But beware! Time is running out!
Most of us here at Laughing Jackal are massive Fighting Fantasy fans. In fact for many of us, our earliest gaming memories are sitting down with a pen, some paper and 2 D6 to play through these hugely addictive adventure books. So, you can imagine our excitement when the chance came for us to craft a PlayStation minis based on such true gaming classics.
We’ve really pulled out all the stops to ensure that in addition to the original dice-based gameplay and beautifully presented artwork, there’s also an all new tile-based combat system and a Test your Luck game for those of you who want to challenge your skills.
The game even features a new Log Book and inventory to help you keep track of everything that has happened in your adventures throughout the magical world of Orb.
With more games in the series to follow, Laughing Jackal’s Fighting Fantasy: Talisman of Death is the perfect way to start the journey into the immersive world of the legendary Fighting Fantasy series.
25 CommentsAdd Yours
1
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:11 pm by DAVIE222
looking good, any chance of mini demos?
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 4:21 pm by Ross Brierley
I don’t think we can do demos for a Mini I’m afraid.
2
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:14 pm by osman45
definitely gotta buy this loved the books.
3
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:17 pm by Shikome
Seems interesting… A step above most shovelware minis at the very least.
4
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:23 pm by Falcon1991
Well colour me intrigued.
5
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:28 pm by Carnivius_Prime
Used to read those books when I was a kid. I’ve lost any liking for the fantasy genre (tedious stuff like lord of the rings and harry potter have put me off for life) but I might check this out
6
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:32 pm by Vitkir
Hey, cool, I remember playing through one of those when I was a kid. Love to see some of these included with Playstation Plus.
7
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:41 pm by Kazblade
Any chance we might get the lone wolf serie? i remember it was a step above the other books.
Might be nice if we can play it on psp.
8
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 3:50 pm by Kazblade
more infos here for anyone interested :
http://www.fightingfantasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&v iew=article&id=1847&Itemid=2
it sounds interesting, just hope they’ll work on the series and not just the stand alone books.
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 4:30 pm by Ross Brierley
Hmmmm. We may have an announcement about that over on http://www.LaughingJackal.co.uk some time soon
.
9
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 4:02 pm by Toy_brain
As a kid, whenever I read one of these books, I could never be bothered to go find the pen, paper and dice needed to play properly. Instead I just flipped through and pretended to win every fight until I got to the end.
Having the combat all packaged up nicely and made compulsory sounds like it will be a more ‘authentic’ experience, and add a bit of value to what is otherwise just a digital book.
Best of luck to LJ. I hope it finds an audience. I’ll be one of them no doubt. Just make sure you don’t ask £3.99 for it – that won’t be an easy sell ;p
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 4:32 pm by Ross Brierley
No cheating has been a novel experience for a few of us
It’s still pretty playable now you can’t cheat though and the new combat system you can use instead of the dice if you prefer is pretty good fun.
10
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 4:27 pm by Ross Brierley
Thanks for all the positive comments everyone. Loads of us here a re massive Fighting Fantasy fans from back in the day so it’s been really exciting for us all. I’m so jealous of the guys who got to meet Steve Jackson. Although I did get to do an interview with him by email.
11
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 5:32 pm by Tridentmorph
Looks good, can I vote for Deathtrap Dungeon next if this sells well. Will certainly be picking this up to remind me of my younger days.
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:05 am by Ross Brierley
Deathtrap Dungeons is a good one but you’ll have to wait and see which one we’re going to do next
.
12
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 5:37 pm by greenspagbol
Ever since The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, I was hooked on these books so this’ll be a definite buy for me. I’m sure they’re somewhere in the loft.
Last I heard of Ian Livingstone he was working on Tomb Raider Anniversary so good to hear that Steve Jackson is still knocking about.
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:06 am by Ross Brierley
We’ve actually been running aninterview with Steve Jackson. You can see part 1 at http://www.laughingjackal.co.uk/post/fighting-fantasy-talisman-of-deat h-battles-its-way-through-submission par 2 should be coming soon.
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:07 am by Ross Brierley
er and I fail at linking lets try again
http://www.laughingjackal.co.uk/post/fighting-fantasy-talisman-of-deat h-battles-its-way-through-submission
13
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 6:10 pm by Agriel
I have never even heard of these books, but I might have to check this out.
14
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 6:13 pm by PSN-OmniusALX
What a surprise! As a 37 year old gamer, like most of the Laughing Jackal staff, I too ‘grew up’ with the FF books, and I still have every one neatly kept in a cupboard, even from book 11 (which is Talisman of Death!) in their original covers/spine. Books 1 to 10 I had to re buy them as I had worn them out taking them to school! I can’t wait to see how they work, curious that you didn’t star with Warlock though. Hope House of Hell and the 4 Sorcery! books make an appearance too!
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:09 am by Ross Brierley
It’s been a bit of a nostalgia trip for all of us here. A lot of fun though.
15
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 6:35 pm by HazelAM
i still have like 40 odd of the original books packed away somewhere.
i’ve even got the pair of two player clash of princes books as well.
i used to love those books, expecially the sci fi ones, games based on those would be much appreciated.
and some of the cover artwork was just amazing, better than what they put on the recent reprints i think.
will any of the classic covers be featured in these games?
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:11 am by Ross Brierley
I don’t think we’re using the cover in the Talisman of Death but I might suggest that for the next one.
16
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 8:45 pm by Jaquanor
I automatically buy anything gamebook related, especially in electronic form, so you’ve got yourselves a sale.
17
Posted on 2 August, 2011 at 9:44 pm by Guardyangel
I’m looking forward for this one
Seems really oldschool, but on a modern console. Really promissing
18
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 1:09 am by Salty_Snake
I remember these books!
The sorcerey series would be a definite place to go to next. I will be giving this a look in. It’s great to see them being updated into a digital format.
19
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:08 am by VenomUK
I loved the FF Sorcery books because they had a great story that allowed you to progress your character from book to book.
I know the first Sorcery book was released on iPhone complete with sound effects. Any chance they’d be release as PS Minis?
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:14 am by Ross Brierley
Well we’ve got our hands full with the rest of the Fighting Fantasy series, OMG-Z, Cubixx HD and a couple of other unannounced games at the moment. But I do agree that the Sorcery books are ace. So who knows
20
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 10:43 am by MrVidler
Seriously happy with this news. These books were brilliant! Please please please dont ask £3.99 for them or theres no chance you’ll succeed. I think £1.99 is reasonable enough. Not that you asked my opinion….i’ll shush now.
Anyone remember the name of the book that had a creepy looking mage/wizard on the front of it?
21
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 12:36 pm by lonewolf23786
MrVidler
The book you might be thinking of out of my head are:
Creature of Havoc
Legend of Zagor
That’s all i could think of unless you can remember what the plot is or anything. Hope that helps.
22
Posted on 3 August, 2011 at 2:47 pm by grizla75
Quality idea, should have started with Warlock though. Cant wait for City of Thieves, House of Hell etc. This could be a life saver for the spines of my original books.
Port Blacksand here we come. lol
23
Posted on 6 August, 2011 at 3:13 pm by KillyBamp
As an older gamer that also grew up with the books I am really looking forward to this, I hope there is plenty of HD artwork within those pages.
Put me down for City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon too.
24
Posted on 8 August, 2011 at 2:56 am by Roadhawke
I’m also looking forward to this.
Any idea of a release date?
Posted on 8 August, 2011 at 10:07 am by Ross Brierley
Details of the release date can be found at http://www.laughingjackal.co.uk/post/fighting-fantasy-talisman-of-deat h-gets-a-release-date-and-trailer
In short 17th August in Europe.
25
Posted on 8 August, 2011 at 8:02 am by TrueMurton
Depending on price I’ll be game for all of these. I oddly enough started with the Sorcery Series via recommendation from a friend and then went on to try a load more.
Is the plan to release the whole series in time or just your favourites?
Posted on 8 August, 2011 at 10:09 am by Ross Brierley
We’ve already started work on some of the others but we’ll be revealing more about that over at http://www.laughingjackal.co.uk/ soon.
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