Scoundrel's Cross

If you grew up in the 1980s and had any interest in dragons, orcs, and swordplay, then you probably played a Fighting Fantasy game book.

Arming you with naught but a pen, a six-sided die, and the ability to flip back a few pages if you died, the books turned a generation of children into adventurers and readers.

Scoundrel's Cross is an attempt to do the same to the current crop of Android users.

The problem is, whilst the Fighting Fantasy books were built around a solid RPG framework, Scoundrel's Cross has left its dice bag at home.

To all intents and purposes, Scoundrel's Cross is a book, albeit a book in which you occasionally have some input. For example, you can choose which way to go at a crossroads, where to hide when you're being chased, and whether or not a guard wakes up when you slip out of a cell.

The game tells the story of the Scoundrel, who's recruited from jail by a mysterious monk. Along with a trainee paladin, the Scoundrel escapes from an army of rampaging monsters, fights off some cunning bandits, and gets accosted by a flame-haired huntress.

Unlike the Fighting Fantasy books, however, this is very much a third-person adventure. There are decisions to take, but you're never really in control of the Scoundrel's actions.

Fights happen in the text, and they sound exciting, but you're not involved at all.

Your choices are few and far between, and feel as though they've been slipped in begrudgingly by an author who'd much rather you sat back and enjoyed the story his way.

Unfortunately, that story's just too short to create enough excitement.

There's intrigue and daring escapes, but the book stops abruptly at a pivotal narrative point. Spelling and grammar mistakes pepper the text as well, which, for a product of this type, is pretty much inexcusable.

Scoundrel's Cross has some redeeming features: the art behind the words is immaculate, and there are moments when you're almost drawn into its tale.

But the lack of content and minimal interactivity mean it never casts a spell strong enough to keep you engrossed.