Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jan 15, 2015

  TLDR version: If you like tactical fantasy RPGs and don't have to have tip-top graphics, this is an excellent game you should purchase whether you've played Escape from the Pit or not. Obviously this isn't a full review, but as somebody who's played every one of Jeff Vogel's games, including the prior remake Avernum: Escape from the Pit, I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting into and what you should be getting into. Vogel's had 2 decades to refine his skills, and while his budget isn't as big as pretty much any other studio out there, he puts a lot of heart and soul into his games. Especially with Crystal Souls, he's taken the best of fan mods to Escape from the Pit and put his own twist on them, bringing a hugely fun fantasy RPG adventure with very tactical turn based combat. The difficulty settings make it so that everyone can have the level of challenge they want, even switching mid game if a particular fight gets too hard for you or you decide you've got the hang of it. He's really tightened up the UI in general since the old days too, making the flow a lot smoother. The skill trees provide diversity without being confusing, it's easy to see what kind of characters you want and go straight for it. Magic sometimes feels overpowered, but there's always the enemies that are nearly immune to it, making a balanced party makeup helpful and desirable the whole time through. The story in the original Crystal Souls game was excellent, and just like the remake of Escape from the Pit, Vogel is keeping the best parts intact while introducing multiple new areas and bosses to the game. I could go on for a while, but I think I'll just close with the fact that even the games of Vogel's I was sure I didn't like I ended up loving when I tried them, so you really just can't go wrong if you think you're at all interested.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 15, 2015

  Absolutely wonderful game; small but noticeable changes were made from previous games that make this one better. Graphics are ever-so-slightly improved from the previous game (only icons really, nearly any computer can play this game), the sound effects on death for enemies are a very nice change. Difficulty thus far is a very nice challenge on normal, heaven knows how hard the highest difficulty is. Thus begins anew my obsessive hoarding of iron bars, grain bags, crystals, and bolts of cloth. A very solid game!
• gamedeal user

  Jan 16, 2015

  Excellent old-school RPG with turn based combat. As the case with other Spiderweb Software games, it's slightly difficult to recommend though. The game delivers in terms of great world to explore, character development and interesting story as well. However, for people used to current generation of RPGs with full voice-over, character personality, choices, it may be difficult to get into this. It is really closer to Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale type of experience. Coupled with the isometric 2D graphics entire dialogue and quest content is delivered through huge amount of text. Don't get me wrong - story is excellent, but from experience trying to share Avernum series with friends, it really isn't everyone's cup of tea. So, please take my (and others') recommendation with a grain of salt. The game is natural step forward from the previous remake (Avernum: Escape From The Pit) and while minor upgrades are there, it mostly plays and looks the same. Unfortunately, some of the interface problems are still there, for example the infamous inventory issue is still there (when you press "I", inventory opens, but you can't close it with "I"), but these are truly minor in my opinion. It's worth to mention that when it comes to system requirements, you can probably play this on your washing machine too, so if you are stuck somewhere with a decade old laptop or something, you can probably play this game without problems.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 18, 2015

  The old Exile games sparked my love of PC games and RPGs. I've played all the avernum games as well over the years and have eagerly anticated this games release as Exile 2 was my favorite of the origional trilogy. As far as a review: Gameplay: Singleplayer turn based isometric strategy game. You control a group of 1 to 4 characters and travel from town to town completing quests. Mostly exploring towns/caves, killing mobs, gathering loot, selling loot, rinse and repeat. For the characters you may choose from 3 races and can customize your character in typical roleplaying fashion by raising various skills. Pros: -Great content. Best storyline of the origional trilogy. -Challenging Gameplay if you select the harder difficulties. Cons: -The spell selection is still limited in scope. Nothing like the origional exile series. It also hasn't really changed from the other avernum games. -Somewhat limited in freedom of choice. For example you may steal things but there really isn't a penalty or risk for doing so. Or the dialogue choices all lead for the most part to the same end. Conclusion: It's a game for those who like dungeon crawlers, old school feel, turn based combat, or really in depth worlds to explore. If you have played avernum escape from the pit this is nothing new really just a continuation of the story with fresh characters. If you played the old exile games or the first avernum run its well worth picking up.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 28, 2015

  Short version: If you never played Exile II or the first Avernum II, play this version. If you have, I'd skip it. I really, really, really want to like this game. I've played every game that Spiderweb has put out since the mid-90s, from the first Exile game. But this one I really can't recommend. Short version: this game just feels kind of lazy. For me the biggest issue is that Spiderweb really doesn't try anything that new with this one. There are a few additional areas and big fights, but that's really it, which isn't really enough for a third incarnation of the same story; the game is, for the large part, mostly the same as it was in the previous incarnations. If you've played either Spiderweb's Avadon or Geneforge series (both totes recommended, especially Geneforge), then you known how many choices you face in those games and how intricate the outcomes can be. Nothing like this has been included in the updated Avernum games, where it is sorely needed. Nobody plays Spiderweb games for pretty graphics, but there are some things here which I think are just not cool. Many, many, of the enemy models are also just recolors, some of them used six or seven times, with very few new models introduced from the recent Escape game. If you go and look at the sprite sheets for the original Exile games, which are very lovely pixel art, you can see the huge variety of characters. A lot of the models are also from older Spiderweb games, some going back 15ish years, and the newer and older models reallly don't go well together -- it's painfully obvious which are newer and which are older. Again, it just feels kind of lazy. There's lots of text I remember reading in Exile II, which says something very good about the writing that I can remember it over 15 years later, but using so much text again just feels kind of cheap. If you never played Exile II or the first Avernum II, then you may want to go ahead and play this game, but I'd skip it if you've played either.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 12, 2015

  What can I really say, except "Holy shit"? The demo version of Exile 2 on my father's old Macintosh back in uhh.. 1996? 1997? was my first contact with computer RPG's, and boy what a contact it was. I had no idea about anything, I just.. explored, clicked random buttons and slowly got the hang of it. Back in those days the Internet was not a thing, and me being a kid made the mysterious "registration" and a 25 dollar pricetag pure wishful thinking. So what, 20 years later, I finally get around to finish the game that started it all for me. Kinda. Time to give Exile 2 a whirl, now that it's freeware. I want to see a few of these places in their original form.. As for A2? Holy shit buy it play it savor it. A gem like this doesnt come around every year. If Jeff gets around remaking Exile 3 a second, and perhaps final time, then ho-ly crap it's going to be awesome. The size of that gameworld will blow your minds. In the meantime, enjoy the second chapter in the saga of Avernum.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 10, 2015

  I'm a long time Spiderweb fan and, as such, I'll just start by getting the obvious out of the way: this is a massive game with tons to do that improves on "Escape from the Pit" in many aspects, not the least of which is storyline (which is much more sprawling and epic than EFTP's was). I enjoyed it immensely and if you at all like Spiderweb games or turn based RPGs in the tradition of Ultima, then you should buy this now. That said, it is slightly disappointing at times just how little is improved upon from EFTP to A2:CS and how, in other aspects, the game takes a few step backwards. A2:CS fixes none of the glaring interface issues from EFTP. While the terrible pathfinding can perhaps be given a pass (as it would most likely require significant rewriting of the engine), other minor problems are less excusable: the right mouse button still cannot be mapped to actions (no scroll wheel either), the buttons that open the inventory still do not also close them, and despite the MASSIVE amount of screen space provided, you can still only map 4 spells/Battle Disciplines to the interface hotkeys. Combat also remains a slog at times, with tons of trash mob fights that can get incredibly tedious, especially toward the end of the game when leveling slows down and experience starts to mean less. Many dungeons have large groups of enemies in every room, which often kills the fun of exploration and means lots of back tracking to towns to heal (especially since energy elixirs are a bit rarer than they were in EFTP). In terms of steps backward, its boss battles are, by and large, pretty forgettable. Most Avernums, and EFTP was no exception, tend to throw in a few gimmicky or puzzle like boss battles to keep things interesting and make you change strategies from fight to fight. But A2:CS pretty much sticks to the tried and true, "Dude with tons of hitpoints attacks hard and summons waves of minions as you reduce his health." It does introduce more area of effect mechanics (such as bosses who cover the floor in fire or ice damage), but it uses them sparingly, and apart from one notable exception, most bosses are susceptible to most types of damage. That said, I don't mean to give a bad impression of the game from harping on all its negative points without listing its positives (which are myriad). So I’ll end with a random list of the game’s delights: -Maxing out Pole Arms and Hardiness on Mages and Priests to create invincible damage dealing tanks with adrenaline rush (i.e. the ability to attack 3 times in one turn). You aren’t really playing until your Priest can take 5 polearms to the face and live to cast level 3 “Divine Retribution” 4 times in one turn. -Doomguard fights -Random 90s sitcom references (“Absolutely Fabulous,” anyone?) -Doomguard fights on speed (and also on speed in the game) -Buying 2 levels of gymnastics for everyone endgame just to scratch an OCD itch in your brain -Leaving a bottle of Almarian wine in an empty room in a Dharmon Inn for your hommies who have gone before
• gamedeal user

  May 2, 2015

  Frankly, I installed Avernum several years ago during my month recovery in hospital having no super expectations. I decided to try this game just to kill several hours but then found myself awaken in a month :) It is very compelling game with unique, huge world, profuse setting and cool old-school CRPG experience. If you’re 27+ y.o. and remember one of your first CDs with Baldur’s Gate, I bet, you’ll dig Avernum. Btw, I was astonished when found out that all there games were made by one guy. That news bacame one of the pillars pushed me on the way of indie dev myself. Kudos to you in absentia, Jeff.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 12, 2015

  If you liked Avernum: Escape from the Pit, you'll like this one. It has the same gameplay, just with a few new spells, and the same ease-of-use improvements over the original Avernum games. The turn-based combat can get a little tedious sometimes, but I love the open world exploration, and I found the development of the story and lore more interesting than in the first game.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 29, 2019

  [b][i][This review is an excerpt from a video/written article covering all of Spiderweb Software's series, so if you want the full context visit the link down below for the entire 32K Character review (20 mins reading or 30 min video.)][/i][/b] https://youtu.be/28Ml6JQQFc8 If you’re [confused by the various listings of Avernum on Steam and GOG], don't worry; it only gets worse the further you unravel this spinster’s tale. Hopefully this information will make sense as to why there are two listings of Avernum as well as why some titles have subtitles while others do not. Way back in 1995, there was the first Spiderweb game made in the vein of the first three Ultima titles, named Exile: The Escape from the Pit. As you might expect from a game developed at this time, it didn’t take long for advances in computer technology to make the game inoperable on modern devices. What Jeff Vogel decided to do was to “rewrite” the first trilogy of Exile into the first trilogy of Avernum, which used the Nethergate (not the Nethergate: Resurrection) engine. Ten years later, and after completing the second trilogy of Avernum as well as the Geneforge series, Jeff Vogel returned again to rewrite Avernum with all the improvements brought with Avernum 6. This version was dubbed Avernum: Escape from the Pit. The other two games in this first trilogy have also been remade, and they are designated with Exile subtitles; the second trilogy, however, remains in its original form. If that history lesson was too confusing to follow, and I wouldn’t blame you, then all you need to know is if there is a subtitle attached that means you are playing the latest version with all the modern quality of life improvements. So how exactly does Avernum hold up after sixteen years? About as well as might expect. If I had to describe Avernum, the world and the gameplay, in one sentence, it would be an Elder Scrolls version of Fallout with the world-building that you would expect from Obsidian. Now that description may be giving the game too little or too much credit depending on what you think about the gameplay as well as the quality of its writing. It does, however, capture this series’ sense of adventure combined with the sheer scale and quality of its world, and it’s the epicness of a six-game journey from the depths of Avernum to the topside world that will enrapture those who dare to try their patience for such a lengthy quest. One common problem with Spiderweb games, although perhaps more so in Avernum, is how stretched out these games are with respect to their mechanics. As an avid fan of turn-based tactics games from the terrors of the deep of XCOM to the pillars of excellence set by Pillars of Eternity, I would like to say there is as much depth to Avernum as the character creation system wants you to believe. While there is a decent variety of ten classes—and the following entries would let you play as humans; the feline race, Nephilim; and the lizard-men race, the Sliths—the combat mechanics aren’t as captivating when you realize all classes boil down to fighters, mages and priests with all the rest serving as hybrids. For one game, this system would be acceptable; however, when you consider these systems for six entries, you will understand the sentiment that these mechanics overstay their welcome. Avernum isn’t the only series that suffers from its own journey as Baldur’s Gate shares this same plight, even before Siege of Dragonspear added another twenty-five hours to the journey, and that game uses AD&D rules. To Avernum’s credit, this problem isn’t about quality versus quantity as these games make their quests as much as their world worth the long, long road ahead into what could easily take you hundreds of hours to see the end. So what is about Avernum’s world that makes it so compelling? The first two entries take place within the confines of Avernum, a prison for the Empire to cast aside its outcasts, its criminals, its insurrectionists and all its unwanted folks into a realm meant to be their end. Instead of dying off, the people formerly of the Empire, as well as the other races sent into Avernum, have learned to thrive off their new environments. Sunlight is replaced with bio-luminescent mushrooms and other magical substitutes; cattle and other livestock have been conditioned to eat mushrooms, which has resulted in their milk turning green; and the exiled mages from the Tower of the Magi continue to experiment with new ways to adapt to the environment. It is all these many examples of great attention to detail as well as subversions throughout the game such as coming across a friendly neighborhood of spiders makes Avernum a believable world. In addition, Avernum, from the very first game, manages to do what most RPGs or fantasy worlds fail to accomplish in creating an underdog narrative. (These games also do not suffer from telling incomplete stories as every game is treated as a self-contained work.) Above all the lore and the engaging quests, it’s perhaps the length of that journey—although most of these games can be completed within twenty to thirty-five hours—and the sense of scale from all the side-content that does a lot more to sell the idea of this story. In many ways, Avernum shares a lot in common with Tolkien’s novels where the first hundred pages of The Lord of the Rings was about the Shire, the main characters and building up the suspense of the outer world. Out of these three goals, Avernum misses the mark on the latter category as most of the writing is expository with no real personality behind the player’s words. Many great RPGs, even ones with blank slates, also suffer from this problem, but your dialogue decisions in Avernum feel devoid of any flavor. This sentiment doesn’t extend to all written characters as they have enough characterization to make them serve the purpose of telling you a story. You also have to accept the many instances of the “Show, Don’t Tell” problem, especially when the narrator will emphasize things that should rather be left for the player to discover from conversations. However, you cannot blame Jeff Vogel for these moments because it would be a far worse problem if these details were not made clear to the player without having played previous titles, or if the sequels had to make their tutorials more intrusive. Like many aspects in life, concessions have to be made and this compromise, while not the best solution, is one where it makes the most sense. So after the first two games, Avernum 3 takes places at a time when the Avernites have found a way to return to the surface, and the first trilogy can end with the Empire and the Avernites reaching a mutual agreement. Normally I would have put a spoiler warning, but simply stating that information is kind of like saying Star Wars ends with the Empire in defeat (the original trilogy, not the new schlock.) You simply don’t have the context nor the experience behind that revelation to appreciate the extend of that journey. Another reason, besides making the transition to the next trilogy easier to talk about, is that Avernum always lets you have multiple endings with only one being canonical, and the introductions for subsequent games will always spoil the previous games for you. (There is also no save-transfer feature, which gives credence to the idea that the characters you play in every game are not the same adventurers.) The point of highlighting this plot point is if you want to end the journey here, then you can certainly make that decision and you will still find closure, especially if the state of the second-half of that adventure dissuades you from continuing onwards. [url=https://ryancolxire.wixsite.com/theschmaltzycynic/post/schmal-bites-spiderweb-software-s-legacy]If you want to continue reading, there are two more paragraphs on the second trilogy of Avernum (4 - 6.)[/url]