Avadon 3: The Warborn

Ahh Avadon. Though I'm near the end game, I have to give this one a thumbs down. Spiderweb games are charming but walk a fine line between being too easy or incredible frustration. While this game is to tie up lose ends from the rest of the trilogy, it feels too much of a retread. The four fronts is an interesting idea, but the game never gives a sense of urgency the way Avernum 2 did where you were the underdog against an overwhelming force. Khalida and Natalie return as party companions but I really found Khalida's arc baffling compared to her in Avadon 2. Admittedly I played a shaman this time which is still an underpowered class. Late game and admittedly some optional bosses felt too gimmicky with plenty of foes immobilizing you, summons tons of goons and the over abundance of environmental effects that damage you over time. In and of themselves they can be fine in an rpg but here are limited ways to mitigate them in this game, so all combined combat can feel annoying. Plus many foes feel like HP bloating where the result of the fight is a forgone conclusion but they take forever to die. It ends up feeling not exciting or challenging but more of a tedious chore. Jeff Vogel fixed the leveling system and made it more streamlined (thank you!), yet in the end I couldn't be bothered to finish this. The ratio of annoyance to fun (which all games have none are perfect) was too high for me to want to continue.

"Avadon 3: The Warborn" concludes the trilogy, offering a worthy continuation of the previous installments. In the canonical ending of the second part, Redbeard remains the Keeper of Avadon but is later removed by the Alliance Council. The events of the third part take place several years later, as the war between the Alliance and the Farlands reaches a stalemate. Redbeard's return to the periphery becomes a catalyst for changes in the war. The main character, a Hand, finds themselves at the center of events when Redbeard starts to act. According to the ancient laws of the Alliance, only the slayer of the previous Keeper can become the new Keeper. However, the Council appointed Protus as the acting Keeper, deeming Redbeard incompetent and blaming him for starting the war. The player must choose between two strong leaders. On one hand, Redbeard, who has a clear plan and achieves real results but whose methods are brutal and who is willing to sacrifice his people. On the other hand, Protus is a reasonable, diplomatic, and just leader, supported by the Alliance Council and providing unprecedented funding for Avadon. The main intrigue of the game lies in maneuvering between these two characters. The player's decisions can lead to the victory or downfall of the Alliance. Throughout the storyline, the player must sequentially eliminate threats from various enemies of the Alliance, including the Khemerians, the Wildrim rebels, the Warborn alliance (hill-folk, ogres, titans), and the main antagonist from the Tawon Empire. The plot also develops through the opinions of the main character's companions, which can lead to conflicts, but experienced players manage to manipulate them until the very end. Traditionally for the series, at the end of the game, you can fight Redbeard for the title of Keeper. In "Avadon 3," this battle can be easier if actions are taken throughout the game to weaken him. The main disappointment of the game is the lack of significant innovations in gameplay mechanics. The only new feature is abilities that temporarily apply effects to surfaces, affecting anyone who walks over them. "Avadon 3: The Warborn" concludes the trilogy with an engaging storyline and deep moral dilemmas, despite the lack of new gameplay mechanics.

J'ai décidé de mettre une recommandation à ce jeu, mais attention, il n'est pas forcément à mettre entre toutes les mains. Déjà, il s'agit d'une création de Spiderweb, l'entreprise de Jeff Vogel. Si vous ne connaissez pas le bonhomme, une vidéo de la GDC lui est dédiée et est très informative. Un dossier lui a aussi été consacré dans un Canard PC. Si on doit résumer : on a ici affaire à l'exemple presque ultime de l'artisan du CRPG qui travaille le genre en indé depuis de nombreuses années et s'est formé un groupe de suiveurs qui aiment son univers, ses méthodes de création (la récupération est très importante ici, on peut dire que ces jeux sont écolos) et ses tics. Avadon était donc il y a quelques années une nouvelle série de jeux de Spiderweb, le début d'une trilogie qui se termine ici. Toute l'intrigue tourne autour d'Avadon, forteresse qui est le siège de la police d'un pacte entre plusieurs puissances frontalières. Comme dans les épisodes précédents, on y incarne une Main, un personnage entre l'émissaire et le soldat, envoyé en première ligne pour résoudre les problèmes, soit par le dialogue, soit par la manière forte, soit par un subtil mélange des deux. Pour ne pas perdre les nouveaux venus, rien de ce qui a pu être fait dans les deux précédents jeux n'a d'impact sur cet épisode, comme c'était déjà le cas dans le précédent opus. Bon, la question ici n'est peut-être pas celle de l'accessibilité, car on ne parle pas de jeu très beginner-friendly à la base, mais nous avons peut-être plutôt affaire à un problème de complexité vu la variété des choix possibles dans les précédents jeux. Et en fait, il est comment ce jeu ? Et bien c'est un CRPG très old-school qui fera mal à certains yeux (certains assets sont réutilisés depuis le premier Avadon, voire peut-être depuis encore avant) avec un système simple (4 caractéristiques, des compétences qui s'améliorent avec des points glanés lors de la montée de niveau, etc...) mais qui permet des combats tactiques souvent velus. Car voilà en quelque sorte le coeur de la création Vogelienne : ces jeux sont pensés pour offrir un vrai challenge tactique et des affrontements parfois longs face à des boss tortueux. Sur les forums officiels, les échanges sur les habitudes de Vogel et ses éléments cachés à tout bout de champ sont légions. C'est très sympathique comme ambiance, mais je peux aussi comprendre que certains puissent trouver ça rébarbatif. Des combats à la difficulté parfois extrêmement importantes, des énigmes souvent tordues et un système de jeu un peu archaïque, il faut aimer. Moi c'est mon cas. Mais faites attention si vous voulez vous y risquer. Il est très facile de jeter l'éponge. Rassurez-vous, si vous le faites, je ne serais pas le premier à vous jeter la pierre.

This game is surprisingly absorbing, despite the graphical simplicity. A small hidden gem!

Avadon 3: The Warborn is the satisfying conclusion to the Avadon trilogy with new characters as well as returning, an engaging storyline, and a satisfying ending depending on your choices. Like with all Spiderweb Software games, it is a turn-based retro-style CRPG but still a lot of fun.

Because of many flaws, I decide to betray Avadon and support the Farlanders. Cons: -The attack range of magic is limited. Unlike previous games, player can't shoot magic to everywhere. -The teleportation range of scarab is also limited. It's impossible to teleport yourself to a far grid. -Eliminates a group of random generating enemies WILL NOT give you any experience! I wasted a lot of time in the Goldcrag. I killed those Warborn patrols over and over again, but didn't get anything from them! -Some actions will cause seriously lag. For example, you shoot magic to enemy across a heap of stones. -I purchased the Official Guide. However, I was disappointed to find that they wrote a lot of error contents. This is entirely unacceptable. -Many other annoying problems.

I am a huge fan of Spiderweb Software games! People who love oldschool isometric CRPGs and don´t mind “simple” graphics will love this game. Avadon 3: The Warborn is the third instalment of the Avadon trilogy. Like its predecessors the story is deep and meaningful, there are tons of sidequests, decisions during the play can influence the ending and companions (and other NPCs) are interesting with compelling backgrounds and motives. I enjoy the turn-based combat. It is challenging (especially on higher difficulties) and “forces” you to use everything you have available (potions, scrolls, magic items, skills). No more hoarding items like other RPGs. All in all, the game is a great finale to this epic trilogy!

Runs mostly smooth on linux. There was slowdown during large fights, but nothing like it was in Avadon 2 (1 was still the smoothest). There did seem to be some missing audio (music was there, but I think there's supposed to be background noises in towns such as people talking). Nothing that really ruined my experience. Avadon 3 sees some changes from Avadon 1 & 2. No longer do you reach max level (30) long before the end (provided you do all content). In fact, I think only 1 or 2 characters reached it before the final fight and 2 more during the final fight with the rest at level 29. The skill trees have been reworked with new skills and while there are still 3 trees for each class, no longer do you need to get two prerequisites to get the first tier in each tree. Instead, you just need the first skill in the tree. I found that unlike Avadon 2, the combat was far better balanced. No longer are there fights with large number of enemies who can cast charm spells at you like I remember from the end of Avadon 2. Also, it felt like enemies took forever to kill without actually being a threat (beyond the Charm spells). Instead, I actually felt like the fights in 3 were fair. They actually felt like a challenge without feeling cheap. One example is that new skills include areas of the ground that would be impacted by something (i.e. acid pools where you get acid damage, ice pools that give ice damage, etc.). There are a few boss fights that worked like puzzles because you had a boss, minions, and the area you fight in would have some sort of hazard in the ground. Sometimes it was a race to kill as fast as possible, sometimes you could play defensively and just outlast the enemy. The story was also quite a satisfying ending to the Trilogy - finally you clear up all loose ends from the prior games and finally you can fight Redbeard and it actually means something (kill him in Avadon 1 & 2 and he is still in 3 anyway). The only thing is that I'm not sure I would recommend playing 1 & 2 even though it's a Trilogy. I just found 3 to be that much enjoyable and I felt like you don't miss much by skipping them.

The final and rather thrilling chapter of the Avadon Trilogy. Ok, before I start - lets get this out of the way. You really should only play this game if you played the first two otherwise you may find yourself lost or not nearly invested at whats at stake here. The story writing is great, but without playing the first two the impact of everything happening in the final chapter may not seem as big of deal. I say that because you won't get the full figure of RedBeard's Madness, or how unlikeable Protus actually is for a guy who initially seems likeable, the perspectives of two of your Companions Nathalie and Khalida who are from the first two games, and the overall love hate relationship you find yourself with Avadon and being a corrupt Federal Police Force in a Fantasy Setting. You face Moral Decisions of course, like the other two and they are just as gray and complicated as before, though this time around you seem to be able to pull more weight in hopefully trying to influence Avadon for the better... or worse. But more importantly you get to see the ultimate closing chapter and fate of Avadon. The gameplay has been streamlined and the leveling up has being simplified a little bit, less decisions but less opportunities to screw over your build. It's pretty straightforward now and hammered out some of the loose ends and more useless options. The graphics are mostly the same, minor tweaks... though still the Spiderweb Signature setup. The writing and mechanics carry the game. Though the background sounds is still as immersive as ever. There are lots of references to the first two games, it's nice to see familiar faces...and kill some of them. Overall, get it but only after you finished the first two and ready to see where it all ends.