User blog:General Khor/1 year on Choices

Thursday, Jun 20, which also happens to be my 21st birthday, marks one year since I started tuning in to the Choices Channel. Actually, I tried Choices in December 2017, but at that time there are no other ways to earrn diamonds (I just don't want to spend real money), so after completing TC&TF and ILITW, I deleted the app. Then, on my birthday last year, I installed Choices again, and when I discovered you can watch ads for diamonds after playing each chapter, I was stoked, and so I officially joined the Choices community. As for this wiki, I found it in September last year, so I've been here for nine months already.

At that time I (officially) started playing, ES and HSS were already completed not long ago, TRR was on its 3rd season, RCD was on its 2nd season, PM Season 1 had just finished, BB Season 1 and VoS were still airing, and the Freshman series had reached The Junior. During that time, when I was waiting for my next semester in university to begin, I completed TC&TF, ILITW, ES and THOBM (as you probably know, I prefer to play completed series or books). Then, a semester ago, I completed AME1, ILB, PM and VoS. I also completed TH:M during my sem break. Now, I'm waiting for my next and final semester to begin, which means it's time for me to start new books. Now, I plan to read ATV, AME2 and PTR (as you probably know, I don't prefer romance, unless there are special features such as score systems and collectibles).

So why did I choose Choices? Some of you have probably noticed it, but Choices stands out as the most popular game of its kind, and I think this is attributable to the series in this channel, and more importantly the special features and effects in every show (score systems, collectibles and achievements), especially the score systems and collectibles featured in some books, which gives players a goal to work toward, and so players have an incentive to play.

So, in this blog post are my thoughts on Choices so far, the good and bad points, how Choices can be improved, and reviews for every book I played.

The Performance of Choices So Far
As of now, PB has mostly performed OK, there's a wide range of genres, including romance, fantasy, mystery, horror, adventure, etc, and the stories I've read so far are great. I can't wait to play BB, NB, OH, Elementalists and ATV (yes, some of these stories have no other special features, but I'm still a fan of adventure, horror and mystery stories). I might consider playing ACoR (it's an MPOV story, and the plot sounds exciting, besides I love historical fiction), as well as ROD (it's been listed as an adventure story in the app, I just hope it's not pure romance). Other than these, I don't really have any incentive to play other series, such as The Freshman, ROE and TRR. I mean, not everybody is a fan of romance stories, you know. Also, as of now episodes (chapters) are being aired almost every day, which means less waiting time for new chapters, not to mention more diamond ads available, which gives more players a bigger incentive to play.

Then, there are the problems that have been discussed by the fandom for several months. The first is of course, the many seemingly boring romance stories. Most Choices stories fall into this genre, and worse, most of them are female lead stories, so I guess female lead romance trilogies are PB's specialty. I mean, if these stories are gender of choice lead, then I might consider playing those. It's obvious PB is catering mostly to the female fan base (I know there are guys who like romance, and are OK playing as girls, but I'm sure the majority of players prefer to play as their own gender). Yes, sometimes they did think of the male fan base, but lately, there are some adventure and mystery stories, such as VoS and TH:M, that have a big potential if they were serialised, but too bad, these ended up as standalones. I really like the idea of the "They Didn't Get It" award by Man Mountain; they really treated those like side projects. Then there's the "We Didn't Get It" award, and indeed there are some books which PB advertised a lot but were snubbed by the fandom, such as The Junior, HFTH, LoveHacks, etc. And don't get me started on MW and Hero, I just hope these series don't get Woody's Roundup'd (you know, the show was cancelled after that).

How Choices Can Be Improved
From the responses by the fandom regarding each book, I would say the Choices "Golden Age" was from when Choices was launched to about the time The Junior was released, which marked the beginning of the "Dark Age". From then on, some new books have received mostly negative reviews from the fandom. From the looks of it right now, if PB doesn't improve sooner, I don't know how much longer they can last. Here are some ways PB can improve the Choices Channel: Feel free to voice your reccommendations in the comments section.
 * The fandom wants more adventure and mystery, so PB shouldn't focus on just romance stories.
 * Make sure the plot is electrifying, not sleep-inducing.
 * Make sure the plot makes sense to the readers. Avoid plot holes. Plot twists are fine, as long as they make sense.
 * Make sure the characters make sense, ie their actions fit their personalities. Sudden personality switches are fine, again as long as they make sense.

My Reviews for Each Series/Book
Ratings from best to worst:

ELECTRIFYING!!! EXCITING! Meh BOOORIIING! ZZZZZ...

The Crown & the Flame
Rating: ELECTRIFYING!!!

This series is one of the legendary series of Choices. Firstly, the characters were great, especially the villains, who are really convincing (they really made me furious!). First, there's King Luther, whose heart is as black as his clothes, a tyrant so evil that I'm sure many players chose to scream "DEATH!" at him. However, Book 3 features probably the most psychotic and evil villain in the entire Choices franchise - Empress Azura. Seriously, I think she wants to kill everyone so that she can live forever. Then there's the Mechawolf, also in Book 3, who makes readers laugh with funny nicknames for several characters.

The plot of the entire series was very well written, with Book 1 about retaking Stormholt, Book 2 about crushing Luther, and Book 3 about defeating the Iron Empire once and for all. In fact, they could have had Kenna declare that no one will ever again threaten the independence of the Five Kingdoms, and the Iron Empire troops fall to their knees and cry while surrendering, that would be the most satisfying ending ever. Also, although this series has score systems and collectibles, I would recommend it for beginners so see what Choices stories are like. Overall, this show is really a legend, just like its main characters, and I'm glad this is the first series I ever played.

The Haunting of Braidwood Manor
Rating: Meh

Short but OK. Still worth spending diamonds on, actually. In fact, I wonder what will happen should I choose the diamond ending, like how would those other characters react if the MC told them her new friend is Eleanor Waverley. Do they know who the Waverleys really are? I so want to find out. Recommended for beginners.

Endless Summer
Rating: ELECTRIFYING!!!

Another legend by PB. A great mix of fantasy, adventure, mystery and romance. My favourite moments are the First Battle of the Celestial in Book 1, the Vaanti trial in Book 2, Chapter 4, the Battle of Elyys'tel in Chapter 6, the revealing of the murderer of Estela's mom, the MASADA scenes, the burning world scene and Aleister's betrayal in Chapter 14, the Endless scenes, the sea battles in Book 3, Chapters 3 and 8, the scenes with Iris, the wedding scenes in Chapter 7 and the Second Battle of the Celestial. I also love the dating feature in Book 2 and the handfasting feature in Book 3, Chapter 10 (I married Estela, but I want to go after Quinn).

The characters were great as well, and tbh my favourite character is actually Jake, I mean all those nicknames he comes up with for everyone are funny (in fact, I think he's going to be my female MC's LI. I'm one of those guys who are OK playing as either gender). Then there's Quinn, that beautiful flower who was about to wilt away, one of the cutest characters created by PB. She's kind, optimistic, and no doubt one of the best LIs in Choices. Estela is also great, I mean, who wouldn't want a badass female fighter as a LI? Another great character is Aleister, for I love the moment he reveals he's the son of the big bad, and his betrayal and redemption is really convincing. As for Rourke, he's also a very convincing villain, sly and manipulative, not to mention his ambition to rule America as Palpatine/2nd Dimension Doofensmirtz.

Besides, I love the relationship level system, which makes this series more challenging (in fact, this series is for experienced players), as we often gain points with one character while losing points with another. Also, there are so many collectibles, I haven't collected them all yet (as I mentioned earlier, I prefer not to use real money). In short, this is a fantastic story through and through, too bad all the endings are bittersweet, especially the Vaanu ending which is considered "canon", I'm sure some players cried after seeing that ending.

Veil of Secrets
Rating: ELECTRIFYING!!!

I don't know why this show received a lot of negative reviews. This is a really great story about a hero who has to rescue his/her girlfriend from enemies who blame her for their son's murder, and little did anyone know the real killer was after those enemies. The Sterlings and their henchman Walsh are really great antagonists, after all they pin the blame on Kate, a convincing damsel in distress, just because she's from a lower class than the Sterlings. Walsh really is a good henchman, after all he tries to chase the MC out of Birchport to prevent him/her from rescuing Kate (that really made me furious). In fact, I can imagine what would happen had King Pierce's plan succeeded. Maybe the MC and allies would storm their mansion and fight them and Walsh, while declaring they're taking over the town, and once they succeed, the Sterlings and Walsh would be imprisoned for their crimes (namely, discriminating against the lower class), Kate will be freed and everyone will live happily ever after. And who knows, the MC might replace Pierce as the new mayor of Birchport.

The plot twist is also convincing; who knew a bumbling fool of a cop could turn out to be a psychotic serial murderer. Yes, some players might feel sorry for Duffy and save him because he did it all in revenge for his mother (not to mention the Sterlings are real scum), however I think he doesn't deserve to live, because he is the one behind Kate's suffering, and what is worse, he tries to kill the DID after he discovers she's pregnant with his victim's child. Had Duffy's plan succeeded, I'm sure the MC's life would have been destroyed. As for Pierce, sure, he's a drug trafficker, but he only did it because some bad investments threatened to fell his business, so I kind of feel sorry for him. Besides, he also feels sorry for discriminating against Kate (after all, he left his fortune to her), but only because she has Tanner's child. So, in conclusion, this is an awesome story that deserves to be serialised, too bad PB decided to just end it after only one season. This book is recommended for intermediates as it contains violent scenes.

Perfect Match
Rating: EXCITING!

When I saw this series listed as adventure in the app, I decided to give it a try, and as it turned out, this really is an interesting show. Sure, the first few episodes are a bit boring, but from Book 1, Chapter 6 onwards, things started to get exciting. My favourite moments include the moment we discover the true nature of this oh so sweet sounding matchmaking firm, the discovery that those "matches" are actually androids, the time when the group was captured and taken to the big bad, the moment we discover Eros made android copies of the gang (at least they made a copy of Hayden, Damien amd the MC), the mission to rescue Damien, the mission to find Khaan, the scenes with Hamza, the talkshow disaster and the mission to rescue the President. As for the characters, PB did a good job creaing them, after all, there are so many personalities: Nadia is sweet and sappy, Damien is cynical, Hayden is caring, Khaan is a fun guy, Rowan is ruthless and Cecile is cunning and sadistic. In a nutshell, I wouldn't call this story indescribable, but the ending could have been better. Another good beginner book.

It Lives in the Woods
Rating: EXCITING!

Multiple points of view, lots of collectibles, a shocking plot twist, who doesn't like this story? In the beginning, the group is being helped by Mr Red, a ghostly figure that killed one of their friends, because of some bullies everyone hates. When he goes too far by killing one of the bullies, they reject his help and he fights them. Then we realise the gang had been fighting the friend they've lost all this while. So you can say this story is well written. Then we have several characters we can play as (8 in total), a great villain and antagonists with well developed personalities. Let's just say, Britney, Cody and Jocelyn should be expelled from Westchester High, especially Cody and Jocelyn, who probably won't stop their violent acts until each and every one of the gang members is dead (or at least expelled). Next there's a score system where we can gain or lose points, and our final score determines the outcome of the story, which means you can lose in this story, so I recommend playing the It Lives series before playing ES or AME, which means this series is for intermediate players, those who have played all the beginner books.

It Lives Beneath
Rating: ELECTRIFYING!!!

It may not be MPOV (we don't get to play as other members of the group), but it's still one of PB's best works. In fact, this show is better than the previous one. MC finds his/her parents murdered, moves to a lakeside town with Grandpa and makes new friends. Then a ghost from the lake snatches someone and drowns him. We discover this is not the first time, and so we investigate. After witnessing another murder, we investigate further, and discover the existence of a cult in Pine Springs, and among them were a gang member's parents, the police chief and Grandpa. They imediately become hostile towards the gang, and later try to kill the MC as a sacrifice to the lake ghost, whom we later discover is the MC's grandma. We also find out Grandpa's past and the cult's origins, and that Grandma the lake ghost wants to destroy the town built by her murderers, the founders of the cult. In short, another well written story.

The cult proved to be great villains, especially the Wescotts and Abe Kelley. I'm sure Imogen must be ashamed after finding out her parents are the founders and leaders of the cult, yet her parents want her to join them, so I guess the MC's family, the Vances, are pitted against the Wescotts and their "Society". Then we discover Grandma Josephine wants to destroy Pine Springs and kill all the townsfolk, and this really infuriated me. After all, just because we live in Pine Springs doesn't mean we're supporters of the Wescotts and the "Society". This makes her a convincing villain as well. Then there's the nerve system again, which gives players an incentive to spend diamonds to avoid defeat, not to mention collecting collectibles. All this makes this story a better one than ILITW.

America's Most Eligible
Rating: ELECTRIFYING!!!

Another book for experienced players. Again, it features the relationship level system which is introduced is ES, and players have to spend diamonds to avoid defeat (lots of diamonds, in fact, so I recommend playing ES first). There are some characters we love, others we hate, but they're all well developed. We get to choose who to side with and who to eliminate (sometimes), but overall the huge challenge this story poses is what makes it worth playing.

The Heist: Monaco
Rating: EXCITING!

Again, this book features a score system which determines the outcome of the story, so it's a book for intermediates. The plot is well developed, and there are so many crew combimations to choose from (we can choose 5 out of 10 potential gang members, 1 for each role), and each gang member has a different personality. Also, there are multiple outcomes, not just for the MC, but for individual crew members as well, and if your score is too low, there is a possibility for defeat. I don't know why this show received a lot of bad reviews, but like VoS, this story deserves to be serialised, and again PB decided to end it with only one season.

Conclusion
According to Man Mountain, Choices is like a TV channel, with each book being a season in a show and each chapter being an episode, and he's right. Think of what would happen if Choices was suddenly discontinued. How would you react when your favourite TV channel is no longer available? I'm sure it would be devastating for most players. In conclusion, there are many features that make Choices great, but there are also ways PB can make Choices better for everyone. I hope to see more exciting stories soon, and those stories are of good quality so that everyone can enjoy this game.

That's all for now. The end, and thank you for reading.