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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