Player Comments on American Outlaws: The James Gang

GUNFIGHTS is 10.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 10.
ROBBERIES is 20.
SCORE is 127600

Definitely a game that I enjoyed. This was always my favorite, even more so than the later American Outlaws games. While I can understand why people would find rewards for murdering people tasteless, it is worth noting that the protagonist Bill Grey was a member of Quantrill's Raiders, a confederate guerilla group so awful, they were disavowed and declared war criminals by the Confederacy for the massacre of 200 unarmed citizens (which the first page here states).

It's worth noting, however, that Jesse James had a reason for his bloodthirsty crusade against the Pinkerton Agency. Alan Pinkerton led a raid on their family home, killing his mother and younger brother in an attempt, as stated by Pinkerton himself, to burn the house down.

On the other hand, Jesse was part of a group that massacred civilians, and his family were slaveowners. Quantrill's Raiders, and presumably Jesse, spent most of their time hunting down and capturing runaway slaves. Jesse was also reported to have worn Ku Klux Klan sackcloth during the Adair train robbery, to show support for the group after their subjection to President US Grant's Enforcement Acts.

While I sympathize with his loved ones who had to suffer needlessly at the hands of Unionists who let their anger override their morality, the fact is that Jesse James himself was a prime dirtbag who deserved a public lynching, and the only reason why he is so romanticized as a Robin Hood is his affiliation with Southern newspaper editors who wanted to see Secessionists returned to power, and thought Jesse's antics would put pressure on the government to reinstate them. A murderer with a publicist.

I understand most of this review is not about the story, but it still astounds me how much of history is truly a better story than fiction. And as Will states, despite his disgusting crimes, you can't help but admire his sheer nerve, and how he left a lasting impact even 150 years later.

GUNFIGHTS is 7.
INJURED is 1.
KILLED is 1.
ROBBERIES is 9.
SCORE is 13500.

My score before I got the 100k bonus for surviving! This was a lot of fun, even if my view of most of the infamous outlaws from that period is that they were assholes murdering unarmed people who just lucked out when history decided to heavily romanticize them.

I'm sure I could've racked up a higher score, but I was roleplaying a bit and actively trying to avoid robberies and shootouts after the train crash. Seems like the original big score was the first bank robbery and they might as well have quit while they were ahead. (Hell, that original 8,500 share would've almost been enough to retire on in a time you could buy an acre of land for $5 and laborers made a dollar a day....)

Interesting how most of the others (other than Cole the action hero badass) seemed like pretty regular people while Jesse was a bit of a lunatic addicted to the thrill of it all, realistically I don't think think the others did themselves any favors hooking up with him. They didn't even get to go down in history, comparatively speaking--Jesse James is the only name most people know.

The incident with John shooting the pipe out of the man's mouth...that was real? Holy shit, I really do need to read up on these guys. Can you recommend some good resources for readers who want more details on the gang?

Anyway, I'm amazed you had time to write this in the middle of everything else with how busy you've been at work. You're putting us all to shame, man. :D

The idea of Edutainment is to both teach people and to entertain them, in a way that makes learning enjoyable. This game strikes a great balance between both. Not only does it teach the reader about a lot of interesting outlaws, it does it in a way that's both fun and exciting.

It has good usage of variables. I played around with it to see what would happen and I liked the approach. Spelling and grammar seemed clean. If there were any issues, it wasn't enough to distract me from the story.

The minor problem I had, which you yourself pointed out in the "Author's Perspective" section, is that getting a higher score requires you to kill more people. That's subjective though, especially since this is a game about being an outlaw. If you made a sequel, maybe offer two routes: a high positive score for killing, or a low negative score for taking a "peaceful" outlaw approach. That'd give two different goals to reach for.

Overall I was most impressed by your knowledge, research and devotion to representing all of the outlaws in a fair and engaging way. This could easily be fiction and be just as fun, which goes to show how well the source material was used. With all that said, this is now my favorite Edutainment game on the site.

Very fun! Great job!

your stories never bored me i love these story please please make more outlaw

WOWZA I did a crazy good run for my first playthrough!

A lot of fun and well thought out. im gonna keep playing until i explore all story branches

!

GUNFIGHTS is 15.
INJURED is 6.
KILLED is 13.
ROBBERIES is 23.
SCORE is 130200.

It was quite fun and I would recommend it.

Great game, a big fan of history so i must suggest.

Enjoyed this very much ngl

I rode with Archie and survived to rob banks and kill a lot of bank tellers!

The tally was a fun metric to engage the reader. Very cool. Well done. Worth a play!

GUNFIGHTS is 9.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 9.
ROBBERIES is 17.
SCORE is 125700.

Was always interested in outlaw stories. Not Hollywood cowboy movies but this was really entertaining, although I perhaps shouldn't have been so eager to kill D:

Nice to read a well-thought-out Cowboy-style story.
Good job

Very entertaining and well done.

This was a lot of fun! The relative non-consequence of going pacifist mode would be my only real complaint, as it never seems to affect the world or bite you until what I assume to be that one calculation near the end. Sucks for Jesse James to be killed all of a sudden, but it is what it is. A fun read for anyone interested in some outlaw role play!

Good

GUNFIGHTS is 15.
INJURED is 6.
KILLED is 14.
ROBBERIES is 23.
SCORE is 130200.

Bill Grey is # 1

I'm the best of the gang!

Good game

It was nice

Actually James Junior the word "guerrilla" came from the Peninsular War (1807-1814) when the Spanish irregular fighters were known as guerrilleros and guerilleras and the term was known in 19th century America and applied to Quantrill's Raiders (of which Frank and Jesse James and Cole and Jim Younger were members) and similar groups in some contemporary documents. Glad you liked the story though :)

I just wanted to let no account commentor @James Jr know that when he got excited and started yelling, he seemed to have misspelled GORILLA.

*Irregular

the american veterans of the civil war were not known as "guerillas." that term was coined in latin america. Jessie, and Frank James were members of the Iregular Calvary which focused primarly on horse back raids while carying multiple weapons, deploying ambush tactics, and generaly harassing the enemy. THE TERM GEURILLA DID NOT EXIST AT THAT TIME IN THAT REGION.
otherwise absolutely spot on and great. 7/9

This is an extremely good game I recommend it I find that it is very cool and how you did it was just amazing. You are an incredible writer. The only problem that I had with it is that it was a little repetitive in how it works. Rob bank hide, Rob bank, hide, rob train, hide, rob bank

Brings back the old memories of the Wild West

Now this is a story that should be turned into a real video game. 5 Stars!

GReat

This story will give you "So anyway, I started blasting." vibe. 10/10

I loved the story it was very interesting and exciting

I feel so much more edumakated now. Histrionically.

Pretty nice

Fun game

Very solid overall cyoa experience, would definite reccomend others to try out, tons of reply valueband choices that actually seem to matter, 8/10 overall.

"I am doing something. See? I'm waiting for mom to call us," your brother says. "Why is she going to call us?" you ask, but then you hear, "Alright! Everyone get in the car!"


>>click for awesomeness>>

I totally nailed it!

I thought that this story was amazing! It felt like a was there, robbing banks with my gang of bandits. I thought it was a cool option that you could either hide out and lay low or go on a robbery. Overall, it was I pretty good game.

it good

very good

it's a really neat game about the history behind it

This was a really cool game.

fun enough

Great story!

it the best one

This was fun as fuck. Idk how I won this on my first run but I guess it’s proof I should be an outlaw

I think it was a very historical story and very well made.

This storygame was loads of fun! It filled me with the thrill of whizzing bullets and money and glory for the taking. It made me reminisce of the company of my fellows who perished in battle. I also managed to kill, injure, and rob the most out of the whole gang : )

Loved it

kek

Good

noice

Wow this game was extremely good and kept me thinking of what I would have done if I lived this life. 10/10 in my opinion keep making great stories and I will read every single story you make. Thank you!

It’s such a well written story, and draws you in. I just recently started playing all the gang games, and somehow everybody ends up dead, and I’m alive.

Lots of fun

Fabulous game

GUNFIGHTS is 9.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 5.
ROBBERIES is 15.
SCORE is 26800 (before the bonus)

It was quite satisfying. Descriptions were brief enough to keep you focused, but not so much that they'd make you not care about the story and the characters. I chose to follow Jesse James a great deal of the way and only tried going to California before hitting the "back" button. I mean you're an outlaw and spending a couple of years as a farmer is wasting your potential.

Spelling is apparently fine, the writing style is not exhausting the reader, while maintaining the vital information in the story (and the informative-'educational' value) as I mentioned.

I'm looking forward to more of your stories!

Really cool little mini game, liked the flavour and shooting innocents in the face

Well done

A Resonable End To A Carrer

Very good read, one of my favorites next to the Dillinger Gang. Amazing work.

That was a very fun read, well done

Yo this shit's fire man 10/10 IGN!!

great game overall

Amazing

That was a pretty good story. I had a good time playing it, seeing someone else who sees the truth and not the romanticized West.

This is actually really cool. Normally, I wouldn’t read Edutainment, but a friend recommended Will11 and I happened to read this one. It is so cool!!! Thank you!

This game was just pure amazing the entire way. There are so many paths, and there was an excellent use of variables. I strongly recommend this story to anybody even remotely interested in history. 8/8

GUNFIGHTS is 13.
INJURED is 6.
KILLED is 10.
ROBBERIES is 18.

SCORE is 127700

Really enjoyed it. One of the best stories in its category.

OOOO BOYYY THIS GAME IS AWESOME!

Great game, very enjoyable and not too long

Good little story and excellent retelling of history. Made it to the end alive but had to spend 25 years in jail. Well crafted story and excellent retelling. I was apparently not a very good shot!

Very good, loved it all! Not very many western stories pop up here!

A fun trip through some of the old gunfighter stories I at least grew up with. Pretty accurate historically too. A light view on why people became robbers in post civil war America.

Brilliant story. I was very interested to read how the author creates timelines for the different criminals and hopefully I'll be able to read more of his books in the future,

Yeeet haw

good story, with decisions you ponder on for some time after hastily making them

It was a fantastic game, that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Very well wrote, and a story that always has you thinking ahead towards survival.

GUNFIGHTS is 12.
INJURED is 5.
KILLED is 11.
ROBBERIES is 20.
SCORE is 129000.
Really fun game. Absolutely worth your time; there's a perfect balance of education and entertainment. Never felt bored once due to the fact that every decision felt vital to my character's survival. Overall, amazing game.

Boom, had lots of fun.

GUNFIGHTS is 10.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 7.
ROBBERIES is 18.
SCORE is 125700.

Really enjoyable

This game was so iconic. It was like controlling a Quentin Tarantino movie.

This was fun. Loved it!

Very informative, but also suspenseful and fun!

loved it plan on replaying it.

GUNFIGHTS is 10.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 10.
ROBBERIES is 19.
SCORE is 119700.

This game is pretty great! Definitely worth your time.

Great game
GUNFIGHTS is 14.
INJURED is 5.
KILLED is 13.
ROBBERIES is 21.
SCORE is 129600.

GUNFIGHTS is 10.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 4.
ROBBERIES is 22.
SCORE is 130000.

Great Game! Always wondering if I should go on that next robbery and wondering where the best place to hide out is.

I didn't 'go for kills' and you mentioned that Jesse and gang killed a lot of random innocent people. If you wanted to, you could try to count killings differently depending on type. I suppose the argument is that even the justified killings are killings of innocent people.

A bit of a long read but worth every word if you want a taste of history

pretty interesting

Man this game was sooo good!!

Great read

SCORE is 113300

Always A Thrilling Story To The End

Great game made out like a bandit and became the hidden survivor

I Got Hidden Survivor Badge

Really enjoyed this story.

This is one of the best stories I've ever read, I'll definitely be ready and playing through any more you write. Keep up the absolutely amazing work. I, and I'm sure many others appreciate you taking so much time to write this with all of the possible choices, top notch grammar, and lengthy pages. Wow. Just wow. 11/10

I like these type of stories, outlaws interest me

I really enjoyed this experience and I think this is what choose your own adventure stories should be all about. The setting was great and it was very clear that the author had a concise and well thought-out timeline based on the real life gang that you get to take part in. The characters were well described, and given the fact that a lot of members end up getting killed, arrested, or retire, sometimes character development is sort of overshadowed by the events in the story. I enjoyed the rob, hide, rob, hide structure of the story, but I think sometimes during the "hide" sections, their could be other subplots involved to make the story more interesting (and more creative ways of getting yourself killed). That being said, this was one of the better choose your adventure stories, I gave it a 7/8, and it was refreshing to not read another zombie story. I hope the author chooses to write a sequel as I enjoyed his style and would be interested in playing as a gang member in one of the other gangs that existed in the West.

A fun story that draws the reader in.

That was a superb experience thanks for that wonderful simulation

129600

Very fun combination of truth and fiction into a storygame. Interesting trying to make decisions based on the info given as what to do next

Amazing

Excellent! Well worth the read

incredible thank you

This is a good history lesson filled with good story telling. I am giving it a six out of nine on account of spelling and grammatical errors. I would also like to thank the author for taking the time to write this. Thank you!

Amazing game, I was actually sad when jesse died.

Nice But less options

I loved it

always the same.

This a great game Will11. Hope to see some more storygames come out from you!

great game, but a little linear

I didn't even know about this outlaw group, this was a fun game and something I would like to see more of in the future.

Just Great. Hope to see more.

Great game. Very fun

I loved this game. I'm really sad though, because Jesse died, he was fantastic, but yeah, fantastic story!

its really fun its easy fast but fun

GUNFIGHTS is 13.
INJURED is 5.
KILLED is 12.
ROBBERIES is 22.
SCORE is 130300.

This was a very,very good game and I had a wonderful experience,I truly felt like I was right there in the action.

Quite an enjoyable game! A more than adequate cure for bordom.

This was well written and fun to read. I'd encourage anyone interested in the period to give this one a try.

This story is great!

Very fun.

It was a awesome story I got to the secret ending

Great story. Knowing history, I stuck by Frank James whenever I could.

Pretty solid. I really like the attention to detail with the period. Very solid, and surprised I made it out alive on my first run through. Strongly suggest!!

Pretty good

Fun game! Surprised how long I lasted, lol

Awesome, awesome, game. This was my favorite story game I have played yet.

GUNFIGHTS is 7.
INJURED is 3.
KILLED is 5.
ROBBERIES is 15.
SCORE is 117000.

Straight up awesome.

Just one suggestion - on the results table, make it so that MY personal results get added in.

Other then that? Perfect.

As I die beside Jesse James, I feel the need to play this again.

And again.

And again.

AND AGAIN.

OMG MY SCORE WAS 191000!!!!!

GUNFIGHTS is 13.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 11.
ROBBERIES is 21.
SCORE is 129600.
That was pretty badass!

What an amazing story! Will play over and over!!

GUNFIGHTS is 13.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 12.
ROBBERIES is 19.
SCORE is 127200.

great

Best choose your own yet.

It was lit fam

Won in everything except for robberies, got 20 lol, survived in the end too

this was very fun! a very thorough game that has substance.

As you and Cole enter the Twentieth Century you reflect over the lives you have led.

GUNFIGHTS is 7.
INJURED is 1.
KILLED is 2.
ROBBERIES is 13.
SCORE is 23200.

Also got the 100,000 K bonus for surviving. It was a great read and the choices were very good. I only wish there were a bit more variety in choices and better executions in the robberies/heists.

awesome read

This was my first time playing a game like this and I really enjoyed it. I've always loved the old west. This game was very interesting and I will likely play it over and over trying different options out.

Really fun game. Felt good that I made enough right choices to come out to a safe life my first time around. Seemed like even with imminent danger al around the right choices were findable.

This Was a very detailed and good book, and I liked the choice to sit out or join every robbery.

Interesting history.

The game is interesting and worth replaying. Only one or two spelling mistakes but otherwise, the game is now one of my top favorites. You obviously put a lot of work into this story and creating more like this will shoot you to the stop quickly. Great work!

Amazing game though it the character I was playing as seem secluded

That...was...awesome...

Only one problem. There should be a way to become leader of the gang (even though the grey gang sounds terrible), and the story was pretty linear, but other than that, it was really cool. 7/8

it was fun

Fantastic story writing i thoroughly enjoyed it.

Huge fan of the Wild West and Jesse James. A delight to read!

Great game. Very well written and somehow i managed to get the best ending.

GUNFIGHTS is 6.
INJURED is 3.
KILLED is 2.
ROBBERIES is 13.
SCORE is 116500.

Awesome Western game

stared out confusing but it got really good and has a lot of historical accuracy's

Great game

Awesome!

Pretty good!

This game is great!!!

Fun game I'll be playing this one again.

This was really nice. Looking forward for more.

Niiiice!!

Great stuff. Really great job once again, Will!

A beautiful storygame. I really enjoyed it.

Awesome, I got the highest score in my first play-through, this story-game is awesome and I can't wait to see if there will be another installment set in a different era or focusing on a different gang.

Excellent writing coupled with an accurate portrayal of the causes that motivated the outlaws to the life of crime. Great Work!

Absolutely loved it, great work!

GUNFIGHTS is 15.
INJURED is 6.
KILLED is 13.
ROBBERIES is 23.
SCORE is 130200.

I played as a homicidal, depraved maniac which is normally something that I don't do. I guess Bill Gray will now have to be considered among the "greatest" of the outlaws. Anyway, this was very entertaining and educational, so I guess I'll call it edutaining. :)
Great job, Will. I think that this is rightfully featured.

"Learning was never this fun", indeed. Great story, will! I'm waiting for Magellan :P

Awesome.........

One of the greatest

Another great game, Will. To be fair, it seemed fairly rushed with a few typos, but other than that it was terrific. Very educational about a topic I know nothing about, it was quite fun with a cool score system, and it definitely adds a flush of life to the Edutainment system.

Another great story.

Great game dude, I like the amount of effort put into it. Keep writing. 7/8

I thought it was a great educational and entertaining game. I would definitely read more of these if the author chose to write more.

Yeah that was a typo Trump, it was supposed to read "History has been kind to Jesse" though in the sense "Jesse, the name, has been kind to Jesse, the man" it also makes sense as half the reason Jesse James is still remembered is the alliteration of his name makes it fun to say and easy to remember :D

Yay, got the hidden ending. Amazing story, very well written and entertaining.

Good story, learned a lot about the James-Younger gangs adventures.

Jesse has been kind to Jesse...

Thank you everyone for your very kind feedback, I’m startled this game has been featured because personally I prefer some of the other things that I have written but I am glad that people enjoyed this, that makes the writing so much more worthwhile! Thank you again everyone who took the time to read my story and post comments and I will definitely write a few sequels to this in the next few months :D

GUNFIGHTS is 15.
INJURED is 6.
KILLED is 12.
ROBBERIES is 22.
SCORE is 129800.

Fucking amazing, Will. Outstanding story and damn fine writing.

Definitely an excellent story where not only do you learn about history, you live it. Just like the Donnor party, you get to be a part of that history while making decisions that make you feel like you're shaping history. Definitely earned an 8/8

good historical game and action packed too

I loved it

Great Game. I wonder how my score compares to others. I survived :D

This was so much fun to play and read! Bravo on publishing yet another exciting adventure game! ^^ I think this certainly deserves high praise indeed.

GUNFIGHTS is 12.
INJURED is 4.
KILLED is 9.
ROBBERIES is 21.
SCORE is 129600.
Did I do good? :D

Anyways, another really, really good edutainment storygame from you ^-^
I liked my time as an outlaw!

Your writing really puts me into the story, and makes me worry about what my choice would result in.

7/8