Avernum Escape: 5

Just some brief play tonight. Have written a Kirkus review, and need some time away from it before I review it and send it in.


The Nepharim fort was a bit of a puzzle challenge. I should have been able to do it without any fights, but I missed the secret button, despite getting some rather vague directions from a well-placed escaped prisoner.


It wasn't easy, but finally I managed to find my way in to the prisoners and got them freed. I'm rather glad I don't have the hint book this time. I figure if I'm really stuck, I can use the Avernum 1 book, or seek answers on the Spiderweb Forum.


The Nepharim are much tougher foes than I've faced in this game. I tried a fight with a bunch of 'em in front of the fort and got slaughtered. Fortunately, you can enter the fort without triggering that fight. I did wind up fighting quite a few, but not more than three or so at a time, and did pretty well. I avoided the fight with the demons in the crypt, for now. Will have to remember to go back later when I'm stronger, massacre them all, and gather up the loot.


I do like loot.


I went ahead and registered the game last night, and for only $10. An amazing bargain, but Jeff is good to his steady customers. I'd encountered all the shareware demons I was going to find, frankly, and I wanted to get on with the game.


So I went to Formello, which has some nice humor from several characters, especially the librarian. I think there is more humor in the Avernum series, and in this game, than in most of Jeff's other games. Avernum 1 was the second of the Spiderweb games I played, and it really was the humor that got me hooked. Well, plus the exciting gameplay. As a purist adventure gamer, this turned out to be a quite different and enjoyable experience.


Wow, so there's Formello, which is the setting for a major quest in Avernum 6. Nostalgia. And dear Motrax is still alive. I do wish Jeff hadn't killed him off in a later game. I also found the first mention of the GIFTS, the Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Spiders, which are a feature in Avernum and Nethergate.


Ah, I have so much fun to come!


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Avernum Escape: 4

So I have found the limits of the Demo. Above is the text that has the erstwhile-named "Shareware Demon" (that description from the original Nethergate--my first Spiderweb game). Also, although I was able to buy a boat (fortunately at the bargain price in Cotra, not the expensive one in Silvar), I won't be able to board my boat until I register.


So it seems that the Demo is confined to the eastern gallery, where we find Fort Avernum, Silvar, Cotra, Fort Duvno and Fort Dranlon. I've had major quest-encounters with bandits, bats, the bandit fort, the Nephalim mini-fort, some much tougher Nepharim, and I'm outside the major Nepharim fort. 


I have several quests that I won't be able to do until I register, which I will do as soon as I finish off the Nepharim fort.


And this indeed is enough playing area for anyone to decide if they like the game. There's already been plenty of Jeff's brand of ironic humor. I've bought a few spells that are coming in handy, and made quite a bit of loot, which I've pretty much spent. Well, I'll get lots more from the fort.


Then I will pay my reduced price for the game (I've bought all the other Avernums, so I qualify for the discount), and continue to enjoy!


Why is the Avernum series better than the rest? All of Jeff's games are good, but this one has this humor, and the freedom to move around a vast playing area. No clearing areas involved as in Geneforge, no switching characters as in Avadon, just steady gaming that strengthens your characters and improves your playing skill.  It's not that I didn't like those features in the other games. I just prefer the simplicity, or rather, the freedom, of this one. Jeff likes including lots of choices in his games--especially wicked moral choices, and those are interesting--but frankly, playing is more fun without 'em.


Just my two cents.


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Avernum Escape: 3

Well, there may not be wall bumping in this game, but Jeff has installed plenty of wall buttons to push, and these are far more visible than in Avadon (or in Avernum 6). Just cleaned out the Nephilim fort and found abundant secret areas, with appropriate loot.


So I'm happy. Plus, it really is easier than wall bumping, although you do have to spend time looking for the buttons. I have to admit--finally--it's a better system.


I went back to Avernum 1 on my old Thinkpad, and yup, I was able to turn down the speed, so it runs just fine now.  I kinda doubt that I'll play both games together, although that would be interesting. I did learn that Erik Threespears, the trainer in Silver, doesn't teach bartering anymore. He does train in other things, but drat, I liked that bartering skill.


I'm very glad I bought that old laptop! I've loaded abundant games--some going back to DOS, that I've been hoarding for years, just waiting to get a machine that would play them. While you can buy quite a few now on sites like "Great Old Games" (GOG), it's even more great to be able to play them on their native OS, as they were meant to be played. I loaded up a bunch of them today, and they work just fine--including Lighthouse and the magnificent Pilgrim. Plus I have the elusive Grim Fandango on there, as well as Amber: Journeys Beyond, both games that are notoriously difficult to run on newer machines. I even got all three of the Gabriel Knight games to run on that one machine. The DOS version, the full-motion vid, and the 3D characters. Outstanding!


And it means that my old Avernum games won't have to go to the graveyard either. They're still fun.


I have to admit, though, that this one is easier to play, although I still miss the old skills system. Just not used to this one yet. I did learn tonight, though, that you can spread the lock-picking skill around the whole party rather than just keeping it to your rogue character, as it was in the earlier games.


I especially like the way Jeff has kept the outdoors intact (if a bit smaller than before). We don't have to move from closed area to closed area. This is much more to my liking!


And I'm still in the demo. I'm going to play it till I find the "shareware demon," as it was called in Nethergate. It'll be interesting to see if Jeff is still giving away a fifth of his games in the demo. (It's a smart idea. By the time you play that far, you have to buy the rest of the game!)


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Avernum Escape: 2

Ah, what a relief to be playing Avernum again! I think this series really may be my favorite games of all time, with the exception of The Lost Crown. 


I rather like the upgrades. I'm still not sure about the new skill system. I understood the old one. This one, not so much.


However, I also note that some of the innovations from the later games in the series have been included here, such as the teleporting between towns, and the little nature piles with goodies concealed in them.


I went back and played a bit of the original Avernum 1 on my IBM Thinkpad with 98SE, which I bought on e-Bay just to play my older stuff. The script appears to be almost exactly the same, which is great. I had lots of trouble moving in the old game. I think I may be able to slow it down a bit if I try again. It was just way too fast, both with the arrow keys and with a mouse. But yup, it's the same game.


Of course this one will have some new quests. So far I'm just doing the old ones. I cleared out the bat cave, which wasn't all that easy, actually. I also just got all the bandits, which was far easier than I remembered. I guess the Nephilim fight is next, but I'll let that wait until tomorrow.


Oh what fun to be playing Avernum again! 


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Avernum Escape: 1

So I have started the new Avernum series! This is an RPG, a remake of Avernum 1, which actually was a remake of Jeff's original game, Exile (which I never could figure out how to play). The magnificent Avernum series is the backbone of Spiderweb Software, and these are his most popular games, so he really does have to keep updating them. And each time he does, he keeps the basic script, but adds all kinds of new stuff.


Of course there are differences. There is a new game engine, which I suppose is more efficient, but I did like the old one. Shoot, I was a fan of "wall bumping" (in an even earlier engine we used to be able to find secret areas by bumping into walls and emerging in the secret area, which usually had a goody to loot). Now we have to press buttons. I note that in this game the button is much much larger than in the earlier games, and in Avadon. Still, you have to keep an eye out for them. I've only found one so far.


Plus, we have transport pillars and jobs boards, a holdover from the later Avernum games. Great!


This time we begin the game in an area that will train us for combat. Also, the art work on the cut screens is much much better. Really very nice. The game avatars are pretty much the same, which is fine with me. Fortunately the quirky characters and the humor is still there. Jeff clearly has used much of the old script. That's great. The old script is excellent--a major reason I love these games!


The skill system is different--rather like the one in Avadon, but with more options. Still, it's similar enough to the old system that I shouldn't have too much trouble with it.


Damn it, we can't close doors to loot places. Apparently that's because of the iPad engine. Nevertheless, I've managed to loot pretty much the same stuff I would have found before. I did have to wait until a character wandered out of sight once. Plus, I already found the sugar. I remember that's the object of a quest, so I won't sell it. 


The outdoors area is quite different. Traveling between cities is seriously truncated from before. In the earlier series, we could wander around for quite awhile before we found a city! Now it's pretty easy. I see with relief, though, that we don't go into different game areas, as in Avadon and the Geneforge games. I'm not crazy about that system. I'd rather have the freedom to explore. Also, I see that we have the world map available from the start. Dunno if I like that. I think it's better to wander around blind at first. Ah well, I suppose Fort Avernum gives you that. Makes sense, I guess, and helps new players.


I've already finished one major quest, cleaning out the sewers in Silvar. I've found Anastasia, and met the guy who tells me about Demonslayer. There's a trainer there, but he's expensive. Also, Silvar has a living statue. I remember that. I think that comes to life much later in the game.


Anyway, for now I've found Fort Duvno, and I saved there. Time to go sleepy byes.


This is just the Demo. Of course I'll buy the game, but I want to see how far the demo goes.


Ah, fun!


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Avadon 19: Review

Well, I tried to kill the demon and the dragon, and both are just too strong for me. No doubt true Spiderweb geeks (there are many) could do it, but me, nope. I've got the new Avernum game, and I'd rather do that than fight fights I can't win.


So I'll just let things stand as they are, accept the finish I got the other day, and review the game.


Well of course I liked it. I didn't like it as much as the Avernum games, but Avadon has a rather different approach that deserves consideration. OK, we don't get to cover nearly as much area as in the Avernum games, but hey, it's a whole new engine. Jeff, operating alone, has only so much that can he can do, and by golly, he got out a darned good, interesting and suspenseful game with plenty of options for players. This is the first in a trilogy. No doubt we'll be able to cover the rest of the tantalizing map in the sequels.


Also, although we go back to the same major locations about three times each, we always open up new areas in those locations, with plenty of new fights and loot. And, as in all of Jeff's games, once we've killed a monster, it stays killed. If we return to an area or to a dungeon, the bad guys are still dead. Always an appreciated feature.


Yet, some options are fewer. The new skills system probably works better for those of us (me!) who really aren't very good at choosing skills. The game makes pretty sure that you don't screw up your skills advancements, and even if you do, you can go back and re-do them anytime you want, although you will have to start from scratch and re-do the entire skills set if you chose to do that. I didn't try it, but I rather think it would be daunting to those of us who aren't game geeks.


Plus, there are all kinds of magical objects that you can use in your battles. I have a bad habit of not using those, but I had to break that habit toward the end of the game, and even ran out of a few items.


I really enjoyed the fact that all the different characters had distinct personalities. I would much rather have been able to take all of them out on my adventuring excursions, but I have to admit that the requirement to choose two from the four available did add another element of complexity to the game, as they've all got different skills.


The numer of quests was fine, although I would like to have gained far more strength by the end of the game. I think I eventually could have killed the Duke, but the demon and the dragon really were far beyond me. They wore me down far too quickly--I never could have sustained the attacks.


The graphics in Jeff's games keep getting better, but of course they'll never be up to industry standards, and we who play these games really don't care. It's the story that grabs us.


I think, however, that one reason I didn't like this game as much as the Avernum games is that really, we're not sure that we're the good guys in Avadon. We keep learning that we're fighting for an oppressive tyranny. In Avernum, we know we're the heroes. We're on the side of good. In Avadon, our side looks considerably darker. That, more than anything, took some fun out of the game for me.


But it's a fun game, and that's what matters. It ought to attract plenty of new fans for Spiderweb Software, and that's only good. It's well designed and exciting. Tough in plenty of spots, but until you get to the endgame, not impossible. Also, not terribly frustrating, because most of the fights can be won on a second or third try. There's a bit of a learning curve, but that's true of all these games, and this one isn't terribly steep.


So, yeah, good stuff here!

Avadon 18: More than Finishing

So I let the Duke go, went back to Avadon and finished the game. Actually the endgame is much, much easier than that fight with the Duke. I'll try it again, but first . . .


Because I was gone for so long I'd forgotten about a few things I still needed to do. Plus, at the endgame I was still missing one scarab, goodies handed out that you can attach to your characters giving them certain abilities. Neat idea, and they're interchangeable between characters.


However, I remembered that I had not slain a dragon, and I had left a demon stuck between worlds. I still want to slay the dragon, which ain't gonna be easy, and dispatch the demon, who as I recall is rather a pleasant conversationalist. Plus, although I had killed a mage as a quest, I hadn't been able to find the guy who gave me the quest, so I had not collected my reward, aside from looting the mage's tower.


The fact that I had not done those things showed up in the engame narrative.


Well, I finally realized where the mage-quest guy was, found him and got that final scarab! Hooray!


So now I'm going back to slay the dragon, then dispatch the demon. After that I'll have to do the whole Castle Vebeaux quest again, and this time kill the Duke, as I'm sure I can do. Hopefully I'll be able to loot the dragon's hoard, which should give me lots of money to buy more potions and scrolls. I know what's coming, so I'll need more.


Therefore, the fight continues!


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Avadon 17: Killed Again

So I got the bad guy this time. The trick is to used ranged attacks to see which of his dopplegangers is really him, then wail away on him.  So that was fun.


I'm now at the Castle Vebeaux, which I think is going to be the last major quest in the game. Wow, this indeed is a long quest. Fortunately, Jeff warns you about that while you still have time to go and stock up on supplies.


So I'm in the Castle Vebeaux, chasing down traitors to Avadon. I get accused of a vile murder that I did not commit, but hey, I did have to fight the guy, so you can kinda see why folks would blame me. That sets us off on a long quest into the Beraza Woods, this time avoiding the patrols that are out there looking for me. Mostly I manage to do this, with good use of the "quicksave" feature that are always in Jeff's games.


Finally I meet Hand Gavin, whom I'm not sure I trust. He sends me into a major battle, then shows up once I've won. He takes me down a tunnel that leads back to Castle Vebeaux, then disappears. So there I am at the undercroft entrance to the castle, which has an unopenable portcullis. I kill two sets of guards who shoot at me through the windows, expecting Gavin to show up once I've slaughtered them, but nope. He's nowhere to be found. Finally I had to go to the Spiderweb Forum and ask, how do I get into the castle?


It turns out that Gavin is there and is a good guy after all. He's just standing near the border to the area, but not in view. After wandering around all over I finally find him. He shows me a way into the castle. 


So I'm in the castle! But where do I go? I'm trying to get back to the pylon that takes me to Avadon, but it's blocked not only by mages and fighters, but by another closed portcullis. The game says, "You'll have to find another way in."


So I travel around the walls of the castle, killing guards. There aren't very many people around (presumably they're all in the Beraza Woods, hunting me. I find the Eye of Avadon who's there, freshly murdered. I do manage to loot quite a few nice items from the castle, but finally I can't avoid a major battle with a very good mage. That takes a lot of supplies (as did that fight in the woods), but I'm still good to go. 


By this time I've reached Level 30, the highest in the game (and something experienced players complain about). I dunno if I'm going to be able to gain more points to put into my training, or not. We'll see.


But now I've got a couple of minor fights, then a third major fight against the Duke's personal guards. That pretty much uses up my supplies. I'm out of resurrection scrolls, but I still have quite a few health potions. Plus, I still have some charges left on my Shard of the Phoenix, which recharges my whole party's abilities.


But I meet the Duke. OK, I do have an option to let him go. I choose the opposite. I mean, the guy killed three people I'm working with, including the Eye of Avadon. Clearly, he has to go, no matter how he argues for freedom. (I made the decision to stick with Redbeard pretty early on. If I want to do a replay, I'll be more of a rebel.)


OK, I don't think he's impossible to kill. He summons demons, but they seem to stay put and aren't really that destructive. I made the mistake of trying to dispatch them, but I should have concentrated on the Duke. He's immune to lots of attacks, but I did manage to damage him pretty well until I finally lost my sorceress. (She's turned out to be pretty good, once I got her dexterity up.)


But the dratted Duke gets about eight rounds to my one. I'm pretty strong by this time in the game, but with the odds that far against the player, you kind of expect to lose eventually. It was really frustrating.


So I'm going to go back and save just before I meet the Duke (I'll still have to defeat the personal guards again, because I didnt' hit quicksave. Idiot.


Then I can try both options. I'm looking forward to looting the place! Normally, once you've won a major battle like that (like three!), you ought to get major goodies.


So, back to it. If he's unkillable (I don't think so), then I'll go with the other option and just finish the game.


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Avadon 16: Oopsies

Oh dear. After dispatching a really good shaman (from whom I got a really good weapon) I spent lotsa time wandering around looking for her elusive husband.


OK, so I got the Titans in the basement pretty easily. But after that I couldn't find my way through the castle. Jeff likes to do this kind of thing. They aren't really mazes, but good luck finding your way through to the goal.


Well at last I did it, but I got stomped by the bad guy.


Tomorrow I will win.


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Avadon 15: Back Again (Finally!)

Oh dear. I never meant to be gone this long.


I have been swamped with Kirkus books, then there were the holidays, then, then, then.


Actually, Kirkus is now sending me enough work that I can pay my student loans, so that's important. However, really, I should not deprive myself of my games! I really was enjoying Avadon, and now Spiderweb has a new game out, a remake of Avernum 1. So I want to get to that. But not until I finish this one.


Problem is, I've been gone so long that I've forgotten quite a lot. The learning curve isn't steep, though. 


I picked up the game again by going with Shima, my fellow shadowwalker, to seek his revenge. So we did that, and I tried to remember just what advantages I now have in fighting. I won the battles just fine, but I did have to look at all my abilities.


Well, I imagine it won't really take that long to get back up to snuff, and I am remembering lots of the game. Also, I know I'm more than halfway through.


So the goal now is to finish!


I'll try to get more playing time in tomorrow.


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