Īvadon has a few big disadvantages that keep me from embracing it fully. Because that's what Avadon is: Spiderweb at its core, but with a big BioWare pap smeared over it, with its greater accessibility, its use of followers, its cosmetic dialog choices, and its heavy emphasis on a linear narrative. Whether or not you like it depends on two things: whether or not you like Spiderweb games, and whether or not you like a lot of BioWare's typical design choices. It is still a typical Spiderweb RPG at its core, and shows a lot of what Jeff Vogel learned in writing, pacing, and encounter design to its fullest. Ĭonsidering I spent a good part of this review highlighting some major problems, you might have the impression that I disliked the game. This makes it pretty clear that the Avadon franchise is focused on the Midlands Pact, its internal and external issues, and the position the fortress holds there.
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The franchise is named for the large fortress that sits at the junction of three nations, a power independent of each nation that acts to see that every nation follows agreed-upon rules and to aid nations that need help with border issues. Where Avernum had its underground prison setting and Geneforge has its geneforging and rebellion, Avadon doesn't have an obvious hook. Even the world map looks like it could come straight from the inside jacket of a fantasy novel, with an alliance of five nations called the Midlands Pact sitting in the middle, bordered by fallen empires or wild lands threatening their security. Party-based or single-player.Īvadon gives us fairly typical high-fantasy fare, presenting us with magic-rich, medieval-type nations struggling with threats of wretches (goblins) and titans (giants), as well as upholding unsteady alliances with dragons and other powerful factions. Full of choice and consequence or more protective of the player.
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Still, within that genre there can be a lot of variations. In that time, he has always stuck to making top-down, classic-style cRPGs, and he still hasn't deviated from that basic framework.
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Spiderweb Software's Jeff Vogel is a veteran to the indie RPG industry of over 15 years. Here are a few snippets and his conclusion: Tags: Avadon: The Black Fortress Jeff Vogel Spiderweb Softwareīrother None has posted up his review of Spiderweb Software's latest cRPG Avadon: The Black Fortress.