I've never been very good at playing computer games. I'm co-ordinationally challenged at the best of times which is why could never drive a car or play the piano either. The reason I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure series was that it only ever required the turn of a page and unlike Fighting Fantasy books you didn't need to carry a dice around with you. Also you could always skip backwards and try a different path. The new Choose Your Own Adventure series of dvds attempts to bring the interactive narrative to the small screen and the first adventure The Abominable Snowman is pretty good fun. The story follows a trio of orphans as they head to the Himalayas to meet their uncle and search for the Yeti and the viewer or player is asked at various points to decide in which direction the plot will go.
It's a concoction of Lost Horizon and Indiana Jones style adventure with a dash of Spy Kids, and what's particularly satisfying is that each choice actually does lead to a different version of the story - this isn't a case of making a selection but ending up with the same beats anyway - the opening decision means that the viewer will see a totally different story and characters. When those choices arrive, I actually found myself weighing up the pros and cons of the decision that I'll be making. Sometimes the resulting selection leads to some quite horrific or spooky outcomes for a kids dvd.
The animation is better then you might expect and the script is genuinely amusing in places although there is some levity in that the kids are orphans because their parents died on just this sort of adventure and there is a message about living with these life changes and carrying on. It's quite a surprise to see the level of voice talent on display and the performances are quite infectious - even if William H Macy loses his familiar twang in the role of the uncle. My advise would be to enjoy the adventure in small doses - playing the game in one go as I did for this review and it tends to become a bit bewildering as information in one story contradicts another. But other than that, it's a good first story ...
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