Worth buying?

[MiKye200]

I'm watching a Let'sPlay right now and the graphics seem very dated and the screen scrolling and music choppy; but I notice the reviews on Steam are very positive.

At first glance there's no way I'd buy this but I'm curious why there are so many positive reviews.

[Twistor]

The story is interesting, the setting is cool and original, and the dialogue are great (and there's a lot of reading). The difficulty rating of combat can be fit into your preference from "easy" (which is almost trivial) to "torment" (which is basically what it sounds like but still beatable).

There is actually no music (save the main menu and the beginning story cutscene). The engine is a bit dated now, not having a proper support for big screens / super-high resolutions of today, so the text may be too tiny for some people.

As it is a rather old-school CRPG, it is likely that most reviews are from fans of the series. Then it's no wonder that the reviews are glowing. Spiderweb Software is sort of obscure company (fitting since they make old-school CRPGs that aren't exactly fashionable) but they have quite a lot of fans, some of which go all the way to 90s.

It is also worth noting that the original Avernum 3 (or Exile 3 as it was before that) was the most successful game in their series.

Being a fan myself, I'm biased but I'd still say it's worth checking out if you're interested - those fans aren't fans for nothing. Every game of the company has a big, free demo (which they are unconventionally proud of), available through their website[spiderwebsoftware.com].

[Akmotu]

You either love or hate Jeff Vogel's Spiderweb Software games. What they lack in visual appeal is made up for in quality story telling. Like the previous comment, they are intended to be old school.

In my personal opinion, I think how well you are at autonomously suspending belief and immersing yourself into a world of fantasy, will determine your enjoyment of these games. If you like to read and paint your own picture of the scene and add your own mental details, this is your game. But, if you prefer highly polished graphics, soundtracks and special effects to transport you to a world of fantasy, then these games will not be for you.

[MiKye200]

Thanks for the replies.
Reminds me of Baldur's Gate.

[sofasleeper]

Just to add another voice.. I received the previous game (Crystal Souls) in a bundle and decided to try it. I got sucked in and finished it. Then saw this one on sale, so here I am again...

It is a bit of a pain dealing with the old school engine - I have to change the resolution on my desktop down in order to see well, there is some interface quirks and enhancements that I wish could be made (I really wish I could use the right mouse button to click/hold and scroll the map). There is not much music, although there is ambient sound that sets the mood.

There is a lot of reading (but not too much). The characters and plot are very well fleshed out. It is interesting to me how this game plays out almost as much in your head as it does on the screen. The graphics become merely placeholders. Similar to how a story plays out in your head when you read a book.

But above all, I find I am addicted to the progress of my characters. Wrestling with every choice when assigning skill points and traits. Weapon, armour and accessory choices are similarly difficult, but so entertaining. You will find magical artifacts and objects throughout the game and want to equip them all, but alas, you can only wear so many trinkets!

When I see the strength of my characters develop and get to try out new spells or see the results of new weapons or armour, it is very satisfying.

Magic, as well, plays a big part in the game. The enemies you face will be merciless and will charm you and turn your own players against the party. It is one thing to load up on offensive magic for a battle, but you must also be prepared to defend against it. The battles can be quite engaging, especially because the game designer likes to set you up in so many battles where you are outnumbered!

There is a very generous demo on the website that lets you play the first (underground) portion of the game. You will be able to fight and quest and roam around to see if it catches your interest.

[Karol13]

You must buy this game...that is the only way to join the true faith: Anema!

[Bou]

I was curious as well so I played the demo and got totally bored by it. It would have gotten more negative reviews if there wasn't a demo available. I can still play the Icewind dale and baldur's gate series but this game is just lifeless and soulless.

[raixel]

Originally posted by Bou:

I was curious as well so I played the demo and got totally bored by it. It would have gotten more negative reviews if there wasn't a demo available. I can still play the Icewind dale and baldur's gate series but this game is just lifeless and soulless.

Says you. I for one love these games. For me they have far more soul than any modern cut and paste all gfx no substance full voice causes no storytelling (its way cheaper to write text than pay voice actors- RPGs have suffered drastically in the writing department since full voice became standard) game.

Thats why there's a demo, dude. See if you like it. If you don't - don't buy it.
Many people *do* like it. Your opinion isn't the only one out there, nor do people on a forum for the game in question care if some rando doesn't like it.

I always love how people on the internet shout their opinion as if its fact. Instead of saying "I find this game...lifeless/soulless/sucky/whatever", they are like 'This game is...lifeless/soulless/sucks/whatever'". And then don't give any reasons why.

[Bou]

I can state my opinion just like anyone else even if it's a negative one. I didn't mean it as a fact. Next time I will use the 'I find' words. Don't be so butthurt over a negative opinion dude.

[hootie17]

Originally posted by raixel:

Originally posted by Bou:

'This game is...lifeless/soulless/sucks/whatever'". And then don't give any reasons why.

ok here is why it sucks (copy and paste of my review) i played for 55 hours before giving up on it so i think we'd all agree thats an honest try

I only recommend this game if you liked the first one so much you needed another 100 hours of it at a quarter of the quality. It's essentially the same game with a lot of the positives augmented in such a way that it feels burdensome.

Negatives based on getting 2/3 of the endings in the first game (No Spoilers):
- There's almost no story. You're sent out to explore and the overall goal is vague and has no sense of urgency.
- Money is plentiful which destroys any strategy related to resource management
- The Map is too big - which would be fine if there was better ways to travel and the towns were more unique.
- Dialog is often re-used and the conversation choices of what to ask NPCs feel like they never went past a first draft
- Nature Lore is a dumb mechanic and so are many of the skills which are never entirely explained.
- "Dispel Barrier" is incredibly frustrating - by the time I got the spell to open these "doors" I had made notes of about 20-25 places I had to go back to to make sure I didn't miss any items that were game-changing.
- Many necessary items are easy to miss b/c the graphics are so poor- the creator should realize this and put them out in the middle of the screen. There was many times where I nearly missed something hidden behind a wall.
Example of the Above: Theres a point in the "Filth Factory" where it's very easy to miss a major plot mission/item that it's impossible to go back to once you leave. I didn't finish the game but it seems like is an absolute major plot point that i likely would not have been able to finish the game with out.
- Too many missions with no way to organize them. At time of writing I must honestly have 40 quests, some of which I will never complete because it turns out they lower my reputation stat... so i just reload prior to handing it in and now it's stuck there. Forever.
- Even more broken than the first game, its often not entirely clear when you've finished a quest and/or where you have to go to hand it in. There's over a 100 towns and by half way through i needed an online resource to find where on the map the city i had to go to was.
- I don't know what they did with Bows but they're incredibly overpowered. I often found myself killing enemies in 1 shot.

its really sad, this game really could have been something great but it feels like a first draft

[zyzz]

I guess you're either going to love this game or hate it. Personally I love them. I just got to the part where you find the villages of friendly spiders and roaches and I can't stop laughing. Didn't make it through Baldur's Gate. I think you have to really enjoy reading and the creator's sense of humour. I think the large map and meandering pace is intentional. I enjoy exploring the maps and learning about the world. I do wish the towns were a little more fleshed out, but for me that's a pretty minor complaint.

[Krazyone]

Can anyone tell me if the XP is earned the same way in this game as the current one they just released? Do you earn xp for kills or is it only for completing a mission/quest?

[zyzz]

Originally posted by Krazyone:

Can anyone tell me if the XP is earned the same way in this game as the current one they just released? Do you earn xp for kills or is it only for completing a mission/quest?

For both kills and completing quests, and possibly a few other things. I know I got XP for discovering a location once on the world map but that might have been a quest goal or something; I don't think I've gotten XP every time I've found a new location.