My direwolf would give +1 snuggles
You know how sometimes when you’re out on The Wall with The Night’s Watch because Winter is Coming (ta da!) and you sense an Other and you’re all, “Shit! I am the horn that wakes the sleepers! That’s me!” So you like, blow your horn or whatever and save the crap out of Winterfell? Right??? I mean, who hasn’t been there? Hello? Is this Internet even on?
Fine. Maybe that’s just my nerd fantasy but with the announcement of Cyanide Studios’ video game adaptation of George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series I am now one step closer to possessing my very own virtual direwolf (I’m gonna name mine Princess Stabbyclaws!!!) and poking a Lannister with Needle.
From the press release posted on the Cyanide website, it appears players will get to choose to play as one of the Westeros Family characters (JON SNOW OMG JON SNOW) and while swordplay looks to be a factor, political intrigue gets a nod as well:
“The innovative game mechanics provide players with numerous paths to success: will you opt for a military, economic or diplomatic approach? Trickery, treachery and deceit are widespread and you will constantly have to watch your back if you want to avoid a bitter defeat!
Peacefully or forcefully annex surrounding territories, besiege enemy castles, send spies to infiltrate behind enemy lines, assassinate trouble-making officers or capture them to ask for a ransom… When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground!”
As a Game of Thrones fan, I want to be excited about the game. I even considered ordering this from Amazon the other day but then remembered I have trouble sitting through a two hour movie, let alone a twelve hour long epic fantasy board game. My anticipation for the video game, however, is tempered by a hunch that it will be an overlong series of cut scenes and complicated, wordy dialogue trees. Considering the length and breadth of Martin’s winter-y opus (not to mention the overwhelming number of characters) I can’t imagine how this game could be anything other than 98% talking and 2% action. Still, the game’s not out yet so neither should the verdict be. And not everyone dislikes cut scenes as much as I do. Some people live for that. I’m only saying that personally, I’m going to hedge my bets and wait for more info before I send out the e-vites to my Red Wedding themed release date party*.
*God, I am a sad, sad nerd.
Image: Daybreak Game Company
There already is a video game, it was panned by everyone.
Video games based on movies and books tend to be hugely disappointing in 99% of the cases…
The TV show on the other hand looks very promising…since it premiers on April 17th, I can’t believe Nerdist hasn’t even mentioned it yet…I don’t think there was ever this much hype about a show before it was aired—people were writing about this 3 years ago already…
ahh—just wishing for a witty nerdist blog about it…
Agreed, we’ll have to wait and see to know whether this game will be worth anything. But a video game set in Westeros is intriguing.
Again, is the book series, you know the original source material for this budding franchise, ever going to be finished!?!
I’m very excited about about the upcoming Song of Ice and Fire TV series. I don’t expect the series to be a 100% faithful adaption of the books. I expect it to follow similar lines to True Blood where the TV series takes the story in different directions that the books never followed. I can’t think of many HBO series that I don’t like and have faith that HBO won’t mess this up.
Am I the only one who thinks of the Grateful Dead song every time I see or hear about a Dire Wolf? I remember once during a DnD session with friends, my character was bleeding out during an encounter with a pack of dire wolves, and I was listening to Workingman’s Dead on my phone when the song came on. The lyrics “don’t murder me” have never seemed more appropriate”.
DefconDan, you took the words right out of my mouth!
I’d be tempted to buy the game if there was some resolution to the story. How many years does it take to write a seven book series? He’s already been at it for over a decade! Robert Jordan put out 10 books in the time Martin did 4!!!
That said, I’ll probably be getting the game 😉
Just a side note. If anyone was interested in the coming HBO series, winter-is-coming.net is very well run source for all news concerning it.
I love the series, but I don’t have much hope for the game or tv show.
To steal someone’s comment from another blog,
Hey George
JUST FINISH THE F*@$ING BOOKS ALREADY!!!
Personally, I think turning ASOIAF into a franchise is a mistake. I’m not typically a purist, but I will be avoiding this game, the TV show, and anything else set in Westeros that isn’t a book. There is simply no way to faithfully translate Martin’s masterful writing into any other medium.