Diary of a game addict!

I killed mom!

2011-11-06T19:20:00.002+01:00

Again, no time for anything substantial today, so I only squeezed in a single run of Isaac. Lucky for me, it was a nice run, so I managed to kill mom. I did it with Cain, so this probably explains some of the awesome items I got, like mom's bra, or mom's pad. Awesome run of an awesome game!

I also have a complaint, however. Around Caves 1, the background music wen't away and only the sounds remained. After that, I started getting low performance in rooms with lots of enemies. The game is nice and fun, but it does have it's bugs. I guess the fact that it's a flash game (i think) has a part in it, but still.

The Binding of One Sick Puppy

2011-11-05T18:11:00.002+01:00

I didn't have enough time to actually start a new game, so instead I played a few rounds of the Binding of Isaac, which is probably the sickest game I've ever played. It's also very, very fun.

I didn't get to far, and I haven't managed to kill mom yet, but I got to the final battle once and even got hero to bellow 50% health. In this lucky run, I also managed to unlock two characters, Magdalene and Cain. Cain was unlocked thanks to a really lucky roll on the slot machine, which got me a 100$ bill.

Overall, I'm liking this game. It's something fun to play when I got some time to spare, but not to much. I'm still learning the game and discovering new items, but it gets more fun with each new attempt.

Quick Review - Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-11-04T14:47:00.000+01:00

So, now that I've completed the game once, what do I have to say about it?

I think that the best way to go through the pros and cons is to compare it to Spiderweb's previous games of the same style - Exile and it's remake, Avernum.

Story
The story is decent, nothing more. It will keep you intrigued, it's unique, compared to mainstream RPGs (I'm looking at you, Bioware) and it will keep you interested in the game. A few minor quests have their own nice little short stories, your companions have a background and it all fits together well enough. Nothing revolutionary, but OK.

Character Development
I have to say, different to previous games and also, not as good. The classes just don't seem unique enough, it's to unified, to uniform. Each class has their utility tree, their aggressive tree and their passive tree. You are pretty much forced to pick the passive tree and one other, if you wan't to get the last upgrade for the top skill. Technically, if you make use of skill bonuses on your equipment, you might be able to "max" the last tree to, but that just makes it even less unique.

In addition to that, the characters also play basically the same. You blow all your spells/abilities on tougher battles and then proceed to attack with your main weapon and/or use items until they recharge. Vitality is there just for show and to maybe make you go back to the local pylon once in a while. There is no need to conserve your resources. It simply doesn't feel like there's enough variety or possibilities. With Avernum, it felt better, and with Exile, even more so.

Also, the fact that level 30 is max and you can reach it before the end of the game if you do any sidequests kind of removes the pleasure of making your characters overpowered. Sure, being overpowered makes the game unbalanced, but it's also one of the charms that make me like this genre.

Still, it's good enough, and it won't bother you to much on its own. It just isn't what I prefer, compared to previous games.

Gameplay
I sense a hint of Bioware in the gameplay. It feels a bit overstructured and predictable. You pretty much know where your next quest will take you and when your next companion will abandon you. This could be done better, less predictable. Also, the world seems less open than the previous games, with less stuff to do and explore. It kind off reminds me of the first Baldur's Gate. This isn't a bad thing, but again, I prefered the way Avernum and Exile did it.

Conclusion
Based on what I wrote, you would probably think I don't like the game. You'd be wrong. I do like it. I like it a lot. I just don't like it as much as Avernum or Exile. It's still better than most of the crap you get today, however. It's old school RPG goodness with a bit of new design thrown in. If you love this, you will adore this game. A definite buy, even more so, considering the price.

Score: 8/10

The Fall of Avadon

2011-11-04T14:23:00.001+01:00

We stepped through the portal, but only Cordelia came out on the other side. The Avadon pylon was damaged, so this must be the reason. I arrived to the sounds of battle. The fortress was under attack. I fought my way through the passages and soon found Miranda in a pylon room I didn't have access to before. The pylon was active, but I couldn't tell where the portal was leading. Miranda said that Avadon has been betrayed. Infiltrators gained access and traitors in our own ranks helped them get the upper hand.

I told her everything that happened in castle Vebaux, but she didn't at all seem angry at the fact that I let the duke go. In fact, she seemed pleased. She asked me about the Wayfarer and I told the truth. I intend to overthrow Redbeard. She then pointed her wand at me and everything was clear. She realized Avadon will fall and she is escaping to the Tavon Empire - the new center of power. Everything that happened to me, she orchestrated. The deaths, the events I've seen, even the Wayfarer. Now she wants me to finish it - kill Redbeard and take my place as the new Keeper. I agreed to let her go.

She stepped through the portal and I started fighting my way to the central stairway, to Redbeard. There weren't many assassins left, so I didn't have much trouble getting to the upper floor. As soon as I ascended the stairs, I've found Hand Callan. I told her about Miranda leaving, but I decided to leave out my intentions. In the next room, I've found Sevilin and told him what I intend to do. He expressed his agreement and joined me. I then met the rest of them and did the same. Jenell joined me, and I sent the other two downstairs, to fight off the assassins. We moved on and soon found Redbeard in one of the chambers, fighting off a shadowwalker. It was the Wayfarer. He jumped back and, as they both spotted me, he took off his mask.

It was Shadow Tarkus, the same man that escaped the prison on my first day of service. I jumped to battle on his side, but it was to late. Redbeard killed him in an instant. It was my turn. I fought him, and he beat me to a pulp. I tried it again, and he did it again. I tried it a few more times and failed. The closest I got was to about 30%. I tried reducing the difficulty - same thing.

Ok, this is not the outcome I expected. I went to use Google, and found out what my problem was. Apparently, you can have a party of five in that fight. I thought that when I was saying my companions to go defend the bottom level, I was actually choosing which two I'll take. In reality, I was just gimping myself, because I could take all of them, and, as long as I did their quests, I would have all of them with me in the final battle.

Well, this is disappointing. I decided to go for the "positive" ending and not take down Redbeard. Since I was not at all loyal to him, the only option I had was to stay a hand under his command. Oh well, I guess another playthrough will be needed to see the other endings. I have a few achievements missing anyway. For now, the game is finished.

So, officially, my loyalties were questioned, but in the end, I remained loyal to the pact. Redbeard has seen, partially, the error of his ways and decided to make things different. The Pact is in danger of falling apart, but with work, it can prevail. Avadon is not seen as the omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful institution anymore, but that might be a good thing. There's hope.

I'm not really sure if there's an absolutely positive ending here, so this will suffice.

Avadon - The Dangers of Making Peace

2011-11-03T20:28:00.000+01:00

I have arrived at castle Vebeaux and spoke to the duke immediately. It seems that the peace negotiations are close to completion. Several envoys will soon arrive from Holklanda and Monitor Shigaz has asked for me specifically to help secure the castle and stop any potential assassins. There's some work being done under the castle. Some new halls are being dug and Shigaz feels that this would be the most likely direction an attack could come from.

I wen't down there immediately, and promptly got attacked buy cultist assassins. I disposed of them and found Shigaz in the next room. He was mortally wounded and, in his delirium, thought I was working with the assassins. He attacked me, so I was forced to defend. I incapacitated him quickly and tried to heal him from his previous wounds, but it was to late. Before he died, he said the duke sent him down here. There's something suspicious going on. I went through the passages and soon emerged outside the castle, in the woods. The duke's men were already after me.

I fled through the forest and soon encountered a helping Holklandan who directed me to an escape route. After some fighting, and some dodging, the route led me to a brigand encampment. However, they were not hostile. In fact, they seemed to expect me. Their leader, Minaka, said the rogue Hand, Gavin, told them to expect me. He is here, in the camp, and he want's to talk to me. I obliged.

Gavin told me he was betrayed by the duke, just as I was. Publicly, the duke works on forging a peace agreement with Holklanda. Privately, however, he is working for the Tavon empire. Gavin uncovered this and was framed because of it. Avadon has failed to prove his innocence or to even show concern for him, so he became a brigand. As for me, I need to somehow get to the pylon and return. He has an idea how, but first I need to help him. I need to kill a hunter that's become a threat for them. He is to the south.

I went there and realized the hunter is a she. Tender Melisande, to be precise. The same animal tender who gave me several tasks at the castle. I told her the truth about the duke, but she didn't care. By her own words, Avadon's time is past. It has become weak and corrupt and the duke has a better path. I said I agree with the statement about Avadon, and she was surprised, but also told me her orders are clear. I guess there was no way out of that battle. She and her beasts were tough, but they posed no threat.

I reported this to Gavin and he decided to help me. I need to clear the way to the east, off the main road, and look for a hidden passage. He will wait for me there. I went as he instructed and soon met the Wayfarer again. No job this time, only questions he needs answers for. He asked me where my loyalties lie, how I feel about Avadon and if I would be willing to have Redbeard "replaced". I would prefer to just leave, but the mark that makes me a Hand cannot be removed and it also means I cannot run away. The only option is to overthrow Redbeard. Before he left, he gave me advice. I should spare the duke. It will mean a lot in the future. With that, he was gone and I continued. After some fighting, I met up with Gavin, and soon we were at the castle.

Sadly, Gavin soon fell to a trap, so I was forced to continue alone. I fought for a long time, moving back and forth between possible routes of escape, defeating the duke's lackeys, until I finally reached his inner chambers. He pleaded for his life, explaining his motivations, appealing to reason, and he finally succeeded. I let him go. In the end, he was just trying to protect his people. It's Redbeard that needs to go down. The duke fled, the way to the pylon was open. Time to kill Redbeard.

Avadon - Fall of Oghrym'Tor

2011-11-02T16:56:00.001+01:00

As I arrived to Dhorl Stead, I was greeted by militia. They hate their lord, they know he has done wrong, but still they want to defend him and their home. Sadly, I was forced to fight them. I fought my way to the gates of Oghrym'Tor and soon met the Wayfahrer. He didn't have any task for me this time, he only asked if I feel regret for what is happening. I admitted I do and he left.

Oghrym'Tor was devoid of any guards or soldiers. I've reached the throne room, and Carsta'Arl was there, waiting for me. He tried to justify what he had the wizard do, and ended up escaping thanks to some powers the wizard granted him. I wen't in the only open direction and soon encountered and fought his wife, Antja.

After she was defeated, a new passage opened. I fought through the rooms of the fort for a long time and eventually reached Carsta again. He was waiting for me in the center of the fort. This was definitely a hard battle, but eventually, he fell. He dropped an excellent sword and shield, so my blademaster will be switching to those again.

I won, but it was a bittersweet victory. On one hand, Carsta and his wizard did horrible thing, but on the other, it is a shame that the people of Dhorl Stead got caught in the crossfire. I don't think this Pact will last for long, and I'm starting to think I will be its downfall. I reported the events to Miranda and she sent me to Redbeard for my next mission.

Avadon - Shima's Revenge

2011-11-02T15:31:00.002+01:00

I find using the same title constantly a bit lame, so I decided to try and mix it up a bit. Let me know what you prefer.

So, last time I wrote, I just returned from the bandit hideout victorious and was about to return to the castle. I didn't clear the entire hideout, because I was alone. I'll probably return later, once I finish my report, with my entire party. The duke was very pleased with the results. As for my other missions, I gave the drake egg to the castle caretaker and got a Titansteel Girdle for it. I also brought the news of the incantor's return to the castle mage and she gave me a nice breastplate with a big strength bonus. I think my blademaster will be using it. As for the rogue Hand, sadly, I had to report I did not find him.

I returned to Avadon to report in and, as expected, Shima Treespear was on his way through the portal. He has stuff to deal with and he wouldn't take no for an answer. I guess I'll have to go after him next. I offered to come with him immediately, but he wouldn't accept it. He did say he would leave some papers in his quarters, though.

I spoke to Redbeard, and he was pleased, but he immediately sent me to speak to Miranda for my next mission. Whatever it is, I will go after Shima first. Miranda said I need to return to Oghrym'Tor and deal with the leader, Carsta'Arl. It seems they have found evidence that he was the one supplying the, now not so rogue wizard. As I said, Shima is on the top of my priority list, so I gathered my party and returned to Beraza Woods.

I wen't to the location Shima mentioned in his papers and, as promised, It was infested by ogre's. I destroyed one of their camps and killed their chieftain, but got nothing really of note, other than a nice staff for my shaman. Once that was done, I continued north and soon found Harua Honored Forge waiting for me in the middle of a ravine. He was not alone. Two of his men brought Shima, hands bound behind his back, towards me. He tried to murder Harua in his sleep. Even though he had every right, he didn't punish Shima by killing him, claiming he, unlike others, is able to rise above clan disputes.

They warned us not to follow and then left Shima with me. He was conflicted. The Honored Forge are well respected by Redbeard and loyal servants to Avadon, but they have killed his family. He cannot let that go unpunished. I decided to help him. He joined my group and we moved on.

The direct route was trapped so we went to find another way in. There were several passages leading in the general direction, but only one of them wasn't a dead end. Eventually, we reached a well supplied Holklandan camp. This is extremely odd, since there would be no need to have such a camp in this location, unless it is for military purposes. The Holklandans might not be as devoted to the peace treaty as I thought. After a lengthy battle, we finally reached Harua. He had something to say, so I decided to give him a chance to speak.

He admitted that his clan destroyed Shima's, but he also said that they did not act alone. Avadon was fully supporting this action and even sent several Hand's and Eyes to help. He offered me a reward if I let him escape because "it is better for the Pact", but I think I'm done with this pact. He didn't give us much of a fight. Shima's vendetta was over.

I returned to Avadon and then took the portal to Khemeria. My mission awatis.

Binding of Isaac

2011-11-01T22:10:00.002+01:00

I got this one today as a bonus for buying the Humble Voxatron Debut. This and Blocks that Matter got given to the customers as a bonus, which makes me very, very happy. I've know about Isaac for a while and I really liked what I've seen on various let's play videos.

Since I'm still on Avadon, I only gave it a try for now. I managed to finish two or three levels and got killed by one of the bosses. I didn't unlock anything yet, but I think I'll play this game quite a bit in the future.

Sanctum - A Bridge To Far

2011-11-01T21:59:00.001+01:00

Played a bit of single player Sanctum today. I finished mine on day one, so I tried some mazes on the bridge map. The diagonal design was definitely the most efficient one out of those I tried. It gives good coverage, the penetrating turrets can still shoot in a line, and the bends are so plentiful that the fast mobs are pretty much just fodder. Of course, this means I completed that level. I also got an achievement or two. As for playing with friends, I wanted to do it tonight, but Steam decided it needs to redownload the entire game, so this means 3-4 hours away from it on my connection.

NOTE: Pic is not mine, got it of off google image search.

Black Fortress - Part Deux

2011-10-31T12:29:00.001+01:00

This is my second post today, so be sure to check out the first, not to miss anything.

It was time for my mission again. I met up with Shigaz in the woods and he gave me some information. We are to find where the bandits reside and destroy them. I asked him to wait while I scout ahead, simply because I can then move at my own pace and not worry about something or someone killing him. As soon as I walked a bit to the north, the Wayfarer aproached me again. I seem to have encountered a bug, though. I destroyed the titan paper's, but the only conversation option I had was one that said I didn't. Either I missed something about the quest, or this is a bug. He offered me another task, though. The merchant I helped before now want's his competition completely removed, so she asked me to lie to the authorities and have him accused of some random crime. This doesn't really appeal to me, so I refused, but the quest is available to me anyway. He didn't seem dissapointed by the refusal, though. He seemed more surprised that I still have a conscience.

I've stumbled into a camp of surly woodsmen, or at least that's how the game describes them. They weren't very talkative and seemed completely unimpressed by the fact that they met a Hand of Avadon. I'm guessing they will be important later, but for now, I moved on.

The next thing on my path was a crumbled old tower. I started exploring it and clearing the spiders it was infested with. There was also a humanoid presence I kept encountering during the exploration. It seemed non hostile, but it kept running away, floor after floor. On the third floor, I've finally cornered him and his invisibility wore off. It was a frightened mage named Herenus. He fled from the Tavon Empire to hide here, but his tower defenses backfired, causing the infestation. I got nothing else out of him, so I guess he will be important later.

I left the tower and kept exploring. To the southeast, I've found an abandoned camp where I cleared some rats out of an old building. This got me some leather and other minor loot, bot nothing of importance. There was another tower, this one still under construction, very near the abandoned camp. The owner was Incanter Maron, the mage I was supposed to find and request to return to the castle. He was trilled that he is allowed to return and thanked me for the news. With this, I finished exploring the outlying regions of the woods and moved inwards. In one of the clearings in the central area, I've found Orian, the spy woodsman I've met before. Since the authorities asked me to kill him, I did just that. Well, actually, I offered him a chance to leave first, but he refused.

With the region clear, It was time to return to Shigaz and take him with me. He led me almost straight to the camp of those surly woodsmen. Well, it turns out they aren't woodsmen at all. He offered them more than they would earn if they return to the castle for questioning, and they attacked. It was easy to deal with them, so they weren't the ones we were looking for. We continued. Shigaz led me through most of the areas I explored until we finally reached the rocky part in the southwest, where he found a hidden passage. Shigaz was ready to get in, bot only with me. My companions needed to stay behind.

As soon as I was alone with him, I asked Shigaz why he only allowed me to follow. He said he finds my companions and their intentions suspicious. All of them are of questionable loyalty and strange origin, but somehow, they have all gathered around me. We started going through the caves, fighting bandits on the way. Pretty soon, we were forced to trigger an obvious trap and Shigaz was injured to the point of not being able to fight. I was forced to continue alone.

After a while of sneaking around and exploring passages, I've encountered another shadowwalker, Harua of the Honored Forge. He was on a mission of his own and offered me some advice on how to continue. On a cavern near him, I've found an old, withered drake. It attacked thinking I was gonna steal his egg. Once he was dealt with, I took the egg, remembering the castle beast keeper needs one.

Thanks to the key I got from Harua, I managed to enter the bandit fort and, after some fighting, I've found their leader. His name was Audric, and he was a cultist of, the way he called it, the Deep Earth. He didn't give much information and instead almost immediately attacked me. I killed him and the goons he summoned with ease. I took his very nice staff and equipped it immediately. With him out of the way, the bandit attacks will probably stop, so my mission was complete. I returned to Shigaz and met Harua again. He was administering first aid to Shiguz. Before we left, Shiguz warned me that the my shadowwalker companion might have an issue with Harua, since their clans are feuding, so I should be careful in approaching that. I left the caves and returned to the castle.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-31T10:25:00.000+01:00

Now that I had everyone back together, I decided to put my main mission on hold and clear some of the old quests I missed. First I cleared the stacks in the upper tower of Avadon of the undead, as requested by the librarian. She then asked me to go recover a book from that wizard who created the shadow beast. While I was at his tower, I also tried and successfully killed Beloch the Scourge. For this feat, I got a nice halberd and a charm which increases my magic damage just by being in my bags. Sadly, I have no one to use the halberd, so It will have to sit in my pack. In one of the closets near the book, I also found another charm that increases my lockpick and unlock charm skills by 1, which is also very, very nice.

Most of my uncompleted quests are in the Kva lands, so I went there next. Of course, I returned the book to the librarian first, which got me some coin and a nice scarab which provides battle frenzy to the user. The first thing I did in Kva was to get the blue ore that blacksmith in Goldcrag asked me for. Most of it was found in Jhereth Depths. While I was there, I also tried to confront the new dragon that moved in. Zhethron asked me to find out what her intentions are, but when I ask, she attacks me, so I'm guessing the only way to finish that quest is to actually kill her. Well, I tried again, and I failed again. She is much, much tougher than the demon I just killed.

I gave the blue ore to the smith and he asked me to recover a ceremonial titan weapon for him. I'm guessing there must be one of those in the titan stronghold, so I wen't there. I also enchanted the halberd I got from the demon with +1 to strength and decided to try it out on my blademaster. As expected, a club was in the keep. I retrieved for the smith and he gave me a corrupted broadsword as a reward. The sword increases my strength greatly, but reduces my intellect and dexterity. I have better items than that, so I won't be using it, but at least the quest is cleared. Next up was Zhethron's Aerie where I had a book to steal.

I wasn't sure how to do it, since the book get's removed from my bags by magical defenses as soon as I try to leave the library, but after careful searching, I've managed to find a hidden passage leading to the lower caves on the west wall of the library. From there, I could easily find the path back up and out of the Aerie. Before I left, I remembered I never opened the chests with gifts Zhethron gave me for helping him several times, so I did that to. Well, I tried at least, but all of the new chests were still locked, so I guess I didn't get any gifts yet. I gave the book to the mage living west of Goldcrag, and got a nice spear for my troubles, but the halberd I got from the demon was nicer, so I guess this one will also be collecting dust somewhere.

With this, I've completed all of the quests I could for now, and it was time to go back to my current mission.

2011-10-30T16:45:00.000+01:00

I arrived to Kellemderriel. and spoke to the duke. The peace negotiations have been going well, but they need my military expertise again, this time in dealing with some bandits. They reside in Kellem and regularly raid Holklandia. I am to track them down and "solve" the issue. The duke also thought I should know about a rogue Hand in the woods. He said I probably won't encounter him, but I should know anyway.

I spoke to Monitor Shigaz and we wen't on our way. Of course, helping my companion was of highest priority, so I wen't back to the dragon's lair first. She wasn't there, but she left a message. The dragon seems to have fled for the mountains, so she wen't after him. The only visible landmark upon arrival was a tall tower, so I wen't straight for it.

Disclaimer: The following paragraph will contain a spoiler which might give you a puzzle solution for this area. If you do not wish to be spoiled, skip it.

The passage up was closed, so I took the stairs down. However, even though I went through several sets of stairs, I wasn't going anywhere. It looked like I was walking in circles, and I wasn't able to figure out how to move forward, so I eventually gave up and left the tower. As I was leaving, Sevilin said he heard a screen to the northwest. I rushed there and found a new passage through the cliff side and into the woods.

After fighting lot's and lots of ogres and wretches, I eventually found Natalie cornered in a place in the woods. I helped her fend of her attackers, but she was already injured. Her hand was scarred by acid, and It didn't look like any spell will make the scar go away completely. She almost died, but she didn't want to give up yet. She joined my party and we decided to hunt the drake.

It was obvious the drake was back in the tower, so we returned there. This time, with Nathalie's help, we broke the illusion and found the way further. There was another riddle a few floors down, but this time, the illusion was easily dispelled. Soon, we reached the bottom, but all that was there was a malevolent spirit. One he was destroyed, though, Nathalia sensed the drake's presence in the upper levels. Sure enough, he was back in the main hall the whole time, concealed by one of his illusions. The battle was though, but we won in the end, and I got a nice robe for Nathalia.

Sanctum

2011-10-28T21:49:00.000+02:00

I bought the Indie Royale pack and, luckily, this fun game was in it. In my opinion, if you're paying the minimum, the royale is well worth it even for this game, even if you don't have people to play with. If you do, then it's definitely worth it.

It's a tower defense game, but in 3D and played from the first person perspective. You can play with a couple of people in coop and all you really do is defend a level from X number of monster waves, buy buying and placing towers and also by shooting them with your weapons. I idea itself is nothing revolutionary, but the way it's executed is what makes it fun. You can shoot your own weapons, so you're part of the action even after you're done with building. There's plenty of towers and you build your own "decks" out of them, so you also need to plan ahead right from the start. When you add friends to it, it becomes a frantic game of planning, building and team shooting. Now, I did have some issues with lag when my friend hosted the game, but when I was hosting, it was going pretty smooth for both me and him, so that might be a network problem on his side. Other than that, I've seen no issues with it. You shouldn't expect any story or anything immersive like that, but you can expect a nice, fun single or multiplayer experience.

In any case, I played a couple of games with a friend and we realized we both suck. We couldn't win any game on medium, so we had to dial it down to easy to win one. Maybe it's cause we really don't know the enemies or the towers yet, and we keep forgetting to check the encyclopedia. We had fun anyway.

Indie Royale

2011-10-26T22:50:00.002+02:00

Indie Royale seems to be a new project to promote developers and get people hooked on some very nice (and potentially cheap games. Right now, they are selling a bundle of 3 games that I know are very good, and a fourth one that I haven't herd of yet, but seems like a nice, atmospheric old school point and click adventure. You get both Steam and Desura keys for the games that support the service. Be sure to check them out!

Sanctum is one of the games I've been meaning to get because the idea seems very fun to me. It's a genre mix of a first person shooter and a tower defense game, with pretty nice graphics and, what I'm hoping, some fun game play. This one is Steam only.

A.R.E.S is a 2D metroidvania game who's graphics slightly remind me of one of the Megaman games that got released on the PC in the last decade. Actually, looking at the videos, it does seem more like Megaman than pure metroidvania. This one is both on Steam and Desura.

Nimbus is a nice physics puzzle game where you control a flying craft in a 2D environment, trying to use various boosters in order to get enough lift for reaching the goal. Both Steam and Desura for this one.

Gemini Rue seems to be the adventure game that I'm not familiar with. From what I can tell, it looks like it could be very nice. Think one of the old LucasArts games. Desura only.

Also, be sure to check them in a few weeks, or sign up for the newsletter. They plan on releasing more bundles, and if they are half as good as this one, you're gonna want to check them out.

Indie Royale - The Launch Bundle

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-26T17:03:00.001+02:00

Soon after I entered the area of the titan stronghold, the Wayfarer approached me again. This time, he wan'ts me to burn the papers I was ordered to recover for Avadon. These are papers that would provide information about who is behind all of the attacks lately, so this is basically the moment I choose between Avadon and someone unknown. I'm not sure what to do yet, but I'll have to decide soon. I explored the immediate area and then wen't to meet up with the unit I'm supposed to lead.

They were to the south, and they seemed ready, so we started our approach. It wen't pretty smoothly, with no casualties, and I had plenty of time to explore side passages, killing another arrogant drake in the process. In fact, we even managed to free a few prisoners, who immediately joined the group. It was only at the final battle that one of the warriors died from poisoning. Once the keep was clear, the military unit left and I was ready to investigate the lower levels.

The first thing I saw as I descended was a huge titan holding a twisted iron sword, standing behind a closed gate. It was Chanakk, their chieftain. Again, he was speaking like he's following someone's orders, and again he wouldn't face me immediately. Instead, he sen't out another, massive titan against me. He fell without much of a fight. The chieftain was persistent in trying to keep me away, but eventually I caught up with him. I tried to get some information, offered him life in captivity, but I got nowhere. He died after a lengthy fight. The papers I was supposed to bring back or burn were in his private quarters. After some thinking, I burned them. Now we wait and see.

I reported back to the dragon and he was grateful, but his anger didn't go away. If the Pact fails one more time, his dealings with it will come to an end. All I could do was to return to Avadon. Another message was waiting for me as I got back. This time, it was from Nathalie. She wen't to Beraza Woods in Holklandia on a personal task. She actually wants to hunt down the drake that escaped us on her own. Of course, I have to go back after her.

I reported to Heart Miranda. She was surprised by the lack of evidence I burned, but it seemed I was in the clear for now. She sent me to talk to Redbeard about my next mission. Lord Gryfyn asked for me personally to return to Holklandia and help further with the peace talks. I guess Holklandia will be my next stop in any case.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-25T17:05:00.001+02:00

When I arrived to Kva, I decided to do some catching up first. I got some minor info around town and it turns out the dragon has issues again, but with actual titans this time. He even got wounded, so he needs my help more than ever. While I was running around, I also did some quick side quests, which got me experience and money, but nothing of note other than that. My companion has left me a note saying he will be looking for his attackers in the White Plains, but before I wen't there, I had to go and speak to the dragon. He explained how he was attacked and injured and requested my group to lead an army of Avadon to destroy the titans in their stronghold to the south.

Before I wen't to the White Plains to find my companion, the staff working for the dragon asked me to "evict" some unwelcome residents of the lower caves. Among the many I had to "send away" was a drake who deluded itself into thinking he is the dragon's equal partner. White Plains it is.

Lots and lots of cacti in the White Plains. And lizards, lizards to. Oh, and brigands, being bad and ambushing people, forgetting cacti have thorns. Some wolves to. Basically, there's plenty of stuff in the White Plains. Pretty soon I've found a small settlement in the south, Called Debptbound Colony, so I decided to ask around there. One of the people there told me what the place was. In her words, holes like this one serve to house people that have far to much debt to pay back. It's either that, or slavery, according to the Code. In one of the other huts, I've found Sevilin. That's his name! Sevilin!

Sevilin tracked Cahil, the brigand who ambushed his party, to this place. He is back with me now, and we will hunt the bastard together. After much "diplomacy", I've finally convinced one of the people living there to tell us where we can find Cahil, or "The Claw" as they call him. I've filled up as much of the map as I can and then wen't after him. We found him pretty soon to, but not before we had to dispose of a reanimated titan. After a brief conversation and the realization who it is that was hunting him, Cahil started babbling about something "we can't know" and then slipped away from us through a trap door. We wen't after him, of course.

After traversing a maze of trapdoors and hallways, we've finally cornered him in his lair, but then he slapped his final card on the desk. A letter of pardon from Redbeard himself. The Claw gave information to Avadon and, in spite of killing several hands and committing other horrible crimes, he was allowed to walk. I chose to ignore it. If Avadon has no honor, then I will not serve it blindly. His archers fell in moments, and he followed shortly after.

I have no idea what this means, but I'm sure it will affect the events to follow. For now, I have a mission for Avadon to do.

Soon...

2011-10-24T22:25:00.001+02:00

Well, my goal in World of Warcraft is finally complete, so my time just freed up. You can expect regular posts again. starting with Avadon and then other games once I complete this one. That is, unless I start a new run immediately, to get more achievements.

Sorry!

2011-10-19T21:27:00.003+02:00

As you can see, there hasn't been any posts lately. The good news is, I'm not neglecting the blog again, I just really have nothing to write about, because I haven't been playing anything other than World of Warcraft. You see, I have this goal of getting one character of every class to 85, and I'm really getting close, with only 3 characters left and all of them being 82 or above. In a few days, I will be done with that, and then it's back to Avadon, I promise.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-11T22:56:00.000+02:00

My mission is to go back to khemeria to find and kill the wizard responsible for the shadow beast. Of course, it was obvious to me from the last time I was there that Moritz'Kri, the adviser to lord Carsta'Arl was the culprit, but I didn't have any proof. This time, I knew for sure that a wizard was involved, so I confronted the lord immediately. After realizing there is no way to get out of it, be turned over Moritz'Kri. That is, he allowed me to arrest him, but didn't want to get involved directly. The wizard attacked me and I managed to defeat him, but he teleported away before I could deliver the final blow. I ended up chasing him all over Oghrym'Tor and finally cornered him in the cellars of his castle wing, but again, he managed to teleport to safety, this time to his tower in Dorla Woods.

On my way there, I was forced to kill the patrol that was assigned to guard his tower. It was obvious they didn't want to fight, but they were more scared of him than of me. After lots and lots of fighting throughout his tower, I finally found him trying to summon a demon lord - Beloch, the Scourge. The ritual was almost complete, and the demon was almost loose, but for the final part, Moritz'Kri needed a human sacrifice. Foolishly, he tried to use me for that, and this cost him greatly. I defeated him one last time and the demon took him back to his realm. Of course, the demon is pretty much loose now, with only a faint power binding him to the portal and it's only a mater of time before he's completely free. Still, he was way to powerful for me to defeat him at that point, so I was forced to retreat. In any case, my mission was over.

On a sidenote, I encountered the Wayfarer again, but this time he didn't have any suspicious task for me. He only warned me that this incident will be the beginning of the end for Dhorl Stead. Once the eye of Avadon focuses on something, it rarely looks away before it's destroyed.

I returned back to Avadon only to find out that my warrior, whose name escapes me again is gone. The ambush that earned him his scar was tormenting him far to much and he decided to go to the White Plains of Kva, find his attacker and deal with him. After talking to my superiors, I realized my next mission is also taking me to Kva, so I guess it's two for one this time. Kva it is!

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-10T22:03:00.001+02:00

So, last time I wrote, I was about to start my mission at castle Vebeaux. The Duke asked me to escort a team of soldiers from both Holklandia and Kellemderiel while they destroy a source of monster infestation in the nearby Beraza Woods. He is hoping that this would bolster the relations between the two regions and ensure a peace agreement.

I explored the outer part of the woods and completed a few side missions, while at the same time clearing the woods of monsters. I also encountered the suspicious rogue who keeps following me and offering me shifty jobs. This time, he actually offered me something I was willing to do. It seems that the administrator ofcastle Vebeaux is not allowing a merchant safe passage, because he is being bribed by the competition. I talked to the administrator, put some fear into him and this was promptly resolved. The military unit I was supposed to escort was in the second region of the woods. As soon as I got there, I knew it wouldn't go well. The soldiers simply did not get along and were letting their differences get between them. I tried to calm the situation, but it wasn't working. When we got to caverns where the troubles were coming from, the commander from Holklandia decided to stay and guard it, while the rest of us got in and cleared it. He simply wasn't willing to put his life in the hands of the enemy.

I descended with the Kellemderiel soldiers and we soon split up, according to their wishes. They took the direct route, while I was forced to take the longer way around. After some fighting and spelunking, I finally met them again, but it was to late. The source of the monsters was a dragon, this time a master of mind spells and he already got to them. He completely wiped their minds, turning them into slaves that attacked me. I managed to defeat them, but the dragon got away, so I returned to the surface. While he did get away, the source of the infestation was removed for now, so my mission was over. I got back to the castle to report in, and then returned to Avadon.

My next mission is taking me back to Khmeria. I am to find the person responsible for creating the shadow beast and kill him. I should probably also mention that one of the side missions in castle Vebeaux had me expose a spy for the Tavon empire. I'm not sure if this will be important later, but it seemed that it might. One other thing - the caverns and the laboratory where the dragon lived used to belong to a mage named Adranos. This also sounded like important information.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-07T11:51:00.001+02:00

The next mission that Redbeard sent me on was supposed to take me to Kellemderiel, to castle Verbeaux. Gryfyn, the local guke is working hard and forging a peace agreement with the neighboring region of Holklanda, and in order to do this, he needs help with a task. However, before I did all that, I had to take care of Jennel's problems. When we last we't to Khemeria, we encountered a group of Wyldrylm warriors who escaped their lands because of a crime they committed. The crime was justified in a way, and not really a bad thing, but the Pact laws have been broken and they would have been hunted down if they didn't escape. Jennel decided to go and try to warn them that Avadon now knows where they are and left me a note about it, so I went after her.

A runner in Dhorl Stead told me where she was, but when I got there, I was attacked by Wyldrylm warriors several times before I could even tell them I come in peace. I finally found a small encampment in the woods, where another group of warriors, this time friendly and led by a guy named Vid was keeping Jennel safe. Jennel told me what happened. The group was led by a shaman named Theresia, who got quite arrogant and angry at Avadon. When Jennel came with the warning, Theresia tried to kill her, but Vid and his men managed to free her and hide in this part of the woods. The other people I killed where just about to assault their encampment.

With Jennel back in my group, I went after Theresia and soon found her encampment. I let her men go, but was forced to kill her. For a moment, it seemed like she would see reason, but in the end she attacked anyway so my hand was forced on the matter. After all of this, I went back to Avadon to take care of some other business and then continued to Kellemderiel for my mission. I met the duke and he explained my mission to me. I am to go with a group of Holklandan soldiers and locate and destroy a source of magically altered monsters who are infesting a local forested area.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-06T13:56:00.001+02:00

As I said, I had to go to Kva again, because the dragon has new issues. Both his lair and the local town are being attacked, by ogres this time. In fact, I helped him fight off an attack while I was there. He said he did some aerial scouting and found the source of the ogres to be somewhere in Jhereth Deeps, an old mining abandoned mining complex. Coincidentally, the captain of the guard unit assigned to him has lost another scouting party in that area.

I went there, explored it fully, saved the scouting party and found the source of the ogres. A new dragon has moved into the area. this time one that has a frost alignment. From what I can tell, it's a female, but I'm not certain. After I told it of the ogre issue, it got mad, claiming the ogres acted outside of her knowledge and pointed me in the direction of their lair. I went there, killed the titan that was leading them and met a person named Merula. She was a mage who was giving orders to the titan. She claimed her intentions are not all bad, and that the aim of the people she's working for was to change things in the Pact and possibly overthrow Redbeard. She asked me to think about all of that and I promised I will. I also offered her a chance to flee, but she wouldn't take it, so I was forced to kill her.

After all that, I cleared out some of the side quests in the area and returned to Avadon. Soon after I got there, I got a message from my shaman, saying she had to leave on a personal errand. I also got my next mission, this time from Redbeard personally.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-05T17:49:00.000+02:00

As I said, my new mission took me to Khemeria, which is a Farland nation, not part of the Pact. Suffice to say, I was not well received. The surprising thing is, it wasn't hostility that I encountered, but fear. It seams the Pact isn't as nice as I'd like to think. I explored Dhorl Stead, which is a settlement built near the portal, and tried gathering some information, but no one would talk to me, saying to go and see their leader. The problem is, when I got to the keep of Oghrym'Tor, where the leader resides, I was not allowed entry.

His wizard, whose name escapes me right now (as usual), but starts with M said that he was in charge of talking to me and that the leader couldn't leave the keep due to some disease epidemic. Of course, this was all very suspicious, but I couldn't do anything about it, so I went back to town. Luckily, I finally got some good info from a clanless runner that lives on the edge of the village. He told me the beast most often roams around Dorla Woods, so that was where I went next.

I met a shaman in the woods who left the city due to a disagreement with the wizard. She seemed to have shared my mistrust towards him. On a side note, her back room was trapped, so being the explorer that I am, I tried to trigger the trap to see what happens and saw my first game over screen. Other than the trap, the room also contains an Incubus (male version of the Succubus) and a bed, so I'm thinking the shaman has some dirty secrets.

I went deeper into the woods and finally found a ruined village. Everyone other than a single villager fled this village, chased away by the beast. The one remaining person told me there was another settlement over the river, which had it even worse. This led me to believe that the beasts lair might be near that other settlement. On my way there, I encountered and fought the beast several times, but it would always run away once any real damage was dealt to it. I also encountered a woman called Liese, living in a lone hut. She claims to have trained a lot of soldiers, so I asked her to train me, but she said I have to prove myself somehow first.

I finally reached the other village and found the beasts lair underneath. After a long battle, I finally defeated it,but then it started acting strangely, like it was trying to talk to me. I only understood a few words - "no hurt", so I decided to spare it and take it to Avadon for examination. Since the lair was an old wizards laboratory, I had good reasons to believe the beast was artificially made. Before I could do this, though, the wizard from Oghrym'Tor arrived and finished it. He gave me some half-assed explanation as to why he did it and left. In any case, my mission was over and I returned to Avadon.

I reported my success to the Heart and also mentioned all the suspicious behavior I experienced. She said she would look into it and assigned me to my next mission. The dragon in Kva has issues again, this time with ogres, who are also attacking the village. This is where I will be going next.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-04T17:50:00.000+02:00

Well, some stuff definitely happened since yesterday. I met the dragon, but I had to clear his lair from an invasion of wretches first.It took a while to find and kill all of them, but it was in no way hard. That reminds me, I increased the difficulty level from normal to the next one up (can't remember what it's called), but the game is still pretty easy. Only boss battles seem to provide a challenge.

I talked to the dragon and found out that the wretches were a bigger issue than I realized. A large group of them, led by an ogre commander has moved in to some caves to the south and they keep raiding his lair. The soldiers Avadon has assigned for protection simply can't handle it. I decided to help him with his problem and also promised the local guard captain to look for a lost patrol.

I went south and met the patrol almost instantly, but they were a man short. One of the soldiers got captured by the wretches and is held in the dungeons now. The front gate to their caves was to well guarded so I had to find a back entrance which led to the lower levels. It's there that I met the ogre leader, but it didn't go as expected. The leader tried to avoid conflict, saying he was promised by someone who's giving him orders that there will be no danger from Avadon. Now that he learned this isn't true, he wishes to gather the wretches loyal to him and leave. Since my mission was only to deal with the problem, and the details of how to do it were up to me, I decided to let him go. Still, there was plenty of other wretches not under his control, so I still had some killing to do.

Pretty soon, I've found the captured scout and took him with me. He could hold his own, so we traveled in a group of four now. After fighting my way through a pit of wolves and killing a sonic bat, I finally found a way up from the lower levels. I killed a few commanders on the way, opened the front gate and killed the guards, and then found the throne room with the ogre in it. I just stumbled into him talking with a shadowy figure, which wasn't to happy with the ogre's attempt to flee. Under a threat of death, the ogre was forced to fight me while the mysterious figure fled. I promptly killed him, returned the scout to his unit and went back to see the dragon. He was fine now, so my main mission for Avadon was done and I was ready to return.

I got my next mission now. I have to go to another province, this time one that isn't part of the Pact and is located in the Farlands and deal with a monster killing the local populace. I rechecked my gear, bought some new stuff and got rid of my junk, and then I stepped through another portal, which took me to a new land. This is where I stopped. One other thing I should mention is that I can take the other two companions with me now, but I decided to stick to the sorceress and warrior.

Avadon: The Black Fortress

2011-10-03T14:09:00.000+02:00

I played some more last night and will be off to play right now, so here’s just a quick update.

First of all, the alliance of nations is actually called “The Midlands Pact” or just “The Pact” for short. What I forgot to mention yesterday was that you also get companions in the game, four total, of which you can take two with you on missions at a time. On the first mission, I could only take one of two, but I’ve already met the other two in the fortress, though I have yet to recruit them

My second mission took me to the land of Kva, which is one of the nations in the pack. I was to go to the town of Goldcrag, where I had to do a task for Zhethron, one of the dragons that still live in the world. I went there, explored the town and gathered plenty of information. Then I went to explore the general area and solve a few side quests on the way. Everything optional is explored and cleared now, so I will be going to meet the dragon next. Actually, there is one other optional quest I haven’t solved, but based on the description; it’s in an area I’m not supposed to visit yet, so I will deal with that later. My party is about level 4 now. I decided to build my main character as an offensive mage, and leave the healing and support to my companion sorceress, Nathalie. Note that the names might be slightly wrong, since I suck at remembering them.