''Appointment with F.E.A.R.'' is a single-player roleplaying

gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does no ...

written by Steve Jackson, illustrated by Declan Considine and originally published in 1985 by

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs ...

. It was later republished by

Wizard Books Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book super ...

in 2004. It forms part of Steve Jackson and

Ian Livingstone Sir Ian Livingstone (born 29 December 1949) is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of a series of role-playing gamebooks, ''Fighting Fantasy'', and the author of many books within that s ...

's ''

Fighting Fantasy ''Fighting Fantasy'' is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982. The series distinguished itself by mixing Choo ...

'' series. It is the 17th in the series in the original Puffin series () and 18th in the modern Wizard series (). A digital version developed by Tin Man Games is available for

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

Rules

As with titles such as ''

House of Hell ''House of Hell'' (''House of Hades'' in the United States) is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson, illustrated by Tim Sell and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 20 ...

'' and '' Sword of the Samurai'', ''Appointment with F.E.A.R.'' utilizes an additional game mechanic—in this instance "Hero Points", which are awarded to the player for every villain captured and disaster averted. Gameplay includes two other features: the player may choose which super-powers they wish to utilize (which in turn affects the outcome); and the player must also collect clues which will allow the hero to catch criminals and ultimately learn the location of a meeting of evil masterminds. Unlike other titles, the story features 440 references as opposed to the typical 400.

Story

The reader assumes the role of Jean Lafayette, secretly the ''Silver Crusader'', a superhero who protects the fictional Titan City. The reader chooses from four super-powers (strength and flight, gadgets, psychic powers or energy blasts) and battles criminals and more prominently campy supervillains such as the Scarlet Prankster, Dr. Macabre, the Serpent and the Alchemists. In addition to catching criminals, the reader's ultimate goal is to determine the time and place of the imminent meeting between the leaders of evil organization F.E.A.R. (the Federation of Euro-American Rebels) and capture their leader Vladimir Utoshiki, the "Titanium Cyborg".

Reception

Fantasy Book Review stated "In a change from the traditional sword and sorcery based FF books, this sci-fi romp has dispensed with Gold Pieces, Potions and Items and replaced them with Hero Points and Clues...While this is not the best FF book that Steve Jackson ever wrote it is an excellent gamebook..."

In other media

* A digital version developed by Tin Man Games is available for

and

Sequel

A sequel was published in issue 12 of ''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicat ...

'', the Fighting Fantasy magazine, in 1986. "Deadline to Destruction" was written by Gavin Shute, illustrated by David Stevens, and was 200 paragraphs long.

References

External links

* Official sites: * * {{Fighting Fantasy 1985 fiction books Fighting Fantasy gamebooks Books by Steve Jackson (British game designer) Superhero fiction fr:Rendez-vous avec la M.O.R.T. pt:Encontro Marcado com M.E.D.O.