[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freewaywarrior.jpg]]

''Freeway Warrior'' is a {{Gamebook}} series from the 1980s, but it departed from many of its contemporaries by shunning the typical HighFantasy setting for a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalypse]] scenario inspired by the ''Film/MadMax'' movies.

After civilization is ruined by nuclear terrorism, the player takes the role of Cal Phoenix, a young man charged with protecting his fellow survivors of "Dallas Colony One" as they make a hazardous journey across the ruins of southwest America, now ridden with outlaw clans and other dangers. Unfortunately, Cal's duty takes a turn for the worse right in the opening moments of book 1, when he kills a clan scout who happens to be the brother of the psychopathic terrorist [[BigBad Mad Dog Michigan]], whose allies now control what is left of America's eastern seaboard. Cal has gained a powerful nemesis who will stop at nothing to massacre him and his fellow survivors.

The ''Freeway Warrior'' series consisted of four books, and is most notable for having been written by Joe Dever, creator of the ''Literature/LoneWolf'' franchise. Despite their different settings, the two series share many rules and similarities.

Books in the series:
* #1 ''Highway Holocaust'' [[note]]In some releases, the title is {{Bowdlerise}}d to ''Freeway Warrior 1''.[[/note]] (1988)
* #2 ''Slaughter Mountain Run'' [[note]]In some releases, the title is {{Bowdlerise}}d to ''Mountain Run''.[[/note]] (1989)
* #3 ''The Omega Zone'' (1989)
* #4 ''California Countdown'' (1989)

All the books in the series, with the permission of Dever, be played online at [[http://www.projectaon.org/en/Main/Home Project Aon]].

Not to be confused with ''Literature/FreewayFighter'', which is part of the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' series.

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!!''Freeway Warrior'' provides examples of:

* ActionGirl: Kate is pretty badass, for someone who got kidnapped or otherwise endangered so often. When she's ''not'' abducted or sick, she's comfortable with scavenging, sneaking, running, or straight up blazing away with a gun right alongside you.
* AfterTheEnd: Brought about by nuclear weapons.
* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Played to the hilt, as almost ''every'' biker Cal encounters is a murderous clansman.
* TheApunkalypse: A post-apocalyptic landscape filled with malevolent biker clans, who do indeed dress like punks and have colorful nicknames.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Machine pistols chew through ammo faster than any other gun. They're arguably the best gun to start with... but only because that starts you off with more ammo, which you can use when you find a regular pistol.
* BadassDriver: The bad guys took much of their inspiration from ''Mad Max'', and so did the fact that Cal regularly has to perform badass maneuvers with his car to survive. The height is probably in book 4, where you might end up executing a bootlegger's turn to escape being buried by a rock avalanche.
* BittersweetEnding: The first three books feature these.
** '''Book 1:''' The convoy of Dallas Colony One has made it to Big Springs, and now both colonies have teamed up... but Kate has been abducted by the Mavericks, who will soon turn her over to Mad Dog Michigan.
** '''Book 2:''' You've rescued Kate, and the convoy has reached El Paso, teaming up with the World Defense League soldiers there... but El Paso is now surrounded by Mad Dog and his allies, who will soon acquire enough explosives to blow the town sky-high.
** '''Book 3:''' The explosives were neutralized, the convoy has reached the Tucson colony to become bigger than ever, and you've personally dealt Mad Dog a textbook NoOneCouldSurviveThat... but Captain Frankland, Sergeant Haskell, and Marine Knott all made the ultimate sacrifice, you'll probably have nightmares about snipers for the rest of your life, and you know in your heart of hearts that Mad Dog is still out there.
** '''Book 4:''' The convoy made it to the California safe zone, everyone you care about survived, and Mad Dog Michigan is absolutely for-sure DeaderThanDead. Finally, unambiguous victory!
* BoomHeadshot: Cal shoots a lot of bad guys over the course of the series, and does score the occasional headshot (although InstantDeathBullet is in full effect, so it doesn't really matter). The most dramatic use of this trope actually goes to the bad guys, as Helmut Varken snipes no less than ''three'' of Cal's comrades with headshots (and Cal himself can become Varken's fourth headshot via TheManyDeathsOfYou during that sequence).
* CarFu: Cal does run over the occasional bad guy with his car.
* ChekhovsGunman: Done in a very subtle way. In the "Dateline to Disaster" timeline in book 1 (detailing the history that lead up to the apocalypse), it's mentioned that in 2008, the President of the United States and the [[FailedFutureForecast General Secretary of the Supreme Soviet]] are both assassinated by a HAVOC agent while on their way to a summit meeting. In book 3, you meet this assassin... as his (final) target.
* ColdSniper: Helmut Varken, twice over. For one, he's a completely merciless sniper who is content to shoot Cal even if the latter is unarmed and surrendering. For another, he travels in an air-conditioned riding suit to protect himself from the wasteland heat!
* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: The final challenge of the series is a HoldTheLine battle, where volunteers are called upon to stay behind and fight to buy time for the convoy to enter the California safe zone. You're actually given the option to ''not'' volunteer and continue on to the safe zone with the convoy. If you do this, Cal doesn't even get five feet before he sees all the convoy's other badasses (including Kate) volunteering to fight, realizes that leaving Kate behind would be unbearably shameful, and [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption decides to participate in the battle anyway]].
* CoolCar: Cal's powerful, customized roadster, which serves him well until it's finally wrecked for good in book 4.
* CoolClearWater: Mostly avoided, as most of the major sources of water come from actual storage tanks, and part of Cal's Fieldcraft training (should you choose to invest in it) includes learning how to identify safer water sources in the wild; in addition, his survival supplies include water purification tablets.
* CoversAlwaysLie: In the text, Kate is consistently depicted as blonde, yet on the cover of the American edition of book 1 (above), she's a redhead.
* CrazySurvivalist: Downplayed, as most of the "survivalist" types Cal encounters end up being harmless or even helpful rather than hostile. The only arguable exception is in book 3, where Cal (and Knott) meet a survivalist family after the two break into their bunker in desperation to get away from an elite HAVOC sniper. The survivalists turn out to be jerkasses who kick Cal and Knott out (while being fully aware that the sniper is watching their doorstep), but their reaction is somewhat understandable given that the two invaded ''their'' home first.
* CriticalExistenceFailure: Interestingly ''averted'' in places. Most of the time, the books play this trope straight -- long as you have at least 1 [[HitPoints Endurance Point]] left, you're still in the game. Yet there are numerous challenges (particularly in later books) that measure not only the relevant survival skill, but your current Endurance Points. So if you have been heavily wounded by earlier encounters, it'll be ''much'' harder to pass these challenges without dying or getting hurt even more.
* DeathFromAbove: The fate of the final clan horde harassing the colonist convoy, courtesy of California's last fighter jet.
* {{Determinator}}:
** Like most hero types, Cal never gives up easily, but especially whenever Kate's life is on the line, he will think of absolutely nothing else until she is safe, and neither clan armies nor blinding sandstorms nor [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking jerkass colony guards]] will stop him from coming through for her.
** Mad Dog Michigan is also this trope. Once his RoaringRampageOfRevenge begins, it's repeatedly demonstrated that there is no alliance he is unwilling to make, or resource he's unwilling to expend, or defeat he will not crawl back from in order to keep attacking Cal Phoenix and his people. Kate warns Cal up front that Mad Dog will stop at ''nothing'' to get even with him, and she isn't even remotely exaggerating.
* DisasterScavengers: The various clans are a combination of this and WesternTerrorists, complete with punk style.
* DumpStat: The Field Craft skill gets little respect among most veterans of this series.
* EarlyGameHell: While the threats to Cal and his fellow colonists continue to escalate over the series, the first book is notoriously lethal, as "save or die" events are just as common as they are in the later books, yet Cal's survival skills are still at beginner levels.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Mad Dog Michigan is an almost demonic psychopath, but his love for his brother Stinger is indisputable. As late as the opening of book 3, Mad Dog cites his vow to avenge his brother's death as his motive to exterminate Cal's people -- not Cal rescuing Kate from him (twice!), not Cal personally besting him and running off with his strategic map, not even Cal's colony crawling into bed with his old nemesis the World Defense League, but simply Cal killing what was probably the only human being that Mad Dog ever cared about.
* EveryCarIsAPinto: More often than not, whenever a bad guy [[TheManyDeathsOfYou or Cal himself]] gets shot and crashes their vehicle, said vehicle ends up exploding.
* EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily: The post-apocalypse clans generally fight each other when they're not busy attacking the civilized colonists... that is, until Mad Dog Michigan comes along. For a guy who answers to "Mad Dog", the villain displays an incredible talent for convincing warring clans of all breeds to join his cause. Despite what psychopaths all these guys are, not once does Cal ever learn of any kind of power struggle or personality conflict among Mad Dog's ranks.
* FailedASpotCheck: Perception is one of your survival skills. It's not challenged quite as often as Stealth or Shooting, but failing a Perception check can have unpleasant or even lethal consequences for Cal.
* FailedFutureForecast: The Soviet Union lasts right up to the holocaust in 2012.
* FakingTheDead: In book 3, Cal and his allies use this ploy to throw Mad Dog Michigan's inexhaustible scouts off their trail.
* FunWithAcronyms: The terrorist organization that causes the nuclear holocaust -- the "Hijack, Assassination, and Violent Opposition Consortium" or HAVOC.
* GhostCity: As you might expect, and usually good news, as most of the ''other'' ruins are ruled by clansmen or other bad guys.
* HandicappedBadass: Mad Dog Michigan loses his left hand and left eye after you defeat him (car vs. car) at the end of book 3. It doesn't stop him from showing up for book 4's climactic battle with a ''[[ChainsawGood chainsaw]]''.
* HeelFaceTurn: In book 4, you meet and recruit Cookie, a deserter from the Pumas clan. Cal's fellow colonists don't trust him, constantly suspecting him of trying to lead them into traps, but he turns out to be on the level.
* HitPoints: Endurance Points serve the same function as hit points would. Like in ''Literature/LoneWolf'', they're a measure of how long you can last in melee combat. When you're in a firefight, on the other hand, blowing the Shooting or Stealth roll might kill you instantly (regardless of your current EP) or it might just [[OnlyAFleshWound shave off a few EP]].
* HoldTheLine: At the end of book 4, the final challenge for Cal (and the colony's other warriors) is to hold back Mad Dog Michigan's horde long enough for the colony to enter the California safe zone.
* {{Homage}}:
** In book 3, Cal's climactic duel with sniper Varken in Tombstone, Arizona is Dever's tribute to the famous OK Corral shootout. The narrative even ''mentions'' the legendary incident during the final exchange of gunfire.
** While it probably wasn't deliberate (unlike the OK Corral bit), the beginning of the sequence with Varken, when he [[DwindlingParty picks off your badass military buddies one by one]] in a forest area without ever showing himself, is reminiscent of ''{{Film/Predator}}'', as well.
* HyperspaceArsenal: A rare aversion (for a gamebook), as carrying too much equipment penalizes your Stealth skill.
* ImAHumanitarian: In book 2, Cal is actually ''helped'' by cannibals at one point, before he realizes what they are.
* InstantDeathBullet: Whenever you shoot a bad guy, they usually drop dead without any further fanfare. Of course, in accordance with the trope, whenever ''you'' are fatally shot, the narrative will often describe you staggering or bleeding out or clinging feebly to consciousness for a few more moments before succumbing to the wound, because you're a gamebook hero and a simple "The clansman's bullets hit you. Your life and your journey end here" is too lame to satisfy TheManyDeathsOfYou.
* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: Cal is just an everyday guy, albeit a little tougher than most post-apocalypse survivors, and the people of Dallas Colony One may well have had a rough but fairly uneventful journey to California... if Cal hadn't, as mentioned above, killed Mad Dog Michigan's brother. Mad Dog's epic campaign of revenge repeatedly forces Cal to go out of his way to save the day over multiple books, and they're still at each other's throats even as the convoy is entering the California safe zone.
* LoveInterest: Kate Norton, one of the more notable areas where the series differed from ''Lone Wolf''.
* TheManyDeathsOfYou: As with ''{{Literature/Lone Wolf}}'', Dever shows a great fondness for player death scenes.
* MistakenAge: A mild but amusing example happens in book 2, when Cal and Mad Dog Michigan meet face-to-face for the first time. Mad Dog turns out to be ''older'' than Cal had imagined, being middle-aged and already starting to grey. Yet -- this being a Joe Dever story -- Cal is still quick to note the "unmistakable aura of power" and vengeful evil emanating from his nemesis.
* MomentKiller: This happens to Cal and Kate near the end of book 1, as they realize their feelings for each other while they're gathering water for their fellow colonists, and [[AlmostKiss begin to kiss]]. Unfortunately for both of them, attacking clansmen choose ''this'' exact moment to ambush them, and Kate is abducted not long thereafter.
* NewOldWest: Cal's story is a tale of civilization versus barbarism in a post-apocalyptic American southwest.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Cal didn't exactly have a choice at the time, but he probably would have saved himself a lot of grief if he could've fled from Mad Dog's brother instead of killing him outright.
* NonIndicativeName: You have a Stealth skill, and while it ''is'' used for sneaking around, it's also tested for situations that require general coordination or speed (even if you're not trying to hide from anyone).
* TheOnlyOne: This is the vibe at the start of the series, when it's just Cal and Dallas Colony One. While the other members of [=DC1=] have useful skills, Cal is the only one who's sufficiently tough and quick-witted to serve as the colony's scout (and post-apocalyptic errand runner).
* RescueArc: Cal takes on more than one mission to save Kate. Lampshaded in the first book, when Kate says that this is "starting to become a habit."
* SceneryPorn: The series dips into this every now and then. At first, Cal thinks that the barren wasteland resembles the surface of another planet more than the [[GaiasLament green world he once knew]], but later he marvels upon discovering giant yucca plants and other vegetation that survived the apocalypse.
* SeparatedByACommonLanguage: The author is British and used UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish, which is slightly jarring in a gamebook series set in America.
* TurnCoat: In book 4, Cal must uncover a traitor who's sabotaging the colony on behalf of the clansmen.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: When this series was written in the 1980s, a 2012 holocaust seemed distant. Now, not so much.
* VehicularCombat: Cal often engages in vehicle vs. vehicle antics with clansmen and other bad guys, the height being a car duel with Mad Dog Michigan (who has an even better CoolCar than Cal) at the end of book 3.
* WesternTerrorists: The various clansmen and HAVOC terrorists are the usual post-apocalypse punks, rather than Muslims.
* WorldBuilding: Joe Dever got much of the inspiration for these books from a road trip he once took through the American southwest. In fact, the route Dever took on this trip closely mirrors Cal's own journey (minus, hopefully, the part where Cal runs through a forest trying to get away from a legendary sniper).
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: In the final battle, Mad Dog Michigan attacks Cal with a chainsaw. If the blade gets stuck in the scenery during the ensuing fight, one of the ways Cal can take advantage of the opening is to execute a pro wrestling-style dropkick against Mad Dog.
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