Eye for an Eye

[BainIhrno]

Eye for an Eye

 

Author: The Avatar

Difficulty: High

Rating: PG

Version:

 

Composite Score: 3.43 / 5.00

Best: 0%

Good: 43% (3/7)

Average: 57% (4/7)

Substandard: 0%

Poor: 0%

 

Keywords: Exile Universe, Large Scenario

[ScenarioReview]

DRAKEFYRE

 

Meh. The premise is not really justified, IMO, but most of the scenario is solid.

 

Average

[ScenarioReview]

THE CREATOR

 

I quite liked this scenario, though it couldn't be described as a polished effort. Good

[ScenarioReview]

TERROR'S MARTYR

 

You can like the scenario, I won't. I found the lack of direction, near-hollow beginning of a plot, and other elements too much of a deterioration of quality to the point where I don't feel this scenario has any quality, at all. Plus, it ripped the oft-copied "open the portculli for your boat" dungeon from Za-Khazi. That pisses me off.

 

Average

[ScenarioReview]

ROSYCAT

 

The plot was shaky but the dialogue was excellent and almost everything (aside from the porticullus, as TM said) was solid and original. I liked the troglo fort. Average

[ScenarioReview]

BRETT BIXLER

 

Eye For An Eye is a BoE scenario developed by John Fuhrer. The storyline is a simple but exciting one: Athron, one of the few remining dragons in Exile, is assassinated. Your job is to find out who did it, and your “employer” is none other than Sulfras, another Exile dragon!

 

This “gauntlet” type adventure is staged in several parts, and starts in the lair of Athron. After her death, you proceed to the lair of Sulfras, enjoying a number of side missions along the way and building your party’s strengths.

 

Sulfras’ lair is a real treat, with areas that are inaccessible (as they should be) and areas that contain strange and bizarre things. Sulfras sends you on the next leg of your journey — find out who killed Athron, and bring back some proof.

 

Along the way you’ll visit the Tower of Magi, an Exile town, a Trog castle, and a Bandit lair. All play well and should keep you well entertained.

 

Finally, you’ll face the true culprits in a showdown of immense proportions.

 

The story is generally well told, although there are some places where things mentioned seem out of place, or told at the wrong time. This may be a very subjective view of things on the reviewer’s part, however.

 

In general, the encounters are well balanced, especially in the beginning of the game. Towards the end the number and severity of the outdoor encounters becomes tedious. Some of the placed encounters may prove difficult unless you are well stocked in magical supplies and are willing to utilize a hit and run strategy.

 

Rewards are balanced with the severity of the encounter, and quests are within the party’s capabilities.

 

The logical challenges are mostly in the riddle category, and are too easy to solve, for they are derived from famous literature (like “The Hobbit”). This is one area that could be beefed up a great deal.

 

Other logical challenges involve finding the right switches/levers to open up a locked door/gate. Veteran BoE players will have no problems or excitement with these challenges.

 

The overall graphic design of the game is good. Towns and dungeons are, for the most part, logically constructed. The one exception to this is the staircase in the Tower of Magi, that starts at one place on the first floor, and ends up someplace totally different on the second floor, even though both floors share the same outside shape and size. This is a minor quibble, however.

 

The scenario designer, not a graphics artist himself, turned to outside resources to develop custom monsters. This is an excellent idea, and really added to the visual appeal of the scenario. With the wide variety of graphics currently available to BoE scenario designers, hopefully others will follow this designer’s initiative and include custom graphics in their scenarios.

 

Sounds were used sporadically throught the scenario. In some places, included sounds could have enhanced the situation a great deal.

 

In general, the personalities of the non-playing characters were well thought out. They respond to all obvious questions, and in some cases, non-obvious ones (Ask X about “Boutelle” for a real laugh). Some NPCs are interesting to talk to just to talk to them, a nice addition to the standard boring cast of characters one usually runs into. One special NPC, Lan, deserves special mention.

 

Lan serves as a guide in the latter part of the adventure. A great opportunity exists here for some real “storytelling” on his part, but it never happens. Lan serves his purpose, but remains aloof, and thus is difficult to feel anything for.

 

The scenario does suffer from some minor spelling and grammar errors. Hopefully, the author will dump out the scenario text and run it through a spell and grammar checker for the next version.

 

The documentation for the scenario is minimal. It does list the plot, the beta testers, known bugs, and needed files. No help file is included, and there are some places in this scenario where one might need it.

 

This reviewer encountered one place where the program would freeze if certain actions were taken. As always, save often. Otherwise, with the exception of some known BoE bugs, the scenario runs smoothly.

 

So, go play an Eye for an Eye! You’ll have hours of entertainment. My overall score for this scenario - Good

[ScenarioReview]

MAGOICOCHEA

 

Average

[BainIhrno]

Eye for an Eye is a good scenario, made in the traditional Exile format. A fun playthrough, but needed some polish in some areas (and really, the captain gives complete strangers permission to break into people's houses? I know its small, but still). And I wish Lan fought on your side sometimes. Still, a worthy scenario.

 

Good