Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 Review

For those of us who grew up in the 1980s or early 1990s, the adventure game book was a very important creation. Combining reading with gaming not only improved our reading abilities, but also provided plenty of fun in a world where video gaming hadn't quite reached the lofty heights it has now. I can attest to having spent many, many hours playing my way through Ian Livingstone's classic Fighting Fantasy books, cheating as I went by keeping a finger tucked neatly behind the last page in case I wanted to change my mind. Tin Man Games has done a fine job of bringing this genre to the App Store, arguably even better than the Fighting Fantasy conversions. Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 is their best yet.

Players take the role of Judge Dredd as he stomps the mean streets of Mega-City One in an effort to track down all the perps and low lives of the city. Things get a little tricky for him as he slowly discovers a much bigger and more threatening plot is threatening the place. It's a very entertaining story, written in a similar style to previous adventure game books with a sharp wit about it.

It's backed up with an enjoyable combat system. Like many adventure game books before it, rolls of dice dictate just how well the Judge performs in battle, as well as in various risky situations. Battles are mostly quite short, with a quick dice option speeding things up all the more if the player wishes. It's all simply laid out too, with the combat system being pretty straight forward. There's always the option of checking out the rules though for the more dedicated.

Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 backs all this up with some great flourishes. Illustrations are scattered around the game and fit the Judge Dredd theme well. There are also achievements to unlock, encouraging the need to replay the game. Perp record sheets offers some background information on any criminals caught during a session, also. Having played through Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 a few times now, there's plenty of variety with what can be done so it lends itself well to multiple sessions. The choice of difficulty levels should keep players all the more engrossed.

It all makes for a game that's tough to criticize. As an adventure game book, Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 succeeds very well and I suspect Judge Dredd fans will adore it all the more.