Fascinating title, this one is. A blend if you will, of Icewind Dale and Fallout 1. With a dash of something even more old-school - the Ultima series.

Icewind Dale because it's fantasy, but much more desolate than you're used to, and with a heavy emphasis on combat and dungeon raiding. Most of all quests and situations in this game are solved through combat. A couple through theft, and some through collecting items or following a linear dialogue tree. But none through negotiations - except for the fact that you can either choose to complete the quest and the combat associated with it, or leave the baddie be. You don't actually need to complete more than a handful of quests to beat the game technically speaking.

Fallout 1 because it's the exact same premise. You're thrust from your comfort zone into a completely unknown world, where every expectation is subverted with something inherently lower quality or more dangerous. And you're left to do what you want right from the opening minute. The focus is on exploration, and it's an equally fascinating realm to Fallout's one, with secrets and encounters hidden in every nook and cranny, items to pilfer, quests to solve at every corner and horrific monsters to be ambushed by.

I remember playing the shareware version of the original Exile: Escape from the Pit on my mum's Mac, this must have been in 1997 or so. I was never good enough to get far in it as a kid, but there was something about it that stimulated my interest and imagination. The mechanics in that version were pretty hardcore - severe encumbrance penalties, getting dumbfounded, diseases, and so on. And you best not get any of your characters killed as their revival will cost a small fortune. I'm glad Spiderweb Software toned it down for this remake. It's a better game for it. But if you're an experienced RPG player - do play it on hard. The combat system is fairly simple and you will quickly master it to the point where fighting won't be a challenge for you on the easier difficulties. You can always dial the difficulty down for the odd battle if you really do become stuck somewhere.

Anyway, I got the first Fallout a year or two later and it quickly became my favourite RPG. Now that I played through this remake, I know why. Because this game and Fallout - well they're basically apples from one and the same tree.

And finally there's the Ultima influence. This is related to the game's art style, its combat system, and its heavy reliance on text descriptions. The writing I should note in this game - is superb. The Ultima games of course were also I believe the earliest open-world RPGs and in this sense are the progenitor of both Avernum and Fallout.

Altogether Avernum is a unique package backed by expertly crafted world-building and a wondrous setting. That said I don't feel like it's an all-time classic. There are a number of things which aren't to my preference. Too much going back and forth and leaving dungeons half-completed only to have to return later as difficulties and challenge ratings even within the same dungeons or across different floors can vary quite widely. The less than ideally balanced combat system and spell tree. The story not hooking you emotionally.. or really being there 95% of the time. Wooden NPCs whose character development is non-existent. And a lot of instances which break immersion - such as being able to pilfer a dragon's treasure only for it to carry on interacting with you as if nothing has changed. I guess you're always aware that it's ultimately a remake of a remake of a game from 1995. But it's still a great time. And a great game.

Fascinating title, this one is. A blend if you will, of Icewind Dale and Fallout 1. With a dash of something even more old-school - the Ultima series. Icewind Dale because it's fantasy, but much more desolate than you're used to, and with a heavy emphasis on combat and dungeon raiding. Most of all quests and situations in this game are solved through combat. A couple through theft, and some through collecting items or following a linear dialogue tree. But none through negotiations - except for the fact that you can either choose to complete the quest and the combat associated with it, or leave the baddie be. You don't actually need to complete more than a handful of quests to beat the game technically speaking. Fallout 1 because it's the exact same premise. You're thrust from your comfort zone into a completely unknown world, where every expectation is subverted with something inherently lower quality or more dangerous. And you're left to do what you want right from the opening minute. The focus is on exploration, and it's an equally fascinating realm to Fallout's one, with secrets and encounters hidden in every nook and cranny, items to pilfer, quests to solve at every corner and horrific monsters to be ambushed by. I remember playing the shareware version of the original Exile: Escape from the Pit on my mum's Mac, this must have been in 1997 or so. I was never good enough to get far in it as a kid, but there was something about it that stimulated my interest and imagination. The mechanics in that version were pretty hardcore - severe encumbrance penalties, getting dumbfounded, diseases, and so on. And you best not get any of your characters killed as their revival will cost a small fortune. I'm glad Spiderweb Software toned it down for this remake. It's a better game for it. But if you're an experienced RPG player - do play it on hard. The combat system is fairly simple and you will quickly master it to the point where fighting won't be a challenge for you on the easier difficulties. You can always dial the difficulty down for the odd battle if you really do become stuck somewhere. Anyway, I got the first Fallout a year or two later and it quickly became my favourite RPG. Now that I played through this remake, I know why. Because this game and Fallout - well they're basically apples from one and the same tree. And finally there's the Ultima influence. This is related to the game's art style, its combat system, and its heavy reliance on text descriptions. The writing I should note in this game - is superb. The Ultima games of course were also I believe the earliest open-world RPGs and in this sense are the progenitor of both Avernum and Fallout. Altogether Avernum is a unique package backed by expertly crafted world-building and a wondrous setting. That said I don't feel like it's an all-time classic. There are a number of things which aren't to my preference. Too much going back and forth and leaving dungeons half-completed only to have to return later as difficulties and challenge ratings even within the same dungeons or across different floors can vary quite widely. The less than ideally balanced combat system and spell tree. The story not hooking you emotionally.. or really being there 95% of the time. Wooden NPCs whose character development is non-existent. And a lot of instances which break immersion - such as being able to pilfer a dragon's treasure only for it to carry on interacting with you as if nothing has changed. I guess you're always aware that it's ultimately a remake of a remake of a game from 1995. But it's still a great time. And a great game.