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!
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