Choice of Robots

There’s little to say about Kevin Gold’s “Choice Of Robots” other than that’s it’s absolutely exceptional. If this isn’t the pinnacle of interactive storytelling, I want to read the novel that is. Throughout each of the vast number of varied story arcs, you’ll plunge into a unique aspect of science fiction with the aid of Kevin’s breadth of knowledge on subjects such as philosophy, war, romance, differential equations (it’s not scary), the play “Pippin” and, and (of course) the definition of life. And into this vast web, Kevin weaves stories that reflect your own with an eeriness that might lead you to believe the story itself is self-aware. Do yourself a favor and play/read this. But be warned, you’ll replay/read it. A lot. A lot lot.

I had a hard time believing all of the hype in the reviews, but I’ve got to say that this interactive novel does more in one game than most exceptional ones do in three. This is a complete package rather than that “wait for the next chapter and pay for it to continue your story” nature of really good interactive novels that I’ve seen. This is long enough to be a whole series of interactive novels and a fine one at that. Whoever made this and took the time to bleed this emotion into this piece of art, if you’re reading this, thank you. Thank you so much.

Some may view the unorthodox text and choice style as boring or lacking in immersion, however the great writing and sense of influence you have through your choices creates a deep and personal experience. If you play the game seriously, there will be multiple points in which you face moral dilemmas. Is it moral to send intelligent beings, albeit robots into war? If not, then more humans will have to be sent instead which creates greater casualties. The writing in the game creates a strong attachments or animosity towards characters and your choices will have a noticeable impact on how the story unfolds. There is tons of replay value, however I wish there was more to be done with a single story line rather than having to replay it again in order to explore the story rich world the game offers (but that may just be me being stingy because the game was great).