I'm probably not saying anything controversial by mentioning that like any other human, I have genre preferences. I obviously enjoy my superhero stories and flights of fantasy, and humor goes a very long way with me. I'm not that big on horror stories, however. Stories about ghosts and the paranormal have to work a little bit harder to get my attention. With that in mind, I wasn't sure how well I was going to take to Heart of the House [$5.99], a recent release from prolific gamebook/interactive fiction publisher Choice of Games. It's a Victorian-era story of the supernatural with a healthy dollop of mystery mixed in. While this isn't my usual cup of tea, the character development and overall high quality of the writing ended up winning me over. First, let me be very clear that this particular release from Choice of Games was written by Nissa Campbell, a former TouchArcade staffer who contributed many excellent reviews during the years she worked here. She was already beginning to move along to her next thing when I started here, so the two of us were more or less ships passing in the night. But I do want to plainly disclose the author's connection to TouchArcade so that you can factor that in as you will in the review that follows.
The premise of Heart of the House sees you playing a character who is sensitive to the supernatural. Your uncle, who raised you, has gone missing during an investigation. You've traced his last known whereabouts to a seemingly innocuous town, an...