In an alternate version of 2022, the world is a wasteland, towns fortified, bandits roaming the streets. Bandits and survivors. Bandits, survivors, and… ah yes: you, the Freeway Fighter. Your mission, apart from ensuring you and your ride both remain in one piece? To fetch fuel from the far-distant oil refinery at San Anglo and bring it back to the peaceful town of New Hope. Might sound simple, and on paper it certainly is. Reality, however, is much harsher, as you’re about to discover.
Provided the dice roll in your favor and you don’t make a wrong turn or a bad choice somewhere, seeing how this is very much a classic Fighting Fantasy gamebook… with a unique twist or two. See, while most other Fighting Fantasy titles revolve around maintaining your character’s health – perhaps another aspect like sanity, too – this one puts you behind the wheel of a genuine combat vehicle: a Dodge Interceptor! Groovy name for an equally groovy ride – provided you manage to care for and keep it up to speed. Otherwise, well, it’ll be a real short trip.
Dune buggies, helicopters, motorbikes, and lawless bandits are just some of the trials you’ll face in this extremely hostile world, exactly like that of Ian Livingstone’s 1985 print original. But while nothing was removed for this adaptation, a lot was most certainly… added.
See, unlike certain other Fighting Fantasy adaptations, every Fighting Fantasy Classic entry does things by the book, in a manner of speaking. The only noticeable changes are quality-of-life improvements: Free Read mode lets you, well, cheat, while the addition of a map makes it much easier to figure out where you have and haven’t been, and across every playthrough too. On top of all that, how about a groovy soundtrack and sound effects – something not part of the original, for obvious reasons – and an automated adventure sheet, not only for your character but also for your Dodge Interceptor! No fiddling with a pen, a piece of paper, a pair of dice, or car keys in this version! Ah, gotta love Tin Man Games‘ Gamebook Adventures engine: all the good stuff, including the classic artwork from Jim Burns and Kevin Bulmer in this one, a handful of new – entirely optional – bells and whistles, and its greatest strengths? Accessibility and availability!
May your STAMINA never fail and… start those engines!
Freeway Fighter (Fighting Fantasy Classics) is available on Steam, Google Play, and iPhone/iPad, with a $3.99 price tag.
