Review: Avernum 2

Reviewed By: Kirk Hiner

Review Date: March 8, 2001

Genre: Turn Based RPG

Format: CD

Developer: Spiderweb Software

Minimum Requirements: PowerPC, 12 MB RAM, 20 MB hard disk space, 800x600 screen resolution

Network Feature: No

3D Support: No

Retail Price: $25 ($32 with hint book, see the website for special bundle and upgrade pricing)

Availability: Now

Rating: Not rated

It wasn't until my freshman year of college that I really began to appreciate computer gaming. Sure, I'd messed around quite a bit with Blue Max on my friend's Commodore 64 before that, and I can remember wasting many afternoons in "Computer Club" in junior high playing Jupiter Lander, or something along those lines, but I never really considered computers cooler than my Intellivision or the 8-bit Nintendo system until college.

There were a few games I can recall leading to this revelation, all of which were PC based, I believe; Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards always will be tops on my list, followed by F-19 and another game whose name I don't know if I ever knew. It was a Dungeons and Dungeons style RPG, no doubt an Ultima or Wizardry or something of the sort, and I'm sure it accounted for many a failed exam amongst my group of friends.

Spiderweb Software's Avernum 2 takes me so close to this period of my life that I'm starting to have anxiety nightmares about missing finals and not wearing my pants to class.

The press release for Avernum 2 bills the game as an "...old-school fantasy role-playing game designed for anyone who wants a huge game with a fascinating plot and who longs for the good old days of Ultima and Wizardry." Pay heed to that, because it's as accurate a description as I've seen a company give their game.

The sequel to Avernum (and not to Ice Pirates, which would have been an odd choice for Spiderweb Software), Avernum 2 once again places you in the underworld tunnels and caverns of--you guessed it--Avernum. You're a prisoner there, but a prisoner free to go on quests and adventures, which is more pleasant than The Hole at Mansfield Reformatory, I'd wager, and much, much bigger.

Avernum 2, you see, is huge. And by huge, I mean that you can play this game for a year and not finish it. That's the benefit of using last decade's graphics technology with this decade's hardware and storage capabilities; there's more room for story, and that's pretty much what Avernum is all about. Or, perhaps more accurately, it's all about the moment.

Unlike most RPGs these days, there's not a huge back story about your character and his destiny to lead X against Y so that Z might be avenged/saved. Instead, you're just a guy with a couple of friends trying get some things done. Sure, there's a nation's very existence at stake, but when you've got this many tasks to complete (kill these bad guys, retrieve this scroll, fix the porch, and don't forget to pick up the kids from gymnastics practice), it's hard to take in the big picture.

And actually, you don't even have to see the big picture. It's possible to finish the game successfully having completed only one of the Three Great Quests. Of course, what kind of hero would you be if you didn't at least tackle two of them. And hey, the entire first quarter of the game is there solely to prepare you for these quests, so you should be ready by the time they're presented. Also, you're not doing this alone. The game starts you off with three other characters in your party. Although their traits are already set, one of the joys of RPGs is setting up your party, so feel free to tweak. Assign them traits that suit your personal tactics, but remember to be diverse. It won't do you much good to have a bunch of mindless fighters and no clerics or wizards.

Movement and interaction are as simple as can be in Avernum 2. You control your main character, moving him/her in either of four directions, and your party follows (if only the characters in Baldur's Gate were this smart). You can control each character during battles, but you only have to worry about one at a time. Unlike in most "modern" RPGs, you actually get time to plan a battle here.

During more peaceful moments, the game is all about exploration. Each time you walk into a new room, pressing the look button will assign letters to each item of interest. As part of the excellent interface, you can either click on the letter or type it on the keyboard. The same goes for taking and manipulating objects. Clicking on the proper button shows all the options within the room, then you just click on what you want to do. Descriptions of items and important story info is shown throughout the game in the dialogue box. Conversations with characters also appear here, and there's a record feature that saves information you feel may be important (quests and assigned tasks are automatically recorded in a different area). Still, you'll want to keep a notebook handy. As I mentioned, there's an awful lot going on in this game, and I found leafing through hand written notes to be faster than scrolling through the online journal.

I'm also going to recommend you drop down the extra $7 for the Avernum 2 Book of Answers hint book. Aside from various tips, hints and explanations, the book contains maps that will prove invaluable...especially if you have grid paper handy.

And now here's my confession. Despite the Book of Answers, I'm not very far into Avernum 2. The story is just getting going, and my characters aren't as of yet all that powerful (or maybe I just don't know how to manage a battle). However, this isn't due to lack of effort on my part, it's just that the game is so large that most likely an Avernum 3 will be released before I finish this one. This is both good and bad.

See, I normally consider titles of this level to be what I call "airport games;" their low system requirements and easy gameplay make them perfect for killing time on the PowerBook at the airport while you're waiting for your connection to connect. But Avernum 2 is too involved for this. Unless you're the business type who spends two or three days a week in the airport (and you're flying Continental where you usually get an extra two or three hours in the airport before they bother to get your plane ready to go), this game is better played at home where you can dedicate long gaming sessions to it. But if you're used to online death matches or real-time strategy games, Avernum 2 probably won't hold your interest.

On the other hand, Avernum 2 wasn't really created for this crowd. It was created for the hardcore fan of RPGs who'd rather get lost under the depths of an intriguing (and surprisingly unique) story filled with adventure and danger; for those who want to be heroes but who's computers can't handle today's system requirements. Avernum 2 aims for a specific target audience, and it hits them dead on. Trouble is, that target just isn't really that large at the moment.

But as I continue to play through this game (its simple interface and no-frills approach to adventuring is a welcome respite from Oni, Myth II mods and such), I can't help but wonder what Spiderweb Software could give us if only they had the budget and the schedule of Bungie, Epic and such. Now that would be an adventure.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a final I'm late for and--wouldn't you know it?--I can't seem to find my pants.

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