Avernum: Escape From the Pit - Review @ Dealspwn

Dealspwn has a review of Avernum: Escape from the Pit with a score of 8/10:

With no voice acting to fall back on, Vogel and co are forced to rely on the written word to deliver interesting characters, and do so with a degree of mastery that we rarely see from even the biggest and most skilled triple-A companies. The humble text box becomes our doorway into an entirely new world, with incredibly strong character and environment descriptions allowing us to conjure up vivid mental images of Avernum in our mind's eye. Dialogue flows naturally, and item descriptions crackle with subtle, playful humour. Most importantly, the story itself is remarkable, presenting a rebellious tale of survival against the odds and the pursuit of justice in an unjust, desperate place. The longer you spend reading, digesting and understanding the text, the greater your appreciation of the world will be; Avernum feels as visceral and real as any Unreal-powered title even though most of it exists in your own imagination.

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The first paragraph on that review nails just what Spiderweb is all about. If your content is good, if the basics are sound, you don't need voice acting or flashy kiddy effects to market a product. It's truly refreshing to read a review where the person actually gets what the game is all about.



-Carn

Yeah, that's sort of like saying you married your wife solely for her personality…

A bit more flashy kiddie stuff wouldn't bother me, if it helped attract new players to this type of game. I think so many people are missing out on spectacularly good entertainment just because - on the basis of screenshots - they mistakenly think it's some ZX Spectrum retro-fest for dad. Too much flashy kiddie stuff and you go down the BioWare slippery slope.

I like the new Avernum (despite having played it in both of it's previous incarnations) but I can't say that I agree so much about memorable and interesting characters. The overall setting is reasonably interesting, but I haven't any of the characters or dialog to be all that interesting. I would recomend it based on great exploration and fun and challenging combats, but definitely not based on story or characters.

Of course I may be a little jaded given that this is the TENTH time I've had to read about how hard it is living in the caves…..

Try Geneforge and read repeatedly about how shocking it is to see intelligent serviles!
Just poking fun, love these games.

Don't forget the mysterious crystal canisters. What could they possibly do?

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Try Geneforge and read repeatedly about how shocking it is to see intelligent serviles!
Just poking fun, love these games.

Originally Posted by fadedc
Don't forget the mysterious crystal canisters. What could they possibly do?

I smell the distinct odor of vinegar and see a sinister looking tree like structure!