Avadon: The Black Fortress

I first got turned off from Avadon as I played Geneforge 1 and barely made it through the game alive. I looked at this game as very little choices involved in making a character. What I found out was as I played more, I liked Avadon more than any other spiderweb game. Its got a great story like Geneforge, the main difference is that its much easier making a character that works. Out of any game I played, I've never seen such excellent characters/npcs in game. Even Geneforge's NPC's had less depth than characters such as Redbeard who I found to be funny, but with lethal malice and intent. What I also found out later too is that due to the newer stat/skill system, there are actually a lot more combinations for characters than you may think. Only good old games can make games like this known by everyone and I would like to thank them for doing this. These games might be dated with graphics, but there is alot of people like me that like this kind of niche.

I enjoyed Avadon quite a bit. The story gave me a slight Game of Thrones vibe, for anyone who might be interested in that. I docked one star for the complete lack of music (apart from the title screen), a few minor bugs, and a very linear character abilities tree. I would have liked more choice in what I could spec into, however the game forces you to spend your points on prerequisite skills which eliminate any real room for customization. Still a solid RPG experience I'm happy to have in my collection.

This is my first spiderweb game to play, but definitely not the last. The old school feel-like is so refreshing (might sound weird, but believe me) compared to today's AAA titles that just fail to deliver the feeling of being attached to a game. That's not the case with Avadon. I definitely feel like the time spent playing was worth it. This game made me enjoy party based RPGs again, the same goes for turn based combat. The execution for both is not innovative, but takes the best of what was here before and brings many possibilities for tactics you can use. The combat does not feel like repeating, because different foe will need different approach. Every game has some bugs, here are few minor items I could see being improved for the future. But honestly? I don't care due to the quality of the core of the game. The story, world around and lore as such is fantastic and only proves it's the indie RPGs that rule today.

I played this after Geneforge series. I liked GF better, but Avadon isn't a bad game, actually I had a lot of fun. There are also things I didn't like (it's only possible to enter an area from one side, a step backwards from GF, bothersome but luckily will be corrected in Avadon 2), but overall the game is very enjoyable. Somewhat more clichée than GF, but rather good characters. It's also relatively easier (2-3 very difficult battles, and are optional). I could even play it again sometimes (after Avernum maybe).