User blog:7GSTF/A lookback at Most Wanted

I started Choices way back in August 2016. I had no idea at the time of course, but I must have been one of its earliest players. Along with Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, which I started on July 26th, 2016, these two games kept me entertained throughout the majority of my five years of college. I generally don't get hooked on to one game or another, but these two were exceptions. SWGOH has fallen out of favour with me. I played it for three years, before closing the book. I opened it again this year, only to realize that I had no longer any love for the game. I shut the book again, probably for good this time around. However, Choices never befell that fate, ever.

Probably the reason that it never got boring was the fact that it kept reinventing itself. There was no question about the work they put in - in the early years especially. 2016-18, they probably didn't put a foot wrong. Outstanding stories were ever present, and two of their greatest series were in their hey day - The Crown and the Flame, and Endless Summer. Several other superb books kept the ball rolling, and this enabled a largely successful period. It was their golden run without question. However, thereafter, despite some bad books - which focused only on smut and pretty much nothing else, Choices did have their successes, and their announcement of BOLAS book 2 really lifts up the spirits!

Thinking back on my beginnings with the game, it is time for me to talk about the book that really started it all. Most Wanted. It is still one of the best books ever written by PB, and I had briefly explained why in my ranking list - it is in my top 25... for those who haven't read it.

Most Wanted was one of the first two books I read on the app. I am unsure of whether it was TC and TF book 1 or MW, but it was one of them for sure. Despite being a freshman in college, The Freshman didn't appeal much to me. The fact that it was Gender locked didn't help matters either. While TC and TF satisfied my fantasy story demands, MW proved to be one of the most tightly written and excellent stories I ever read.

PB has increasingly turned politically left or 'woke' over the years. (They are not even hiding it anymore, MAH was obvious in this, and LOA 2 has a disdain for the 'right wing news anchor', something which was not the case early on). Back then, they focused on good stories, and nothing else. Ideologies, liberal theories or humanities talking points weren't up for discussion in the story. (Irony is that they believe that the left is perfect, and the right is the epitome of the devil - consider the fact that de-transitioning is a thing (of the Transgender community - especially when they are transitioning at 5 to 7 these days - point is - if you want the bad stuff about the left read the right wing news sites and vice versa), and only talking about conversion therapy instead in MAH). Back then, things were much simpler.

MW was excellent in delivering a wonderful story, with two excellent lead characters to boot. The two leads aren't simple stereotypes either. Sam isn't a hick from Texas, but she shows her Southern side for sure. Meanwhile Dave isn't the typical LA smooth cop. Sure, he has an interest in hip hop and several celebrity contacts, but he also has a dark past surrounding his mother and a fear of getting close to anyone. They aren't perfect opposites, and they didn't need to be either, as they work very well together. Clearly, the differences are obvious to see, and yet, they feel natural and unforced. Even more importantly, the two clash, and are often at odds with each other. This never feels forced or unnatural, since they clear come from very, very different backgrounds. The writers clearly put story logic over ideology or the message (See also - The Critical Drinker). The story threads were excellently interwoven as well. Hayley was a character that they used excellently. The twist was nicely constructed, with John Tull being linked to Hayley - eventually turning out to be an excellent twist, that few could guess, but most wouldn't be disappointed with. It is always a fine line when it comes to writing, as to how to write a twist. The writers got it right here. Similarly, the story moved along at a rapid pace, with no time for wasted scenes or moments. Every scene built up to something. You could also get it wrong several times and die. This is something that is missing from more recent Choices stories. Back then, the stories were more unforgiving if you got it wrong, but they were much more rewarding if you got it right. Add to that, this story isn't that diamond hungry either. You can play this story without spending any diamonds, and you will be left satisfied still. In addition, this story's diamond scenes aren't all that long either, so you don't get too much value for money either. The tension is real, and the characters feel real. Both MCs are perfectly imperfect. Stubborn and headstrong, one is meticulous and more of a planner - Dave, while the other likes to charge into situations and deal with them in a more hands on sort of way - Sam. The conflict between the characters thus feels real and natural. It doesn't feel as though the writer put the conflict there in order to extend the story. Similarly, the police aren't completely demonized in this one either (for reference, see how the police are treated in MW versus MAH - the difference is stark, and the ideology at play is obvious to anyone. Hell, even COP has some pretty ham fisted treatment of the NYC police department). They aren't perfect, but they aren't shown to be either. See, PB? You could do nuance. But, you chose ideology over it, and now, your writing has obviously suffered due to it. A total turn and shift in your political leanings has led to you bending over backwards to please your so called liberal audience.

This story suffers from none of those faults. Remember, it was 2016, the year when companies really started to go 'woke'. PB hadn't yet caught the bug, and their stories from their earlier years are therefore among their best. It is quite telling when ES, MW, TC and TF and the It lives series are among their best. Few after 2018 are even close to their best. It is a telling case of what PB have done to themselves.

MW is also a sign of things changing. It is one of the very, very few books which didn't have a single sex scene. The book's greatness is further magnified by the fact that it really doesn't need one either. The story and the characters are excellent, and no distractions are necessary in the form of pointless scenes.

This also shows why more and more smutty books are being released with a focus on hedonism and debauchery in particular. If you don't have a story to sell, remember the old adage - 'Sex Sells'. That is basically what they have become. The fact that this company published Witness, Surrender, The Nanny Affair trilogy, Baby Bump and other such terrible books, tells me that they lost any sense of work ethics. They put the least amount of effort to produce a truly terrible product. Another example - The Wolf Bride. No effort into the story, background, characters, LIs, world of the characters and so on, and simply trying to cash out for the quickest buck possible. I have seen some of this nonsense enter into LOA as well, and it has certainly brought the level of the product down.

This is the reason why MW still stands tall. A remarkable book that deserved a trilogy or a quadrology. It, along with a laundry list of other books was ended by PB - way too soon. The fact that they made some good decisions ensures that the company still stands today. BOLAS 2, COP 2 and LOA 2 being a few. However, their recent books for the future blog made me quite pessimistic. Roommates with benefits?, First Comes Love?, Getaway Girls? - Seriously PB?! Write better stories and characters, please! I beg of you! Remember, you don't need to keep churning out terrible books. Give it time and give audiences good books! We waited almost 3 years for BOLAS 2, and we'll wait 1 year for COP 2. Don't you think we would've waited for It Lives 3 or MW 2?? You have so little faith in your audience, and so much focus on the bottom line that it is hilarious. (PB went on a rant against capitalism in It Lives Beneath - very ironic considering their own business practices of pushing the most mediocre money making books to not one, not two but three part series!!).

When they weren't political, they were simply bad, boring, slow or all three. The greatest example of this series is The Royal Romance. A completely tedious bore, the longer it went on. What could have been a 2 book story was stretched to 7, and any real interest that this series had was dead by The Royal Heir, book 1. Stories which had potential were often let down by terrible endings. Distant Shores is a most egregious example of this.

My rant about their political leanings comes from a place of neutrality. I ain't an American, and have no desire to be. However, this has affected them as a company, with their overt political posturing negatively affecting their product. Remember PB, if it ain't good quality, lesser people are going to be paying you.

I wish that they would or could go back to the days were their main focus was simply to give us the best product that they possibly could without pushing their political leanings or mediocrities, or bad writings, or simply sex scenes with no depth on us, but they won't. MW stands as a testament to a better age when the company had some spine and some nerve to back good stories rather than push a certain agenda or complete nonsense as their books. While they haven't completely lost all their goodwill, (their renaissance last year really brought them back from the dead), their to be released titles don't give me any hope of interesting stories or characters - more of the TV serial women characters who are among the most toxic or shallow that you can ever read about. It is a sad situation, but until the management develops into one that simply cares about the stories rather than pushing their political or social leanings on us, things aren't going to change. It is also clear to me that they have lost their art of nuance. The villains are becoming way more hamfisted these days. (Consider Ride or Die - they are probably not publishing that book if it was written in 2022, especially with the MC's father - a cop, being a gray good guy!).

I hold out some hope for their future - let's see if BOLAS 2 lives up to the hype. LOA 2 hasn't been quite upto the mark as much as LOA, which isn't really surprising. I don't mind if PB take time to get their act together. What I do mind is if they push out shit masquerading as a book. Let's hope they improve, but I am expecting more stupid, terrible, bad, or awful books from them with the occasionally brilliancy for a while more (Thanks to WTD and LOA, they didn't hit rock bottom. Those books really saved their credibility). MW holds a special place in my heart for those reasons. It stands as a testament to what the company was, and the quality that they aspired to, not what they increasingly have become and are.

Yours,

7GSTF.