Blades of Avernum

"Spiderweb Delivers Another Hit For the Avernum Fanbase"

Introduction

Spiderweb Software. The shareware company that made a franchise out of old-school, stat-heavy, fantasy-fueled Role Playing Games. A legacy of said old-school RPG games- Exile I, Exile II, Exile III, Blades of Exile, Avernum I, II, III, and now, finally, Blades of Avernum. The latest game in the "Avernum" series is clearly modelled after its precursor and "grandfather"- "Blades of Exile". Those expecting another great Avernum game will definitely not be disappointed.

Gameplay

Your basic point-and-click fair. Very by-the-numbers in terms of user interface- kill monsters, gain experience and gold, level up, spend said experience points and gold for better skills, more magic, and better weapons and armor, lather, rinse, repeat. Avernum has always appealed to the hardcore RPG fans by being incredibly stat-driven among other things, and Blades of Avernum is the same. There's something to be said for sticking with what works, and doing it well. The myriad of stats can be confusing, and even a turn-off, to the casual RPG fan, but for Avernum fans, it's home sweet home.

Highs: Very basic, but oddly addictive.

Lows: No real innovation. The interface is very generic and multiple menus can end up confusing anyone not accustomed to it.

Story

Blades of Avernum has four basic quests, each harder than the last, with the first, easiest quest free to play. All are mostly linear, but the myriad of side quests helps fine-tune things. One has you investigating a disease, one has you picking sides in a civil war, the other has you embark on a desperate mission through uncharted territory to give aide to a fort that is on the brink of collapse, and the final one has a simple quest to kill a vampire turn into a haunting look at how power can corrupt. All excel well, sticking to their subject matter while avoiding cliche at the same time. However, it must be noted that the best stories are yet to come, as Blades of Avernum features a complete editor for those who buy it.

Highs: The concepts are regular, the execution mostly superb.

Lows: The story can tend to drag a bit, and there are some generic points.

Graphics/Sound

Yes, the black sheep of Spiderweb Software. The graphics and sound. Both are incredibly, incredibly lacking in detail. This is a 2d RPG through and through, with sounds relegated to when a battle begins, when it ends, when people and monsters attack, when you buy things, etc. The argument can be made that Avernum is a shareware game, but the fact of the matter is that, most of the time, this game doesn't look too pretty. But this is the fourth game in a series prided and praised on its other attributes, and fans have forgiven Spiderweb for their graphical and sound woes long before Blades of Avernum was released. Many Avernum fans would agree in saying that graphics and sound really don't matter in the Avernum world, and that holds true to an extent, but there is something to be said that the game plays like a classic but looks like one too.

Highs: There are many unique monster concepts, that's for sure. At the right moments, you'll never stop battling new, different monsters. The only thing that really stands out about the sound is the funny sounds monsters make when they die.

Lows: Very, very bland. A few monsters are simply different-colored renditions of the same basic character. Sound can be very tedious, even though it doesn't occur often.

Playtime/Replayability

It is no understatement when I say this game has infinite replay ability. Nearly every single aspect of your four-character party's abilities can be tweaked, honed, and upgraded to an insane degree. The four basic quests all have replayability, with the second one, which sports two different, unique endings, being the best. Plus, there are a total of four gameplay settings- Easy, Normal, Hard, and Torment. The infinite replayabilty comes in the form of Avernum's full-on editor, allowing Avernum fans to basically craft a new game, a new story, a new world, from scratch. While the editor can be complex, there are good mods out for Blades of Avernum even though the game is still considered young. The possibilities of what the Avernum mod community could do once they become experienced with the Avernum engine should, and probably has, every Avernum fan salivating.

Highs: At best, the sheer vastness of the mod engine will keep modders very, very happy, while the game and mods will keep other fans playing the game for many, many months. Perhaps years.

Lows: Since the mod engine is so complex, there is an issue with waiting for really good mods to come out and having to settle for basic, trying-it-out mods. The four main quests are linear, meaning you can play them again as many times as you want, but, other than the case in the second scenario where you can ultimately arrive at two different, unique endings, you usually don't have to.

Final Recommendation

This is a game for Avernum fans, there's no real other way to describe it. For those looking to get into the Avernum universe, this is a good game, but the original Avernum is recommended. But there's a price- Avernum fans have long ago come to terms with the basic graphics and sound and stat-crazy interface, but it can easily alienate many RPG fans. Since it is a shareware game, any RPG aficionado needs to download this game, play the first quest, and see if they like it enough to warrant a purchase. For Avernum fans, this is a no-brainer.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/05, Updated 05/05/05