iPad, PC/Mac •
Are you despondent because your favorite genre of game, RPG, is criminally underrepresented on the App Store? Have you destroyed Irenicus on your iPad more times than you think it’s healthy to admit, mainly because the Baldur’s Gate series is the only “deep and thoughtful” RPG for your tablet? Are you angry because Divinity: Original Sin 2 still isn’t available for Mac and you Kickstarted it unaware that it was PC-only even though the first game was both PC and Mac? [ignore that last one, Dave is just bitter -ed.] Wake up, because there’s another set of RPG titles available for your iPad and they’re every bit as deep and wonderful as those 90’s classics. They’re the Spiderweb Software games and, as reported by Touch Arcade, the next one is raiding the App Store on April 18.
The new title coming next week is Avernum 3: Ruined World which, if you couldn’t tell, is the third entry in the acclaimed Avernum series. Luckily, you don’t have to play the previous titles to enjoy the third, but why wouldn’t you? Like all Spiderweb games, the Avernum series is full of great story, interesting NPCs, and scads and scads of RPG rules that aren’t based on 2nd Edition D&D.
Even better, all the Spiderweb titles hearken back to the golden age of CRPGs when graphics came secondary to plot and content. You can even buy a hint book for their RPGs. Remember those? I had a 400 page hint book for SimCity 2000 that I carried around for about a year like a pixelated bible and one for Pool of Radiance that I actually dated for 4 months. It was strange.
Avernum 3 continues the tradition of “whoa, this is huge” with the following:
Avernum 3 Features
- Enormous fantasy adventure with over 60 hours of gameplay.
- Explore an enormous continent and underworld, with multiple nations and alien cultures.
- Over 150 towns and dungeons, that change and crumble as time passes.
- Packed with things to do. Become a merchant or bounty hunter. Buy a house. Explore the enormous world.
- Cool story and unique races and settings make Avernum different from any adventure out there.
- Dozens of side quests and hundreds of magical artifacts.
- Rich game system with over 60 spells and battle disciplines and a multitude of beneficial character traits to choose from.
The first two Avernum titles are already available for iPad and are a great romp if you want to experience the entire story from start to finish. There are also a slew of other Spiderweb RPGs on the App Store if these only whet your appetite for more CRPG goodness.
Avernum 3: Ruined World will be here on April 18 [which also happens to be someone at SP’s birthday. Don’t tell Dave, but I’m getting him writing lessons. He needs them. Badly. -ed.] but if you can’t wait for the tablet version, it’s also available on PC and Mac.
Hat tip: Touch Arcade
- Avernum: Escape from the Pit for iPad, $10
- Avernum: Crystal Souls for iPad, $10
- Avernum 3: Ruined World for PC/Mac via Steam, $20
- Avernum 3: Ruined World for PC/Mac via GoG, $20
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