User blog:General Khor/America's Most Eligible: Official Review and Strategy Guide

Hello and welcome to another review blog by General Khor, and today, I want to talk about a series that managed to capture the hearts of fans, a series that has just ended recently, which is why I made this blog. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking: hadn't I already given a review for America's Most Eligible? Well, that was the unofficial review, which I made after completing Book 1, while this is the real review. Alright, without further ado, here it is.

My Thoughts on the Series
So, America's Most Eligible is a series that has  really sent a surge of adrenaline and emotions into fans, and after one and a half years or so, it's finally over. The reason this series is special is that it adds a new element to romance stories: instead of just long dialogue and make out scenes like previous series, players have a goal to work toward. In this case it's victory, while in the stories that came after that, especially those released last year, players can acquire collectibles to unlock bonus scenes. I think this is a bold step taken by PB to encourage more players to read their romance stories. With every challenge that comes, and given the high thresholds for victory, players become more and more determined to win, and as a result, players would definitely spend huge quantities of diamonds to achieve this goal, which of course is what made this series sort of profitable. Yes, I'm sure this series is sort of expensive, but I bet the effort put in by PB really paid off, so good job, PB!

Plotwise, I like how we get to choose our persona, and I like how the twists and Audience Votes affect the competition. For example, in Book 1, we suddenly get eliminated in the middle of the season, but then a twist brought us back in, and in Book 2, at one point, Derek gets to halt the elimination process via an Audience Vote. Speaking of Book 2, this is probably the most exciting book in the series, as I really like how one fiasco after another occurs throughout the season. Same goes for Book 3, although this time it's because of Vince, and he was really up to no good. I also really like how the Big Bads, first Ivy, then Vince, try to rig the competition, and Book 3 brings them both together to ruin us once and for all.

Speaking of Ivy, I found out that the game sort of favours Ivy haters in Books 1 and 2 (In fact, you can actually become enemies with her), and by Book 3, these Ivy haters would most likely continue their bashing, unaware of what goes on with her as the story progresses. In the end, when they finally realise what was going on, it's too late, and they end up missing some wedding points. For those who have been nice to Ivy throughout the series (and bothered to investigate Vince), congratulations, those diamonds were definitely well spent. And speaking of Book 3, I like how the wedding score determines the ending of the story, similar to how heist score determines the ending in TH:M.

When it comes to the characters, most of them are sort of ok, and I kind of like Adam, who's sort of helpful and friendly, and Mackenzie, who's determined and cares for others. However, the top 3 characters whose personalities stand out the most are Vince, who's an obnoxious, arrogant jerk, Ivy, who's a ruthless, cunning cheater, and Jen, who's oh so sweet and adorable (In fact, whenever I look at her smiling, it's like she's saying "Kiss me!"). And I admit it, because of this, and I chose to be a sweetheart, I dumped Mackenzie for Jen (I also admit I'm kind of the sappy type).

General Strategy
This strategy guide is for players who are new to America's Most Eligible. I have done some research during multiple playthroughs, and what I'm about to present here is the cheapest winning strategy for each book. But then again, in Books 1 and 2, you can always appeal to the jury to get everyone on your side, but if you don't want to use the backdoor method, I highly recommend following this guide.

Book 1
Recommended allies: Adam, Mackenzie, Derek, Bianca and Ryder

Since the first 3 are love interests, you definitely want them as allies, and they are by far the easiest allies to make. The reason choosing Bianca is recommended is because she will return in Book 2, so you definitely want her on your side. Ryder can become an ally without you spending too many diamonds, since he already likes you at the start, however since he gets eliminated early and you interact less with him, I suggest buying outfits early on to secure his vote (after all, every relationship point counts). You can also get Han to be an ally, but this is practically impossible without buying outfits early on. Avoid Lina and Zeke, because these 2 will drag you down, especially Zeke (the game kind of wants players to hate him, because attempting to get him on your side will cause you to keep losing points with the others). As for Ivy, as mentioned above, the game sort of wants players to hate her (since she's the Big Bad), but getting her to like you at the end of the season will give you an advantage in Book 2, as you can then attempt to get her on your side, however this strategy is more costly.

Book 2
Recommended allies: Bianca, Slater, Ronan, Yvette and Eden

First of all, you definitely want to keep Bianca as an ally. Next, since Slater already likes you at the start, I highly recommend getting him on your side, unless you can get Ivy to like you at the end of Book 1, which, as mentioned above, is rather costly. It's easy to get Ronan and Yvette to be allies without spnding too many diamonds, but I also suggest buying outfits early on to secure their votes, especially Ronan's since, like Ryder, he gets eliminated early and you interact less with him. You can also get Kiana to be an ally, however like Han, it's practically impossible without buying outfits early on. The reason choosing Eden is recommended is because Heath tends to drag you down early on, and it's really easy to get Eden on your side. Finally, avoid Vince at all costs, since like Zeke, the game sort of wants players to hate him, as he keeps dragging you down a lot.

Book 3
For those who still hate Ivy by Book 3, you have to hold your rage and pay attention to what's happening to her, because if you're not careful, you may miss some wedding points towards the end, as mentioned above. For those who have been nice to her for the past 2 books, good for you, you might have a slight advantage in this book. You can get the average ending without spending diamonds on this book (maximum 4200 wedding points), but if you really want to win, I suggest buying the cheapest scenes (20 diamonds or less).

Jen
She is by far the cheapest LI in this series. You don't really have to spend diamonds on her, but you can do so if you want to.

Adam
It's fairly easy to get him as an ally in Book 1, and to get him to be in love with you in Book 2, by buying all the scenes unique to him.

Mackenzie
There are fewer scenes unique to her in Book 1, so I suggest choosing her for a date scene or two in order to get her as an ally. Since there are more scenes unique to her in Book 2, I highly recommend buying those scenes if you want to get her to be in love with you.

Derek
He is probably the costliest LI, as compared to Adam and Mackenzie, it is relatively harder to gain him as an ally in Book 1, and to get him to be in love with you in Book 2, without choosing him for some date scenes in each book.

Conclusion
So that's AME for you, a thrilling story worth the challenge for experienced players. Before I end this blog, I'll announce my rating for this series, and that is...

EXCITING!

Yes, if participating in challenges and having to spend diamonds to win isn't exciting, I don't know what is.

So, what are your thoughts on AME? Let me know in the comments. That's all for today, until then, this is General Khor. The end, and thank you for reading.