I admit…I am a die hard RPG fans. I grew up on RPG games: Diablo, Final Fantasy, Baldur Gate, you name it and I had played them all. However, it has also been a long time that I last get addicted to a RPG game. Most of them are just not that good anymore. When I lay my hand on Avadon: The Black Fortress, I was addicted once again, much like those old times where I spent 40 hours per week to complete the game.
Avadon: The Black Fortress is a RPG game developed by Spiderweb Software. While it may not has big names and budgets like Blizzard and Electronic Arts, its games are extremely addictive and high quality. If you are looking for a RPG game with good graphics detail, storyline and game’s characters development, this is the game to go for.
Getting Started
Just like any other RPG game, you will pick your character at the beginning. There are four character classes: Blademaster, Shadowwalker, Sharman and Sorceress. You can only choose one character at the start, but there are chances to add members to your group as the story progresses.
click for full image
Storyline and Gameplay
When the game starts, you will have to click through a series of conversations and dialog. In short, you are a servant of Avadon and your job is to protect the Pact, five nations that have banded together in a fragile alliance, that is to hold back the waves of invaders that seek to destroy you.
During the game, you receive quests – main and side quests. The main quests are those that you need to complete and the side quests are optional. One thing to note, side quests don’t mean that they are easy to accomplish. You might need to spent a great deal of time just for the side quest.
click for full image
When engaged with enemies, the game makes use of the turn based fighting style to carry out the fight. All characters get a turn of their own and they can either make a move, cast spells, carry out attacks or heal others.
click for full image
As you win a battle, you gain experience. Once your experience points reach a level, you can level up and gain attribute points and skill points. Depending on your character class, you will want to focus only on certain attributes and skills/spells.
click for full image
Conclusion
There are a few things that I like about the game:
Good gameplay
What I like about the game is that the storyline is simple and clear and you know clearly what you have to do next. During the storytelling, there are parts where you have to interact by selecting choices, much like the Dungeons and Dragons style. During combat mode, the turn-based fighting style makes it easier to control your teams and there are more time to formulate strategies.
Good graphics
While it won’t win prizes for the best graphics design (it is not even in 3D), it does comes with impressive artwork and graphic details.
click for full image
Low system requirement
Avadon: The Black Fortress runs surprisingly well on my 5 year old laptop with no dedicated graphic card. In fact, the minimum requirement is only 800Mhz of CPU power and Windows XP (or Mac).
There are some RPG games developed by big names that are just plain boring. Avadon is definitely not one of them. As you progress through the storyline, it gets more addictive.
Avadon: The Black Fortress is priced at US$25. It is available for Windows and Mac. iPad version to be released in June 2011.
Avalon: The Black Fortress
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
