Do you remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books?

Because, I sure as hell do. They used to be such an incredible idea to me, even thinking about them now transports me back to 6th grade, to the time when I could read at an 8th grade equivalent and be damn proud of it too.

Goose-bumps? Pshaw.
Harry Potter? Pleeeease.
gamebooks, motha fucka!

If you're like me, then you'll find this weeks DS Homebrew game interesting, Lone Wolf DS.

The Lone Wolf Series is actually a collection of over 28 gamebooks, penned by Joe Dever that got it's start way back in the 1984. The Series ceased publication in 1998, but the dedicated fanbase created Project Aon in 1999 and converted many of the books to a format to be enjoyed on the interwebz. Since then, the series has been struggling to get back into the lime light, spanning from computer games, a table top RPG, a MMORPG, a FPS and even a movie! But, sadly, nothing's seen the light of a public release.

That's where the designer for LoneWolfDS comes in. This man (Who's name I can't find) was looking for a concept to develop code for the NDS Homebrew scene, when he stumbled upon Project Aon and the Lone Wolf Series. He developed an engine that would allow the players to be "really immersed in the story" and not have to worry about silly things like, you know, action.

The story revolves around you, a young monk of the Kai Lords. And, after an assault on your ancient fortress by an seemingly unstoppable evil, you must make your way across the land to warn your king, and that's where your adventure begins, but where it ends, is entirely up to you.



Holding the DS like a book (See Ninja Gaiden DS, or Hotel Dusk), you battle your way across the country of Sommerlund. And when I say battle in this instance, I mean clicking a button that says "fight!" and pray to god you roll a high number. I'm not going to lie, for the action junkies of today's youth, you may not appreciate or "get" Lone Wolf, but for people who can immerse themselves into stories without having two thumbsticks and at least one gun in your hand, you may appreciate Lone Wolf DS.


It's not extremely engaging. But if you dabble in table top games, this will be the best thing since homemade Chicken Noodles.



The whole experiance feels a lot like a table top game, compacted down, and tied up into a nice little package, even adding a mini-game or two into the mix to break up the monotony of making crucial decisions to get to the end of the story.



The best thing about this project is that it's a very well polished homebrew game, allowing you to become completely immersed into this world, despite the limited interaction with the surroundings. Not only that, but it presents us with a very compelling thought, "Can we create our own stories with this engine?"

The creator has stated that the engine will become available after he feels he's done with the lonewolfDS series, but two in and another on the way, it may be a while before we could create our own epic gamebooks

My overall opinion on it, I'd say it's definitely worth a try, especially since it's such a polished package. If you don't like reading, or dislike passive interaction with your video games, I'd say you might not enjoy it very much. But, I DID enjoy it, and I hope you download this little gem and start thinking of your own epic gamebooks to publish! I know I've already got a few ideas! Dtoid Gamebook, anyone?

Download Here

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