Unlike the Hollywood movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Judge Dredd is a hard-nosed law enforcer who cruises the city streets of Mega-City One alone. He doesn’t have an annoying sidekick like the one seen in the movie. The real Judge Dredd would have beaten him senseless and arrested him for being a public nuisance.
Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 is the latest iOS Gamebook Adventure by Tin Man Games and developer Rebellion. Like previous Gamebooks, Countdown Sector 106 is a novel that is adorn with high quality artwork, imaginative writing, and a user-friendly combat system that resembles the Fighting Fantasy paperbacks published by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston.
But unlike their recent Gamebook, Infinite Universe ( which offered a slow-paced storyline), Countdown Sector 106 constantly has you chasing down criminals, fighting thugs, arresting citizens, and investigating warehouses and other locations.
As Judge Dredd, you are reassigned to Sector 106 of Mega-City One. This section of the city is rife with crime and hooligans. Since the crime rate is rising, additional Judges are needed to keep the city under control. After being briefed on the situation in Sector 106, you take to the streets on your Lawmaster motorcycle in search of criminals.
As you read the story, you are given choices that affect the storyline. Each decision leads to a crime in-progress or a bloody gun battle. In some cases, innocent civilians get caught in the cross-fire, and it’s up to the player to save them. In one particular scenario, a group of juveniles are seen arguing on a street corner.
When you question the juveniles, you discover that one of them (a young girl) owns a cat. When the girl realizes that she might be in trouble with the law for owning the animal (it’s illegal to own a cat in Judge Dredd’s world), she runs into a building. As you pursue her, you discover that her pet is actually a massive alien cat beast with a temperament. If you make the wrong decision by firing your Lawgiver at the beast, it will retaliate by killing the young girl. The game is full of teeth-gnashing scenarios like the one described. And while there are countless crimes to investigate and criminals to execute, the main plot thickens when you discover something more sinister is afoot.
Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106 gives the player control over Dredd’s behavior. Fans of Judge Dredd know him as a hard-nosed, grimacing street protector who isn’t shy about making front door entrances, but the game includes choices that deviate from his normal behavior. Instead of kicking down the front door and ruining the eliminate of surprise, you can sneak through the back or scale the side of a building for a stealthier approach.
When you’re not investigating disturbances radioed in by Sector House, you’re patrolling the streets for riffraff and anything out of the ordinary. You can even perform citizen apartment sweeps to investigate for cleanliness and personal hygiene. As mundane as this may sound, it’s quite the opposite. Especially when you’re going from one apartment to the next looking for anyone that may be violating the law. Who knows, you might even arrest a few perps or solve a homicide or two in the process. It all depends on your decisions.
Like previous Gamebook Adventures, combat is based on a dice rolling system. When combat begins, a menu appears with the following options: Attack, Fitness Check and Combat Options. The Attack option is self-explanatory. The Fitness Check option, on the other hand, requires a dice roll to activate. If an even number is rolled during this sequence, the next roll will receive a +1 bonus. The Combat Options menu contains Judge Dredd’s stats (i.e. Vitality, Fitness, Offence, etc.), inventory items, and medkits to heal wounds. It’s important to view your stats before every encounter.
The combat screen is divided into two sections. The bottom half of the screen displays stats for both Dredd and his enemies. The top of the screen is used for rolling the dice. When combat is initiated, dice are rolled to to determine if Dredd hits or misses his opponent. The amount rolled also determines the amount of damage inflicted. The beauty of this system is that the player can shake the iPhone during a roll to bounce the dice around the screen, flipping a bad roll into something more positive. This method can also be used to interfere with your enemy’s roll.
The game uses a bookmark system to save your place in the story. Playing the game on easy will give you fifty bookmarks, while higher difficulties give less. Despite being an interactive book, Judge Dredd Sector 106 is a very challenging game. The more bookmarks you have the better.
Tin Man Games should be commended for a job well done. The atmosphere and story mimic the Judge Dredd comic book universe. Plus, the trademark slang, gangs, and Mega-City One locations are all present and accounted for. No self-respecting Judge Dredd fan should be without this game. If there ever was a time to get excited about an interactive game book (especially with the new Judge Dredd movie on the horizon), Judge Dredd Sector 106 is that game.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: iOS
Rated 12+ for the following:
• Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use or References to these
• Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
• Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
Developer: Tin Man Games
Publisher: Tin Man Games
Price: $6.49
Judge Dredd Sector 106’s Official Website
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Stunning illustrations that do the Judge Dredd universe justice (no pun intended). | |
| Sound | |
| While the main sound track doesn't change, it is varied enough to provide a gloomy atmosphere. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Engrossing and very entertaining. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Judge Dredd fans and Sci-Fi fanatics will enjoy this game. | |
