Avernum: Escape From the Pit App Reviews
A game for people who dont want total submersion including hectic button mashing or full-body motion control. Its a turn based game with all classic elements present: a party of four, fighter/caster/priest spec and any combination thereof possible, dragons, dungeons, experience points, basic stats str/dex/int/con, long main story, lots of independent side quests, … I found difficulty on normal setting to be low/moderate. I played with a mixed party of 1 full tank keeping the aggro, 1 light tank for damage dealing, 1 mage/priest and 1 priest. Traits combined with the main-skills allow for these fine role-definitions. It is not Ultima - but I highly doubt any game that I play today can match the Ultima VI of my childhood. But it kept me up late into the night (just that one more fight!) and enabled me to go afk whenever I wanted, just patiently waiting for me to come back. Verdict: Definitely a _buy_ and I hope Spiderweb releases another game soon.
avernum is one of the best rpg series ever for the macintosh. its a great story and this new version makes it all much better and modern. much more fun to play! been looking forward to it a lot and it is terrific!
wonderfully made RPG. big open world, lots of lively and eccentric characters and locations to explore. Four-person party, turn-based combat, gameplay is smooth and exciting even if you dont normally like those kinds of games and the graphics are good too. Well-written for a video game, in my opinion too. Tiny little independent company still going strong and pumping out great games. highly recommended.
Just finished the game. There are three ways to win. Become the King Assasinate Emporer Hawthorne (completed) and Escape the pit (find an exit to the surface world) This game has tons of gameplay hours. I have played probably 70 hours or so. Lots of cool weapons, medieval and magic theme. Enchanted items (Demonslayer sword, Orb of (something) - makes you fly, etc. I thouroughly enjoyed this game and would definantly reccomend it to anyone. Bought it for $15, well worth it. Storyline: The Empire spread across the surface world and throws their enemies into Avernum (Underworld). Once there, you and 3 other companions fight monsters of all types, gain experience, and learn to fight all that it evil. Aparently the Empire is also down in the underworld trying to watch you and eventually kill you all off. Tons of cities, Tower of Magi, secret caves, Dragon Hordes await you! It is one of my fav games and that is saying alot for I am a gamer! Buy it, HAVE FUN!
if you are into lit hearted games with heavy duty stories and huge worlds than this game is one for you. I recamend playing this game nice and slow, going from the first town to sliver. at silver do the mayors quest than do the quests from the balatain board. from there on do us thee would please.
Okay…I really like this game!!! I prefer D&D better, but… This takes me back to old school D&D. Some stuff does bug me- the whole completing spells when attacked bugs me ALOT! Other than that, I have gotten lost in the game. Really cool and enjoyable.
I played the demos for Avernum 1-3 like 10 years ago when I was a kid and didnt have enough money to buy them (they were $30 back then). The amound of detail in the storyline is crazy, and if you have any imagination at all, the graphics are good enough (way better than what they used to be anyway). Several annoyances of the first game were eliminated (like the fact that it used to take an hour on its own to configure a character), and lots of great new features were added. Long story short, as soon as I saw the price cut and the updated graphics I bought this game without hesitation. I did nothing but play this for a month straight after I got home from work every day and the weekends. My girlfriend was pissed, but its a great game, a great series, and a great value. I hope the others in the series will follow.
I played the old school Exile games back in the day, and this is a remake of Exile III: Escape from the Pit. Hours(Many many many) of fun, nostalgia, and amazing story lines/quests. I love how it is revamped with new graphics, and a few other new things you old school gamers will just have to find out. I am going to buy Avernum 6, and Avadon: The Black Fortress as well. Get this game if you are a fan of RPGs for sure, and if you are fan of 1990s RPGs then look no further! Get it, get it now! Im hoping to see some more games from Spiderweb software on here soon.
Avernum is a terrific "old school" computer RPG. There are a lot of missions to go forth on, many of which are not related to the story. It can be brutally difficult at times - there isn’t anything stopping the player from walking into a combat situation that is meant for higher level characters. That’s one of the reasons the game is terrific - a feeling like anything could be around the corner. Compare this to Pokémon, another RPG that is about the same age… In Pokémon you have a very linear world - the wild Pokémon around your hometown are feeble compared to every Pokémon you encounter afterward. The graphics are a bit too realistic and plain at times and there are some user interface issues that bother me a bit. One is inventory management. I constantly have a full inventory and moving one item at a time gets irritating. There is a "junk bag" that is shared by the whole party and I probably played 20 hours into the game before I realized it was there because it’s just a text link inside inventory. I searched the web for hours looking for a list of magic spell levels, only to find there is a list tucked into the character sheet. Finally, boats often get stuck on land terrain while the same click going the same distance doesn’t typically hang up the party on land. The terrific writing, atypical fantasy setting and often strategic gameplay keep those annoyances at bay. I’m looking forward to Avernum 2 and 3 being updated and rereleased. PS - I love the artwork for skills (hover over each skill to see it). I wish the entire game had artwork in that comic book style.
ive stayed up many nights growing up with every console and pc game you can think of and this one will KEEP me up once again!!!!! Its a great game. the graphics are of course crude but very effective! and i could not just play for a little bit. good job. thanks for keeping me bz (and in trouble) once again. char
Throughout his career, Jeff Vogel has created a consistent string of beautifully written novels, written into his games. The plots and themes are unique, and express more fully the scenery and events in a way that the height of computer graphics cannot. The storytelling, and secondarily, the nicely polished and moreover balanced engine, provide an inspirational experience that other games simply do not provide. Id love to see both his previous works on the store, and also to see the older Avernum games refurbished, like this one.
this game is really great,if youre a fan of games like fallout then you should love this game too… hours and hours of quest,adventures, and mystery… all around great game, would give 5 stars if A) faster leveling and better character building, and B) it cost about $10 less i love apple to death so i hate pointing people in a different direction but steam has this game for $9.99… oh one more thing,i just tried downloading the patch 2 times and it downloads but then i can download it again so idk if i got??? anybody else have this problem or just me???
Ok, this game is one of the best games ive played in a while. its hard and takes a while to beat on the hardest difficultly. i love the class set up and talent trees. very well made BUT!!!! PLEASE FIX THE RETURN TO LIFE SPELL!!! it drives me nuts because every time i use it my priest ress the character in the worst possible spot and they just die again if up against a tough monster. its almost uselss in boss fights since i cant choose where to res my toons or at least have them res right next to the priest or who ever is using the skill to res a fallen teammate. besides that, i cant think of ANYTHING else that bugs me about the game. WELLLLL WORTH my money spent. THANKS!!!!
I dont know what every one is complaining about. This game is awesome. True you got bug and glitches, but what game doesnt. If a game was made to be prefect, then there would be no updates, to fix the flaws in the game. Plus if one knows how to use these glitches, then they could be invincible. Like with oblivion. I know the glitches in that game, and i can work them to my advantage. True this game isnt prefect, but its a great game. All i have to know is what trips a glitch, and how to work it to my advantage.
I used to play these games all the time…. A nice trip down memory lane. Like Baldurs Gate and all the classics. I have never actually updated one of my reviews. But this game is great! I used to pay like 59.99 for the Ultima series back in the day. And now for 10 bucks you can get a far superior game that is pure role-playing joy. Boy do I recommend this!! Get it.
If you are looking for a classic turn-based RPG, this is it. I purchased it form the App Store for 9.99 USD and probably already have thrown 30 hours into it. Make no mistake though, this is an indie game, but it is well worth the money. The combat is reminiscinet of a classic turn-based table top RPG (à la D&D), which I think is where it shines. As the enemies become more advanced, you will need to use a lot of strategy to succeed. It gives the combat a strategic "chess" feel. The character builds complement each other well and are comprised of the classic character types that any RPG fan will be familiar with. There are your basic warrior types, mages, priests, rogues, etc. There are also some hybrid characters that mash the basic builds together. As our character gains experience, you can also choose to cross-train them to be any combo of character types e.g. battlemage, ranger, etc. The The leveling progresses at a solid pace, maybe a bit faster than some might be used to but thats never a terrible thing. I was also surprised at the amount of side quests and openness to the game. The story is all read-and-click as you would except with an indie game (no voiceover) and you are given the option to choose what responses are made in each conversation. At this point, I havent seen any major story twists come from this but it give it a nice feel of "choice". Graphics and sound definitely are nothing to get excited about but I dont think that anyone looking for a classic RPG experience is concerned with that and with that in mind, they are good enough to get you into the game. Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a classic turn-based RPG. I think those that have grown up playing some of the RPGs of the 80s and 90s will fall in love. Anyone new to the genre who is looking for a fun fantasy RPG game with battling, leveling, and looting with strategic combat will enjoy it too. 5 stars.
If you have the demo version and have decided to buy, make sure you back up your saved games first. Unfortunately I lost two or so hours of progress from the demo and now that I’ve purchased need to start over.
All good, but the crash9ing
Game play is fine, but the game only utilized part of the screen and it crashes on exit.
That was a waste
Game froze and crashed 20 seconds in, what a waste of money!!
Beautiful classic RPG, great value.
Review of Avernum: Escape From The Pit Currently in my mid-50s, I played Ultima II in college and Ultima III at some point after that. In the late 1990s I played Realmz, a game from a company called Fantasoft. Realmz was a lot like the Ultima games but had additional scenarios (some paid, some free, some developed by Fantasoft, some developed by others using pretty easy tools Fantasoft made available). Realmz was great fun and I played it for years until Macs transitioned from the "classic" MacOS to MacOS X; Realmz never made the transition so I haven't played it or a game like it in about 20 years. Some friends recommended that I try Spiderweb Software's games, specifically recommending Avernum: Escape From The Pit (also known as Avernum 1). I decided to give it a try, at $10 it seemed like a bargain. It has provided a great deal of fun over the past couple of weeks and I am 100% satisfied with the game experience. It is very reminiscent of Ultima II and Ultima III as well as Realmz but is better than those games in every respect except for Realmz's expandability/availability of player-created scenarios. During my play through of the game I experienced no bugs or glitches, the game never crashed, I never lost a save slot – no problems at all. The game application is 64-bit so it will run on post-Mojave versions of MacOS X yet it's simple enough that it should run perfectly well on even quite old hardware. So I have no major complaints, just a couple of notes about mechanics that could be improved: I had to lean forward and squint at the screen sometimes in order to find the little secret door switches, which was annoying. I'd have liked to have been able to choose the adjacent square onto which my summoned critters appear, most of the time they popped in behind me or got in my way. I'd have liked to have not experienced in-battle resurrection failure because the game couldn't determine a good square for the resurrected character to appear in. I also think that most buyable spells and skill bonuses are too expensive: I finished the game with my characters at Level 34 (after Level 30 you get additional skills only every 5th level) and still didn't have all my spells at the maximum of Level 3 because I didn't have the cash to buy the additional levels from the trainers and I never bought a non-spell skill bonus at all – I was selling tons of stuff but still never had enough gold. Now obviously this didn't stop me from completing the game but it was always kind of frustrating to be unable to max out my spells. I will note that I played the game with no stealing, and there are a huge amount of valuable items to steal, so maybe that was my mistake; but I didn't want to play that way so I guess I suffered the consequences. The pre-made characters/classes are kind of terrible, I wish I had known that building custom characters would be much more effective in the early game. Other than the climactic battle with Emperor Hawthorne, the early stages of Avernum are the hardest part of the game but once past the beginning it doesn't matter which character you choose or if you go with a custom character since as you go from Level 1 to Level 30 you iteratively customize each of your 4 characters at every level up. And the game world is terrific! It's huge and you will spend a fair amount of playing time traveling from one location to another. I know some people might find that frustrating but I thought it gave the game world a good sense of scale plus there's usually something to find or explore as you travel from one location to another. The further along you go the more travel options you will get including the use of boats and teleportation devices, even a limited form of flying for getting over some obstacles. Don't compare this to World of Warcraft or some twitch fighting game dressed up with roleplaying clothes. This game is about the story and the characters, and being mostly text-based allows the player to use his imagination. The turn-based combat system is rudimentary but there are a decent number of weapons and spells to choose from and once past the very earliest stages a player can use something like tactics in most battles. There are some situations, especially near the end, where if you choose the wrong path you will get wiped out so save fairly often so you can go back and try again if your first choice didn't work out or if you make a serious mistake. Also be sure to choose some of the non-combat skills such as Cave Lore and Tool Use and get them to decent levels if you want to see everything and find all the secrets!
it's a love letter to the RPG.
This game may be an update to a previous version. However, it's more of the icing on the cake rather than a way of just pulling in a few more bucks. Not in the slightest is it the latter. This man develops these games himself (well, with the help of artists he contracts and a few others.) It works. Never once has he had to knuckle under EA or Activision or some other big company. He did these his way; and his way simply works well. For starters, if you're a fan of the old school pen and paper RPG, you'll absolutely love these! They have that professional, yet home spun quality that the old RPG manuals had (and many of which still have.) He's not going for broke on overly (or even badly) rendered artwork. It's not "stylized" to the point of where you can't stand looking at the character portraits (like in Baldur's Gate or the even more hideous portraiture of Icewind Dale.) It totally matches what he's doing. The motif, the sound, the style of gameplay, it all comes together in an incredibly easy to pick up role playing game. Avernum is a great sort of "Underdark" type setting. And they're not kidding when they say it's "epic" or "huge". If you're only a casual player you might worry about losing a lot of your time on this if you get hooked. Referring to the title of this review, the fact that this man has made a career out of developing great games speaks volumes to the excellence of the fanbase. He's expanded from the cottage industry way of doing things to online stores everywhere. Why? Because people noticed and they LOVE the product. They have taste. They have a sense of what goes into a great role playing game. And a stranger they will not follow. Large companies need to take notice of this. Because the fans know when you're faking it. We're tired of licensed garbage. We're sick of half-assed attempts at creating a new IP only to see it just up-and-die on the vine because it basically sucked. All we've ever asked is that SOMEONE somewhere create something that brings us back to the style of gameplay and the feel of authenticity we've just plain been Jonesing for. Spiderweb Software did it. Why can't you, big developer? Great job as always, Spiderweb people.
crash
game crashed and had to reinstall. lost all progress. sad face.
All good, but the crash9ing
Game play is fine, but the game only utilized part of the screen and it crashes on exit.
DEMO TO FULL VERSION WARNING
If you have the demo version and have decided to buy, make sure you back up your saved games first. Unfortunately I lost two or so hours of progress from the demo and now that I’ve purchased need to start over.
Great Retro RPG
If you are looking for a classic turn-based RPG, this is it. I purchased it form the App Store for 9.99 USD and probably already have thrown 30 hours into it. Make no mistake though, this is an indie game, but it is well worth the money. The combat is reminiscinet of a classic turn-based table top RPG (à la D&D), which I think is where it shines. As the enemies become more advanced, you will need to use a lot of strategy to succeed. It gives the combat a strategic "chess" feel. The character builds complement each other well and are comprised of the classic character types that any RPG fan will be familiar with. There are your basic warrior types, mages, priests, rogues, etc. There are also some hybrid characters that mash the basic builds together. As our character gains experience, you can also choose to cross-train them to be any combo of character types e.g. battlemage, ranger, etc. The The leveling progresses at a solid pace, maybe a bit faster than some might be used to but that's never a terrible thing. I was also surprised at the amount of side quests and openness to the game. The story is all read-and-click as you would except with an indie game (no voiceover) and you are given the option to choose what responses are made in each conversation. At this point, I haven't seen any major story twists come from this but it give it a nice feel of "choice". Graphics and sound definitely are nothing to get excited about but I don't think that anyone looking for a classic RPG experience is concerned with that and with that in mind, they are good enough to get you into the game. Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a classic turn-based RPG. I think those that have grown up playing some of the RPG's of the 80's and 90's will fall in love. Anyone new to the genre who is looking for a fun fantasy RPG game with battling, leveling, and looting with strategic combat will enjoy it too. 5 stars.
I wish I were young again.
I used to play these games all the time…. A nice trip down memory lane. Like Baldur's Gate and all the classics. I have never actually 'updated' one of my reviews. But this game is great! I used to pay like 59.99 for the Ultima series back in the day. And now for 10 bucks you can get a far superior game that is pure role-playing joy. Boy do I recommend this!! Get it.
Great Game
I don't know what every one is complaining about. This game is awesome. True you got bug and glitches, but what game doesn't. If a game was made to be prefect, then there would be no updates, to fix the flaws in the game. Plus if one knows how to use these glitches, then they could be invincible. Like with oblivion. I know the glitches in that game, and i can work them to my advantage. True this game isn't prefect, but it's a great game. All i have to know is what trips a glitch, and how to work it to my advantage.
this game is amazing!!
Ok, this game is one of the best games ive played in a while. its hard and takes a while to beat on the hardest difficultly. i love the class set up and talent trees. very well made BUT!!!! PLEASE FIX THE RETURN TO LIFE SPELL!!! it drives me nuts because every time i use it my priest res's the character in the worst possible spot and they just die again if up against a tough monster. its almost uselss in boss fights since i cant choose where to res my toons or at least have them res right next to the priest or who ever is using the skill to res a fallen teammate. besides that, i cant think of ANYTHING else that bugs me about the game. WELLLLL WORTH my money spent. THANKS!!!!
Artistic Wonder
Throughout his career, Jeff Vogel has created a consistent string of beautifully written novels, written into his games. The plots and themes are unique, and express more fully the scenery and events in a way that the height of computer graphics cannot. The storytelling, and secondarily, the nicely polished and moreover balanced engine, provide an inspirational experience that other games simply do not provide. I'd love to see both his previous works on the store, and also to see the older Avernum games refurbished, like this one.
up all night
i've stayed up many nights growing up with every console and pc game you can think of and this one will KEEP me up once again!!!!! Its a great game. the graphics are of course crude but very effective! and i could not just play for a little bit. good job. thanks for keeping me bz (and in trouble) once again. char
Avernum – I choose you!
Avernum is a terrific "old school" computer RPG. There are a lot of missions to go forth on, many of which are not related to the story. It can be brutally difficult at times - there isn’t anything stopping the player from walking into a combat situation that is meant for higher level characters. That’s one of the reasons the game is terrific - a feeling like anything could be around the corner. Compare this to Pokémon, another RPG that is about the same age… In Pokémon you have a very linear world - the wild Pokémon around your hometown are feeble compared to every Pokémon you encounter afterward. The graphics are a bit too realistic and plain at times and there are some user interface issues that bother me a bit. One is inventory management. I constantly have a full inventory and moving one item at a time gets irritating. There is a "junk bag" that is shared by the whole party and I probably played 20 hours into the game before I realized it was there because it’s just a text link inside inventory. I searched the web for hours looking for a list of magic spell levels, only to find there is a list tucked into the character sheet. Finally, boats often get stuck on land terrain while the same click going the same distance doesn’t typically hang up the party on land. The terrific writing, atypical fantasy setting and often strategic gameplay keep those annoyances at bay. I’m looking forward to Avernum 2 and 3 being updated and rereleased. PS - I love the artwork for skills (hover over each skill to see it). I wish the entire game had artwork in that comic book style.
Avernum=Awesome
I played the old school Exile games back in the day, and this is a remake of Exile III: Escape from the Pit. Hours(Many many many) of fun, nostalgia, and amazing story lines/quests. I love how it is revamped with new graphics, and a few other new things you old school gamers will just have to find out. I am going to buy Avernum 6, and Avadon: The Black Fortress as well. Get this game if you are a fan of RPGs for sure, and if you are fan of 1990's RPGs then look no further! Get it, get it now! I'm hoping to see some more games from Spiderweb software on here soon.
Great game, very addicting
I played the demos for Avernum 1-3 like 10 years ago when I was a kid and didn't have enough money to buy them (they were $30 back then). The amound of detail in the storyline is crazy, and if you have any imagination at all, the graphics are good enough (way better than what they used to be anyway). Several annoyances of the first game were eliminated (like the fact that it used to take an hour on its own to configure a character), and lots of great new features were added. Long story short, as soon as I saw the price cut and the updated graphics I bought this game without hesitation. I did nothing but play this for a month straight after I got home from work every day and the weekends. My girlfriend was pissed, but it's a great game, a great series, and a great value. I hope the others in the series will follow.
Return from the Pit
Okay…I really like this game!!! I prefer D&D better, but… This takes me back to old school D&D. Some stuff does bug me- the whole completing spells when attacked bugs me ALOT! Other than that, I have gotten lost in the game. Really cool and enjoyable.
a causal game for a casual person
if you are into lit hearted games with heavy duty stories and huge worlds than this game is one for you. I recamend playing this game nice and slow, going from the first town to sliver. at silver do the mayors quest than do the quest's from the balatain board. from there on do us thee would please.
WHAT A GAME!
Just finished the game. There are three ways to win. Become the King Assasinate Emporer Hawthorne (completed) and Escape the pit (find an exit to the surface world) This game has tons of gameplay hours. I have played probably 70 hours or so. Lots of cool weapons, medieval and magic theme. Enchanted items (Demonslayer sword, Orb of (something) - makes you fly, etc. I thouroughly enjoyed this game and would definantly reccomend it to anyone. Bought it for $15, well worth it. Storyline: The Empire spread across the surface world and throws their enemies into Avernum (Underworld). Once there, you and 3 other companions fight monsters of all types, gain experience, and learn to fight all that it evil. Aparently the Empire is also down in the underworld trying to watch you and eventually kill you all off. Tons of cities, Tower of Magi, secret caves, Dragon Hordes await you! It is one of my fav games and that is saying alot for I am a gamer! Buy it, HAVE FUN!
great game
wonderfully made RPG. big open world, lots of lively and eccentric characters and locations to explore. Four-person party, turn-based combat, gameplay is smooth and exciting even if you don't normally like those kinds of games and the graphics are good too. Well-written for a video game, in my opinion too. Tiny little independent company still going strong and pumping out great games. highly recommended.
exciting!
avernum is one of the best rpg series ever for the macintosh. its a great story and this new version makes it all much better and modern. much more fun to play! been looking forward to it a lot and it is terrific!