RPG: Blades of Avernum [by Spiderweb Software]

Game: Blades of Avernum
Release: June 2004
Genre: RPG
Developer:  Spiderweb Software
System Requirements: Windows 98+, 30MB RAM,  (also available for Macintosh)
Price: US $25.00
Players: 1

 

Blades of Avernum is another quality role-playing game from the makers of Geneforge 2, which was also reviewed here in January. But it is not just a game. It's an entire role playing system! While it comes with four adventures that range in difficulty from easy to hard, games entirely of themselves, you can also download more adventures from Spiderweb Software's site. You can even make your own adventures with the Blades of Avernum editor, which is pretty powerful, well documented, and amazingly easy to use.

The four provided adventures include "A Small Rebellion", which involves you being sent by the Empire to destroy a band of rebels. You find yourself questioning whether you should be loyal to the Empire or join with the rebels. I played the beginner's adventure "The Valley of Dying Things" the most, which has you investigating a horrible disease that affects the lands of Skylark Vale. "The Za-Khazi Run" is an exciting quest that has you racing against time to provide much needed help to a fort that is the only thing preventing the land of Avernum from being overrun by enemies. "Diplomacy With the Dead" requires you to help a city with a vampire, but there is more to it than it seems.

To start, you need to create a party. A default party can be created for you so you can immediately get to the adventuring, but you can also tinker with your party to make it more customized to your tastes. Besides Human characters, you can make Nephils, a kind of cat-like race, and Sliths, lizard-like creatures that make an appearance as the enemy in "The Za-Khazi Run" mentioned above. Each race has a number of different images to chose from. More importantly, you can change the stats of your characters, which affect how much they can initially carry, how likely they can land an attack, and their prowess with certain weapons like bows and spears. There are stats that affect the ability to cast the two types of spells, Priest and Mage, the ability to make potions, and the likelihood that some obscure writing might be properly translated from your Arcane Knowledge, providing you with important clues and skills. All of these stats can of course be improved as you gain experience on your adventure.

Once you select a scenario to play in, you are introduced to the story and can start play. Like most RPGs, you learn about your tasks as you talk with people, explore the countryside, and fight enemies; however, the adventures possible with the Blades of Avernum system can include secret paths, enemies that work together to attack you, and special items that have interesting uses. For example, when I played "The Valley of Dying Things" I made sure to try to explore every nook and cranny. I was rewarded with special armor and shortcuts to different areas of the world among other things. I found myself surprised by the intelligence exhibited by some of the enemies and other characters. All in all, this system makes for great gaming.

Your actions in town can affect how people approach you. If you take only items that available to anyone, no one cares, but if you take money or items that belong to someone else, there can be problems. Attack someone in the town and you will likely fall under attack from the townspeople coming to the aid of their own. The environment is quite interactive, and in this case it means a fun and interesting game.

Your party's characters can have special abilities that help in different ways. If you run low on spell energy, your character may have the ability to regain it simply by absorbing it from the air. Another character may have the ability to "go berzerk" and be empowered by Battle Frenzy, which makes it harder for enemies to hit your character while also making your own attacks more effective. Special abilities such as these are typically only available once per day. There is a time system involved, so you may find the land getting dark as you move about. In some adventures the time is more important than in others, such as "The Za-Khazi Run" requiring you to get to the fort within two weeks. Future scenarios can be found at http://www.avernum.com and may make use of this feature, among others, even more.

If you liked Geneforge 2, you might be disappointed by the lack of animation when you move about since Blades of Avernum is more turn-based, but this game system and the games provided are very involving and fun to play. With the expandability of the system to allow for user-created scenarios, you can play as long as people keep making them! Fans of Spiderweb Software's other games and RPGs in general will find plenty to be pleased about.


Graphics: 7
While some of the graphics are clearly taken from Spiderweb Software's other games, they are still of decent quality. The attack animations are varied, and the world is full of details. The artwork lends a certain character to the game. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of animation.

Sound: 7
There isn't any music except in certain circumstances, such as the fanfare when entering a town or gaining an experience level. The sound effects and ambient sounds on the other hand do a great job of immersing you into the game.

Game Play: 8
You can use the mouse for most movement, but there are also plenty of shortcut keys to provide a quicker way to attack, search, talk, and do just about anything. The interface was pretty clean and straightforward, allowing you to play the game with ease.

Value: 10
The expandability available through the game editor should be enough to justify the cost of this game. If you want to pay a little extra, for $32 you can also get a hint book to help you get through some of the tougher parts of the four adventures included in the game. The game itself is quite fun to play through.

Concept: 8
Even though RPGs in general are similar, I found myself amazed at just what can be done with Blades of Avernum. It is very similar to Geneforge 2 and similar offerings from Spiderweb Software, but in a good way. It is able to stand on its own.

Fun: 9
I'll admit that first impressions made me think that this game wasn't going to be as fun as Geneforge 2. Hours after I said I was going to go to sleep, I found I was still playing Blades of Avernum! The game is fun, and it is exciting to think about the scenarios that will be available in the future. Some scenarios are available even now!

Overall: 9
Some people might think that there isn't much to this game, but if you love RPGs and more specifically love Spiderweb Software's other games, you'll be quite happy with this one. The classic gameplay, expandable scenarios, and overall fun you'll have with Blades of Avernum should tide you over for quite some time.Added: December 21st 2004
Reviewer: Gianfranco Berardi
Score:
Hits: 13182
Language: english