After a few disappointing experiences on our Top 70 game list, I decided to ditch the games on that list I haven't completed, and instead finish up some smaller, lesser known titles I feel are better experiences. I hope to finish some of the Spiderweb Software games this year, along with a few distractions on the side.
A little background. I've completed the entire Exile trilogy many years back, the first Avadon, and all five Geneforge games. I also got my butt kicked by and rage quit the Roman vs Celts game called "Nethergate: Resurrection". So I know and like the Spiderweb Software games. I plan to play Avernum 4, 5, and 6 before finally completing Nethergate: Ressurection. I expect that this will take the rest of 2018, with the usual adult distractions that will come my way. For those that don't know, Avernum 1-3 are pretty much a modernized version of Exile 1-3. They are also made obsolete by a third trilogy of a similar name. So Avernum 4 is the continuation of the story of the original Exile 1-3 trilogy. Really, unless you follow Spiderweb Software and Jeff Vogel, I probably lost you already.
I am now about 15 hours into Avernum 4 and maybe... just maybe... have gotten through the first 25% of the game. I wanted to share some of my random thoughts. The Exile trilogy dealt with a war between an underground penal colony and the Empire that banished its criminal citizens. At the end of Exile 3, the heroes were victorious and the Empire recognized the penal colony's independence. I don't want to get into spoilers, so will leave it at that, except to say that Avernum 4 begins with the underground realm at peace with the people on the world's surface. Odd disturbances along the borders of this rough civilization have been occurring, however, and the party is sent in to investigate, solving quests and defeating plots along the way.
Character advancement is caused by levelling up, where a hero earns skill points to distribute among several attributes and skills. You can generate characters and advance them for particular roles or hybrid skills. I created a fighter with a few points allocated to make him decent enough to open weak locks and get through some traps. Two pure arcane spellcasters back him up at a distance, and a priest makes for a decent fighter/divine caster hybrid. The arcane spellcasters are beasts, and I couldn't imagine just having one in the party. Every now and then we run into shades (undead spirits, I believe), and that's when the divine spellcaster really shines since she has a specialized spell that does massive damage against them. The fighter is a simple meat shield, though he often does get a couple of attacks a round to help hold his own. I would be having a much harder time if I went with a pure fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard party build, though I probably would have had better access to parts of the game my current party is unable to reach. I am curious if I could have gotten away with a cleric and three arcane spellcasters.
Magic is pretty limited. For arcane spellcasters, I only have a couple of pure blasting spells, a good buff spell, and some debuffs. When surrounded, the arcane spellcasters can summon help. On the other hand, the divine spellcaster has only one attack spell for living beings and one for undead. She can also summon help, but really her job is to keep the rest of the party alive with cure and healing spells. Combat is turn-based, and conducted on square tiles. To some of you, this probably sounds a bit limited and perhaps boring, but I have yet to get tired of this game. My characters are at level 9, my best armor is chain mail and best weapon is a simple long sword. But we keep finding buffing equipment such as magical necklaces and cloaks. There are a large number of quests to complete and mysteries to solve. Dungeon delving stays challenging, and I have run into a handful of challenges I'm unable to defeat. On a plus side, the game is set in an open world, so there is nothing preventing me from exploring other areas and returning to the harder ones at a later time. I've already eliminated threats from one settlement and am getting close to resolving a curse hanging over another one.
I still don't know if the quests I'm solving are completely separate or part of a greater, woven narrative. But I've been playing since early this month and have been hooked. I'll drop in a few lines every now and then when I have something to add.
A little background. I've completed the entire Exile trilogy many years back, the first Avadon, and all five Geneforge games. I also got my butt kicked by and rage quit the Roman vs Celts game called "Nethergate: Resurrection". So I know and like the Spiderweb Software games. I plan to play Avernum 4, 5, and 6 before finally completing Nethergate: Ressurection. I expect that this will take the rest of 2018, with the usual adult distractions that will come my way. For those that don't know, Avernum 1-3 are pretty much a modernized version of Exile 1-3. They are also made obsolete by a third trilogy of a similar name. So Avernum 4 is the continuation of the story of the original Exile 1-3 trilogy. Really, unless you follow Spiderweb Software and Jeff Vogel, I probably lost you already.
I am now about 15 hours into Avernum 4 and maybe... just maybe... have gotten through the first 25% of the game. I wanted to share some of my random thoughts. The Exile trilogy dealt with a war between an underground penal colony and the Empire that banished its criminal citizens. At the end of Exile 3, the heroes were victorious and the Empire recognized the penal colony's independence. I don't want to get into spoilers, so will leave it at that, except to say that Avernum 4 begins with the underground realm at peace with the people on the world's surface. Odd disturbances along the borders of this rough civilization have been occurring, however, and the party is sent in to investigate, solving quests and defeating plots along the way.
Character advancement is caused by levelling up, where a hero earns skill points to distribute among several attributes and skills. You can generate characters and advance them for particular roles or hybrid skills. I created a fighter with a few points allocated to make him decent enough to open weak locks and get through some traps. Two pure arcane spellcasters back him up at a distance, and a priest makes for a decent fighter/divine caster hybrid. The arcane spellcasters are beasts, and I couldn't imagine just having one in the party. Every now and then we run into shades (undead spirits, I believe), and that's when the divine spellcaster really shines since she has a specialized spell that does massive damage against them. The fighter is a simple meat shield, though he often does get a couple of attacks a round to help hold his own. I would be having a much harder time if I went with a pure fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard party build, though I probably would have had better access to parts of the game my current party is unable to reach. I am curious if I could have gotten away with a cleric and three arcane spellcasters.
Magic is pretty limited. For arcane spellcasters, I only have a couple of pure blasting spells, a good buff spell, and some debuffs. When surrounded, the arcane spellcasters can summon help. On the other hand, the divine spellcaster has only one attack spell for living beings and one for undead. She can also summon help, but really her job is to keep the rest of the party alive with cure and healing spells. Combat is turn-based, and conducted on square tiles. To some of you, this probably sounds a bit limited and perhaps boring, but I have yet to get tired of this game. My characters are at level 9, my best armor is chain mail and best weapon is a simple long sword. But we keep finding buffing equipment such as magical necklaces and cloaks. There are a large number of quests to complete and mysteries to solve. Dungeon delving stays challenging, and I have run into a handful of challenges I'm unable to defeat. On a plus side, the game is set in an open world, so there is nothing preventing me from exploring other areas and returning to the harder ones at a later time. I've already eliminated threats from one settlement and am getting close to resolving a curse hanging over another one.
I still don't know if the quests I'm solving are completely separate or part of a greater, woven narrative. But I've been playing since early this month and have been hooked. I'll drop in a few lines every now and then when I have something to add.
. Anyway,good luck mate.
Very railroaded, too much things were removed, thus worsening combat, and story was pretty meh.
