SLAMMED!

Tell me you don't understand wrestling without telling me you don't understand wrestling.
Written by someone who clearly just discovered a pro-wrestling thesaurus and the Wrestling Observer.
Reads like a bad recap of a Road To Wrestlemania mode or Russo-Era WCW/TNA show with an even stranger insistence that every major thread somehow be a shoot. Not even worth a second run to see if the other routes are any better. Miserable experience.

This is the 40th CoG I've played...and it's in the top 10, which is pretty amazing for a CYOA about wrestling. I'm not a fan of wrestling. I don't know much about wrestling, beyond the tv show GLOW. And it doesn't matter because not only does this game surpass the source material, it actually makes me want to watch some wrestling now! The storytelling is truly great in a way vanishingly few games of its kind are and has a LOT of replayability. The only criticism I have is that the romances are its weak aspect, both in terms of quantity and quality. But everything else is superb. If you liked Choice of Robots, Tin Star, Choice of Magic, Tally Ho, etc, you'll love this game.

I admit, I was hesitant to buy this, even after playing the stellar beta which left a lasting impression. It was only when I saw the game at a discount that I decided to swallow my doubts and take a risk.

And boy, am I glad I took it

SLAMMED! is worth buying, and if you're like me, you'll be on the edge of your seat sinking a few hours into this game. Every moment feels tense, every victory feels deserved, and you become so invested in the world you don't expect a swerve until it comes right at you.

By the end, I felt like I just finished a good-no-great book written with passion. Sure, I'm still hung up on missed opportunities, fractured relationships, 'What-could-have-been', but that's the beauty of this medium: You can go back and do it all over again.

But, as for me, I'll need a week or two to recover from the emotional rollercoster that was this story. I feel just like how my character felt, overwhelmed with tears when all was said and done

One of the best choose-your-own-adventure novels on Steam. Great story, terrific writing, choices that actually provide different outcomes, excellent romance.. Couldn't be happier. I'll be following any other works of this author.

SLAMMED! If your a Fan of Wrestling or Choice of games, its a worthy addition to your Collection.

Your an up and coming Wrestler starting in a minor league and working your way into the GWA, but its not all smooth sailing, several Highs and Lows await in your career.

What is your relationship with JJ Havoc? What style of Wrestler are you? Are you a Face or a Heel? The choice is yours.

An incredible game. SLAMMED! was my first Choice of Games experience. Robust, wild and messy, it explores not just the ring techniques but also the locker room antics and struggles with the creative team. How much do you bend to other's whims versus making a scene, breaking out and become a star with genuine heat worthy of a title shot? Kudos to Paolo Chikiamco for writing fulfilling payoffs and making me feel like a badass or a complete failure depending on the circumstances. 5/5

As a wrestling fan and a text-based game fan, this is a really enjoyable game. It's short, but it makes it easy to try out all the paths and options. I enjoy it but don't expect to spend as much time on it like a Night Road.

This was pretty cool.

I know nothing about wrestling, yet this was entertaining and I wanted to see what would happen. I got so angry a couple times, not having a clue about how much of a show everything is so people screwed my char over - though things resolved well so I didn't feel bad for too long.

I did spend half the time googling wrestling moves and frankly I had no clue even after seeing the moves on what stat they were focusing on. I focused on strength because it seemed the easier one to spot but I screwed up big time on a couple fights. So if you're clueless about wrestling, it's still an entertaining game, exciting even, but be prepared to feel like you're tossing a coin for some of the choices.

It has romances and I did two of them:
1. with a singer and this romance well developed and I absolutely loved the character
2. with my char's old friend turned rival (the main conflict of the game). This one I feel should've been developed a little more; it's a crush because you decide it at the start, but during the game there aren't hints about your rival having romantic feelings toward you. There's only one reaction I got that might hint he feels the same, otherwise it's you being nice - at the end you decide whether you'd like friendship or romance (or nothing), a bit too short of a closure for how big the conflict was and how much of a jerk he was to you.

There's at least one more person you can romance, but my char was gay so I didn't try it out. Also a triangle with the same person and the singer. I think the singer's gender is according to your preferences, but I'm not entirely sure, since I haven't played female yet. Also the rival seems to have your gender.

There's loads of achis but to get them all you have to play multiple times and as both sexes. For some you have to lose fights and for some you have to be a real a-hole - I think I'm fine not doing them all, I'm not the villain type.

All in all, it was fun and it even felt I was there at times, I was gesticulating and raising my hands like my character did. Don't know how to explain it better than: fun and exciting.

First play through was amazing! I can't believe that I was on the edge of my seat from reading text!?!?
Even if you are not a big fan of pro wrestling, you will love this adventure!

I don't know the first thing about wrestling, but after this I wanted to learn everything about it.
This is some seriously quality writing. There are elements of all of the great literay pieces ever made, there are friendships, betrayals, revenge, romance, humour, it's all here. The twists and turns are amazing, the choices are very clear and you'll benefit from sticking to your guns through the course of the story rather than trying to game the system.
I didn't expect this to grab me the way it had, but after being unable to stop playing until I completed it at about 3am, I think it's up their with the best COG or HG have to offer.

...honestly never thought in a millions years I'd be getting choked up at a wresting text adventure at 3am on a random Monday night.

Outstanding.

One of the best novels from Choice of Games.

You're gonna enjoy this whether you are a wrestling fan or not (at least I did). Just, in the second case, I'd recoment you to have a google (or whatever search engine you're using) tab open to look at what some of the moves do and other stuff that you might not know.

I honestly can't find anything bad to say about this game.

So go ahead and get this little gem. Or at least give the Demo a try and deside for yourself.

I'm not a fan of wrestling.

Yet somehow, somwhere along the line of playting the demo to this I ended up in love. Paolo Chikiamco is a master of terminology and theory, making every small detail easily understood with the depth required to the uninitiated. I was surprised as I went on at the build-up and the falls, the pacing the best out of any Choice of Games title I've played so far. Each of the choices, the differences in the story, they all add their own flair and style which alone doesn't mean much but when it's all together you really feel like you've crafted a unique persona with their own moveset, motivations, public avatar and fleshed-out motivations.

Lengthy without feeling bloated, I would reccommend this to anyone, wrestling fanatic or not. It's that great.

I wanted to refund this game so bad at first, but I realised because I was playing a character I knew wasn't me was central to the experience of pro-wrestling. I'm not an active fan but this made me want to return to my childhood days and enjoy it all.

This game was made by a master of terminology and theory of the genre. I played a heel through almost the whole game and just twice I broke kayfabe, once to sign a fan an autograph [if they said I was a jerk about it haha, I was nice to them.] and also to a woman who had some problem with family or something.

This is a great story and I only played once. It certainly levels with the standard highest bar I place for CoG, which is Choice of Robots [my fave story wise and sheer "yes you can do that, and it will have a real effect."]. I might not like pro wrestling as much as Robots, I love this game for the same reasons.

I can't quite figure out some stats, maybe they effect wording or story path with no choice involved [except the choices that gave you those stats.] My story path definitely satisfied even if there is only one main path. I felt the sting of every revelation and the confusion of "Is this kayfabe? Or do I have to kick some ass?" I got so into it that in game I started to accidently handicap myself thinking I'd end up having to seriously fight bloody.

If you don't know wrestling terms, the game makes them sorta contextual, but if there isn't an in game dictionary of terms, there is a good free online one.

Good weaving in and out of the timeline to help have you choose things and establish in-game reality. Since at times it'll weave forward or back through time There aren't many, or any, awkward sudden choices to make.

Finally, now and then you get to read a news type blog post about you and what's happening in your corner of wrestling.

Just a lot of fun. Damn good story, you don't just choose how it goes, but like wrestling.... you tune it like a song also

Slammed does something I’ve never seen in a wrestling game before, and that’s explore the gritty viper’s nest of politics that the professional wrestling industry often is. The author is very clearly a passionate fan of pro wrestling, and shows a deep knowledge of how the industry works. Even if you don’t like wrestling, you’ll like Slammed if you’re a fan of Interactive Fiction. The game explains what you need to know about pro wrestling as it goes along, and has a great story that incorporates your choices and what kind of wrestler your character is. Without giving too much away, the moral dilemma near the end that sets up which final route you take was awesome and chilling. I played through this twice, and even on the second playthrough I couldn’t do what I would’ve had to do to get my championship match, and I’m okay with that.

My 6 hour game session ended in tears of grief falling from my eyes as gutwrenching howls of frustration left my innermost being and drifted into the atmosphere. I lost in the championship match. Even though I can take solace in the fact the last action I took was spitting in the champion's face, it doesn't replace the satisfaction that would have come from beating him senseless.

Maybe next time.

Review - SLAMMED!

As a die hard wrestling fan, this grabbed my attention immedietly. Although I was initially skeptical of how the wrestling industry might be represented, I found myself drawn in to a story that is gripping, entertaining, and although it requires more than a little suspension of disbelief, drew out real emotion reaction from me.

Just like the real thing.

As much as I think at least some familiarity or interest with wrestling will be required to get full enjoyment from this game, the storyline and the replayability of making different choices still might be enough to tempt outsiders to give it a try for such a low price tag. If you ARE a wrestling fan, then....buy it? What are you reading this for? Buy it now.

Have you bought it? Good.

Having been a fan of games of this sort for some time, I'm pleased to see the genre branching out into other themes. The Heroes Rise series made me a fan, but Slammed has made me an enthusiast.

Epic story, and was longer then i thought. And when i first started, i could not pull away, so sat playing it for 5,1 hours straight to finish my story. Absolutely worth the time and money :)

A fun little text based game that is well worth the money. It's by no means perfect especially the no-win set up ith JJ early in the game but after that there seems to be a lot of fun variations to choose from. I played as a complete self centered womansier who would do anything to get what he wanted and then as totally honourable lesbian who became the champion of the world and got the girl of her dreams and both times had a ball. A decent number of acheivements to be had means it's probably got a fair amount of replayability for a text game too. It's pretty sad when this was 10x more fun than 2k's recent wwe15.

There's "one more turn" levels of addicting games, and then there's this, where I didn't even think of the time until I finished the first playthrough and realized I'd wanted to go to bed hours ago. A must for any wrestling fan who isn't immediately put off by reading. Has a fairly unique approach to the awkward problem of kayfabe in video games, has epic storylines that had me marking out more than actual wrestling, and is full of cute little references to the real wrestling world.

I bought Slammed! when it originally released as one of my first COGs, and have played it many times since then, so I’m happy to see it finally get its day in the spotlight here on steam, as it is one of the best titles they have published to date.

I know a lot of you probably aren’t wrasslin’ fans, and you don’t have to be. If you enjoy interactive fiction, you’ll still find a great story with interesting characters and a TON of character choice and different routes for replayability.

For those of you that are or have been fans, however, you have the added bonus of enjoying loads of in-jokes and references that will make you smile – maybe even a few laugh out loud moments too – and have fun matching the game’s characters to the people they are actually based on. It’s always nice when a writer has such a grasp on and love for the material he is writing as the game’s quality can only be strengthened by it. Not only is it a great read, but it is a fictionalized walk through memory lane. (It is kind of sad to play as a female wrestler, though, as the fictional divas division is certainly better handled than the real one :p )

Tldr; Slammed is a lengthy CYOA of rising to fame in the GWA. There are many ways to make it, and more than a few ways to fail; do your skills have what it takes to make you the next HBK or Stone Cold?