Well, though I played every single spiderweb game several times since avernum 1, including every BoA scenario, Nethergate both sides, each geneforge with every faction, and browsed and read many threads here, it's the first time I post in the boards, because this is important for me (and it will be long, mind you):
though I love and cherrish every Spider game, I think that if we'd make a poll, the favorite ever since Avernum 1 including would be Avernum 2. I personally played it so many times, and when I ask myself why, the answer is simple: STORY, STORY, STORY.
Every quest in that game, small to large, was somehow advancing the and cross-connecting to the plot - the war with the empire. There was one supreme underlying yet unwritten mission: save avernum and its citizens from physical and cultural extinction by the hands of a brutal, vengeance driven and furious, yet calculated, organized, stubborn and relentless Force Major. darn, the story was so compelling and realistic Jeff didn't have to declare it "officially" as a quest!
there were 3 super-quests, completing each one advanced you to your final goal: slaying Garzahd would eliminate the empire army's master mind; helping the Vahnatai would prevent a powerful enemy from fighting against your country and align them with you; and destroying the empire portal would fatally hurt the empire from utilizing its frightening number advantage. You had to eliminate the enemy's main strategist AND badly hurt its military infrastructure AND use heavy diplomacy in order to survive.
Add to it that you fought a faceless enemy (you didn't meet "regular" empire citizens), and that avernum didn't "win", just barely repelled the enemy, and the feeling was genuine. And of course, every side quest that I remember was geared towards the mission: getting the colored passes, eliminate enemy garrisons located strategically and fearsome regional commanders, getting rentar ihrno to help you, reaching hidden and vital allies like erika, solberg and thompson...even the cool gangsters of the abyss were frightened.
It wasn't the outdoors, it wasn't the battle system, and it wasn't the graphics. on the contrary, it was the lack of time, the urgency you felt - nobody is asking you to eliminate an infestation of mindless chitrachs, no town has a job board, and no merchant is worrying about a blocked bridge that hurts the business; every npc, from savage nephilim to mighty Erika redmark, was occupied with one thing: keep the empire from our lands.
The civilization threatening aspect is missing in all other games (the less so in nethergate) - in A1, you get the feeling that Avernum can cope with Grah-hoth and the other 2 quests with or without you; in A3 you know Avernum continues daily life underneath valorim, and so is the empire outside it; BoA is obvious; in A4 rentar seems almost like a crazy old hag, that drops some halloween shades in some cities and will bury herself even if you'd just stand and do nothing; and Dorikas is just not a threat enough to be the pinnacle of the game, especially since it is depicted as a political struggle between some big shots that doesn't interfere or affect the regular empire or avernum citizen. And geneforge (so far) - excellent and original story, but the shaper council still sits in its ivory tower and will crush the rebellion with hords of guardians, agents and creations with a snap of a finger, if they really thought it's threatening.
I admire Jeff for his story-telling abilities, I wish I could reach half of that, and I think he chose very wisely when the stories were the main bonanza - and again, to ne, Avernum 2 is still the greatest game I ever played.
Thoughts about Avernum 6?
in Second Avernum Trilogy
Posted
Well, though I played every single spiderweb game several times since avernum 1, including every BoA scenario, Nethergate both sides, each geneforge with every faction, and browsed and read many threads here, it's the first time I post in the boards, because this is important for me (and it will be long, mind you):
though I love and cherrish every Spider game, I think that if we'd make a poll, the favorite ever since Avernum 1 including would be Avernum 2. I personally played it so many times, and when I ask myself why, the answer is simple: STORY, STORY, STORY.
Every quest in that game, small to large, was somehow advancing the and cross-connecting to the plot - the war with the empire. There was one supreme underlying yet unwritten mission: save avernum and its citizens from physical and cultural extinction by the hands of a brutal, vengeance driven and furious, yet calculated, organized, stubborn and relentless Force Major. darn, the story was so compelling and realistic Jeff didn't have to declare it "officially" as a quest!
there were 3 super-quests, completing each one advanced you to your final goal: slaying Garzahd would eliminate the empire army's master mind; helping the Vahnatai would prevent a powerful enemy from fighting against your country and align them with you; and destroying the empire portal would fatally hurt the empire from utilizing its frightening number advantage. You had to eliminate the enemy's main strategist AND badly hurt its military infrastructure AND use heavy diplomacy in order to survive.
Add to it that you fought a faceless enemy (you didn't meet "regular" empire citizens), and that avernum didn't "win", just barely repelled the enemy, and the feeling was genuine. And of course, every side quest that I remember was geared towards the mission: getting the colored passes, eliminate enemy garrisons located strategically and fearsome regional commanders, getting rentar ihrno to help you, reaching hidden and vital allies like erika, solberg and thompson...even the cool gangsters of the abyss were frightened.
It wasn't the outdoors, it wasn't the battle system, and it wasn't the graphics. on the contrary, it was the lack of time, the urgency you felt - nobody is asking you to eliminate an infestation of mindless chitrachs, no town has a job board, and no merchant is worrying about a blocked bridge that hurts the business; every npc, from savage nephilim to mighty Erika redmark, was occupied with one thing: keep the empire from our lands.
The civilization threatening aspect is missing in all other games (the less so in nethergate) - in A1, you get the feeling that Avernum can cope with Grah-hoth and the other 2 quests with or without you; in A3 you know Avernum continues daily life underneath valorim, and so is the empire outside it; BoA is obvious; in A4 rentar seems almost like a crazy old hag, that drops some halloween shades in some cities and will bury herself even if you'd just stand and do nothing; and Dorikas is just not a threat enough to be the pinnacle of the game, especially since it is depicted as a political struggle between some big shots that doesn't interfere or affect the regular empire or avernum citizen. And geneforge (so far) - excellent and original story, but the shaper council still sits in its ivory tower and will crush the rebellion with hords of guardians, agents and creations with a snap of a finger, if they really thought it's threatening.
I admire Jeff for his story-telling abilities, I wish I could reach half of that, and I think he chose very wisely when the stories were the main bonanza - and again, to ne, Avernum 2 is still the greatest game I ever played.