Describing this game is a bit tricky to say the least. This role playing game relies on WASD controls, but it doesn’t really have the nonstop action that is so very typical of action RPG’s. Quests include standard fetch objectives although the developers have tried to snazzy it up by throwing in some adventure puzzles. The plot starts into the D&D clichés; with a bored teen mage doing the Hogwarts thing. With so much freak experimentation going on, it gets difficult to figure what exactly the developer was trying to get at, although one thing that you can be sure is that this grab bag of RPG styles has come out pretty well.
The look and feel of the game is pretty similar to the first Neverwinter Nights game. ClockStone started the development of the game about four years ago, so it definitely has some of the old school feel to it. This is conspicuous in the visuals, which are a bit chunky for a modern game. Character and monster models are burdened with annoying boxy features, the animations disappoints with a mechanical feel to them, and the quests take palce in annoyingly clichéd dungeon corridors. Nothing in this game is particularly ugly, just that it’s a bit uninspired. An outstanding lighting effect gives the game an eerie ambience, a mood that is further enhanced by the often haunting musical score.
The story is of course a focal point in an RPG game and Avencast has not faltered much with its storyline, you play a young wizard who is studying at a magical academy called Avencast, to be read as a Hogwarts rip-off. There is very little in terms of character construction. You just type in your name and go for it, later you use the skill point to level up and augment traits and select spells. Thankfully, the Harry Potter feel is limited to the initial parts of the game. The story slides headfirst derivative territory about saving the world from demons, running errands and clearing crypts using your wizardry skills. At least the voice acting is bearable; considering the game is non-English (ClockStone is based in Austria).
The story telling is dramatic and sports a nice flair replete with sepia-toned artworks. Given this one would expect the game to play like any other dungeon crawl. But here is where the game takes a walk on the wild side. To start with, the combat has been widely enhanced with dodge maneuvers. Instead of click-killing hordes of skeletons, crabs, scorpions, ghosts and golems that the game throws at you, you’ll have to tumble dodge and try avoiding being hit. Most of the creatures in the game have a good ranged attack and decimate you up-close. This basically means that you can’t go hack and slash with Conan like glee. The game hit the stores last fall without a whimper last fall, it certainly deserved better. Some combat and interface problems keep it from getting a classic status but still it’s a highly enjoyable game.
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