![]() Think Baldur’s Gate, but with a better UI and proper turn-based combat instead of all that pesky pausing to issue commands.Īvadon 2, the second game of a planned trilogy, is very similar to its predecessor in nearly every respect. Spiderweb games are graphically simple, exploration-heavy, text-dense adventures that demand a decent amount of finicky micromanagement. That’s not quite fair, but he has certainly nailed his formula. The first Avadon got me through more than one long flight and interminable conference call.Ĭritics of Spiderweb Software’s Jeff Vogel say he’s been making the same game for decades. And the format made it perfect for questing on the go. If I was going to spend dozens of hours crawling through dungeons and slaying monsters in turn-based battles, I’d rather not risk carpal tunnel syndrome from thousands of mouse clicks. That’s because the original Avadon title, The Black Fortress, was such a revelation on the tablet: it was a meaty, old-school RPG on the platform I wanted to play it on. The story is interesting and compelling enough that I kept being drawn back in even though I would occasionally throw my hands up in frustration.Although Avadon 2 has been out on PC since October, I wanted to wait until its iPad release in February to dig in. While the game has its flaws, I think they are largely worth overlooking. Unfortunately, damage immunities are all too common and almost always result in a press of the quickload button when found unexpectedly. At that point, we’ve descended into trial-and-error gameplay. This is even worse when the immunities are not obvious from enemy names or models or when an enemy is immune to more than one of the core damage types. Though fire elementals being immune to fire damage seems reasonable on its face, when an entire character class (the sorceress) uses fire as its default damage type you’ve gone from “seems reasonable” to “completely and utterly terrible game design”. Sometimes, these are almost reasonable–attacking an enemy stronghold should be hard–but more often it is due to enemies simply being immune to one of the core damage types. Rather than feeling like a steady progression as the game goes on, there are periodic, sudden, and often overwhelming spikes in difficulty. Where I have to complain about Avadon is in its overall difficulty balance. Its a system that has largely been seen before–not outstanding but certainly adequate. Character gain experience through quests and combat and get more powerful via a skill-based leveling tree. ![]() Though it doesn’t have guns like its ancient predecessor, it does have crazy special abilities and spells to balance things out. The style of the game’s interface reminds me of the old Fallout games–top down, isometric view action point-based turns. The implications of this fundamental tenant drive the plot.įrom a gameplay perspective, however, Avadon leaves something missing. More succinctly, what Avadon decides must be in order for it continue to be. Perhaps most central is the notion that Avadon makes its own morality. ![]() Though they have been rebuffed at every turn, the attacks have taken a toll on Avadon–lost people, strained resources, angry allies.Įverything that makes Avadon compelling is in it’s story and the unfolding of the truths of it’s world as the game progresses. The fortress is being set upon by outside forces that are organized and powerful. When the game begins, the player is dropped in as a new recruit to the fortress at a moment of crisis. To that end, they created Avadon–a place filled with the most powerful people with nearly unlimited authority to act to ensure the survival of the alliance. These four kingdoms needed a way to exert their combined military might and to maintain their own internal peace. In Avadon’s world, four powerful but beleaguered kingdoms decided to band together for common defense against various outsiders–Ogre, Titans, Dragons as well as other kingdoms. ![]() The titular Avadon is both a fortress (as it says in the title) and an organization. Avadon is a third-person, isometric, turn-based RPG in a Fantasy setting. A little over a week ago, I finished up my run-through of Avadon: The Black Fortress. ![]()
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