I've read the reviews on the Avernum series and other Spiderworks games and have just a couple of questions, if I may ??

I understand the graphics aren't what you would call award-winning, but old school looks are not a problem, they bring back lots of good memories if anything. What my main concerns are the gameplay mechanics, ai interactions with in the game and over all continuity.

A little in depth observation from those who have played it would be very much appreciated. :)

Thanx

I've played Geneforge 1, which perhaps is the weakest in the series. In some ways the other games when i started them were too... big? Hard to say, i think i just got lost quickly and wasn't at the top of my game.

Might be better to glance over reviews and thoughts in the sub-threads for the games.

http://www.gog.com/forum/avernum_series

http://www.gog.com/forum/geneforge_series

I've not played the Avernum series, but if Geneforge is anything to go by, it isn't so much the gameplay mechanics that are where these games shine, rather the story.
Not that I found the gameplay lacking or anything. They certainly took me through the game.

Well, as long as it's not 'clumsy' I can probably handle it, hell I remember playing Zorg, Pool of Radiance and many others when they were just comingout, OMG the memories, VIC20, Commodore64.

Brain going into overdrive.....noooooo.

One of the many things that Spiderweb does right is to provide an extensive demo for each game.

If you're keen on exploring a well-described world, the demo shouldn't take long to hook you.

edit:
The demos are available on http://spiderwebsoftware.com/

If i recall right, the saves from the demos are compatible with the full game so if you buy the game later you don't have to start over...

Well that is definitely a plus, there aren't too many demos out there that allow that feature. Appreciate that, thank you.

I can't comment on continuity because I haven't played all the series from the beginning to the end yet, but concerning Avernum's (latest remakes) gameplay, rest assured that is spot on. Very simple yet very good.. Haven't finished yet though; it requires much free time that I don't have right now.. :P

Great RPGs. They are more similar to reading a book than playing a game. The gameplay parts are not as strong as AAA games, but the story aspects are great. Well-written characters, intriguing plots, and important choices can be made.

The graphics are more like icons that represent what you should be imagining. The flavor text will give you a lot more information. And there's a lot of it to read.

The earlier Spiderweb games have mechanical gameplay issues that, should you make mistakes in building your party, you could potentially make the game unwinnable. That gets downright frustrating for games as big as these. So I would recommend reading a guide for getting the most out your characters if you're playing the early games. Unfortunately, I haven't played the recent Avernums. I played the first of the old Exiles that they're based off of and it was incredible and hard. And I've played Geneforge (character building is important) and Avadon (less important to get your character perfect).

AI is fairly basic in the Spiderweb games. Enemies don't think super-intelligently, but that's part of the game. You use your intelligence to defeat the strong opponent who has a predictable pattern (usually stop-and-fire or chase you down and hack you apart :D).

I'm not nearly a master of all Spiderweb games, though -- I've only played 3 so far. There's lots out there who've playe them all. So someone might be able to be better able to tell you what you're looking for.

But I'd just recommend getting the demo and playing. They're one of those love-it or hate-it games and you'll know which one it is for you in the first 45 minutes of play.

As someone who's been playing and enjoying Spiderweb's games since Avernum 4, here's my general take on things:

Pros:
- Continuity: You don't need to play through the Original Trilogy (A1-3) to appreciate The Great Trials Trilogy (A4-6) but Vogel really succeeds in creating stories for each game that fit within the broader arc of the entire series, stories where a given character can have motivations that are readily apparent in one game, but actually are tied very strongly to events in the past games: an effect of Vogel's strong writing in his games. Solberg in A5 is a great example of this.

- Gameplay Mechanics: The combat is what I can best describe as a mix of the tactical, strategic style of the IE games like the BG/IWD series, with the turn-based action point-based system of a game like Fallout. It's nice for me because I can tackle battles at the pace that I want, and the game richly rewards careful planning and management of a party's resources and special abilities. Clever positioning of your party members during especially difficult battles can make all the difference too. In some cases, it's instrumental to winning an encounter.

Cons:
- Power Gaming: In my experience, especially for A4-6, I've noticed that the game rewards "Power Gaming", where you basically become a double-agent for both sides to get the best loot in the game (this is a complaint I have with Geneforge 4, too). This means that if you want to role-play as a loyalist to either side, you're actually at a disadvantage.

- Sub-Optimal Character Builds: Maybe this is more because I suck, but a big problem I have with Vogel's games in the A4-5 era are that you can spend the entire game building your party characters to what you think is best for your style, only to find yourself screwed because the end game is optimized for certain character builds. For instance, in one sequence at the end of A4 (one of my favorites in the series), there's a really nasty sequence at the end with some powerful traps. You can turn them off, but you need a really level in a specific skill to do. Well dammit, I'd put most of my points into other skills like archery, quick action, and polearms. I'm sure I could have passed that section if I tried hard enough, but it was just too frustrating for me.

I hasten to add that this is less of an issue in his later games like Avadon and A6.

Spiderweb games are awesome but yah they can definitely have their rough spots. Still worth it though. I actually liked Blades of Avernum.

Thx for all the input everyone, it made making a decision so much easier. Have gotten Crystal Souls and I'm hooked.

Game play is simple, AI keeps me on my toes.

Old School RULES !!

I definitely have to agree with you Tallima, the greatest power of a memorable RPG is that it plays like a good book reads, and I can tell that I'm only a couple of pages into a great story here.

HACK-----SLASH----DIE (NOOO, not me, damn)