Preview: Avenger [by VoSoft]



Company's Name: VoSoft
Game's Title: Avenger
Game's Expected Release Date: 4th Quarter 2003
Website: Avenger Website

As more and more people attempt to get on the Independent Game bandwagon, the quality of the graphics and most of the production quality of the games is increasing along with the number of games that try to present a gaming experience that is a bit different than anything else that you may have played from the "A" rack at your local computer store lately.  Though it is still a little ways away from being released, I recently had a chance to sit down and play the upcoming game Avenger.  Those of you who scanned the screenshots before reading anything are already thinking that it looks pretty nice and the screenshots definitely help to portray the world that has been created for this game.

In Avenger, you control a character who has seemingly haphazardly gotten himself stuck in a castle.  Each level of the game progresses by working through a series of obstacles to get out of the castle.  If you are fortunate enough to accomplish that goal, you will soon find yourself stuck in another castle attempting to find a way out.  Suffice it to say our hero isn't the luckiest guy on earth.

In each castle there are a series of roaming monsters that you will need to avoid.  Notice I didn't say anything about trying to vanquish the enemies to another dimension.  Though there wasn't any storyline presented in the version of the game I got to play, I'm sure it will include something about a hapless character having to find his way out using the only his wit and his quick feet. 

To exit each level you must destroy one of the walls of the castle with a bomb.  Reaching the bomb isn't quite as easy as just walking up and grabbing it.  Instead you have to maneuver about the castle collecting all the crystals that are scattered about.  Upon collecting all the crystals the bomb will appear you will be able to get it.  Though getting at it isn't always so straight forward.  The real trick to the game is getting around the castle.  There are a series of levers that can be used to lower and raise doors.  There are also keys that are necessary for entering into specific areas of the castle. 

Though the game is not yet completed, the snapshots here do a good job of helping you understand how the game will look.  It has a feel somewhat like Baldur's Gate, though the real-time graphics in this game have the potential of being better than those in Baldur's Gate.  The fog and lighting in the game helps a lot to convey the eerie feeling of the castle.  The soundtrack is also very well done and might be the highlight of the game at this point.

Though it still has some work to do on it to squash bugs, (I found myself stuck inside a wall at one point...now that has got to suck), Avenger should be an interesting game to check out this fall.