This game reminds me so much of the old Fallout game and maybe the first Diablo because of its dungeon crawler-like feel.

On that note, I absolutely adore Avernum 2: Crystal Souls! The game is surprisingly in-depth and it's not kidding when it says it can offer 50 hours and more of gameplay - I'm currently at the 12-hour mark and I have yet to remove the magical barrier.

I love that there are just so many places for me to explore; quests to complete; hidden places and artifacts to find, and you can even steal NPCs' stuff as long as you're not seen (P/S: the game will prevent you from stealing stuff if an NPC is within sight so you don't need to worry about getting caught). So, in spite of its old-school graphics, this is a rather well-made RPG that will most definitely bring

The storyline in Avernum 2: Crystal Souls had a pretty great start. Apparently, the fantasy world of Avernum 2 is split between the rich and powerful surface dwellers, and the Avernites who basically consist of banished surface people - people who had voiced dissent against their ruler, a cruel and ruthless emperor called Hawthorne.

As the Avernites' numbers grew, they gradually have the courage to send a team to assassinate the Emperor and the strength (as well as having the home ground advantage) to withstand any retaliatory attacks from the Empire.

However, disaster struck when a magical barrier suddenly appeared, splitting the previously-interconnected tunnels and caverns of the underground world, Avernum, into boxes of sorts, severely disrupting the flow of vital supplies from the cities to the frontlines. Needless to say, the Avernite army is slowly being systematically decimated by the Empire's forces that were descending from above.

In this game, you play as a pretty fresh recruit of the Avernite army. A chain of (pretty bloody) events put you into the role of an adventurer/soldier, whose sole mission is to find a way to destroy the magical barrier hemming the Avernites in, and possibly find a way to help the army win the war against the Empire.

As evident in its old-school graphics, Avernum 2 is a remake of a fairly old game. Although you can still see some remnants of the old features, you'll be happy to know that you can at least use the mouse to move around and interact with people or objects.

Like most RPGs, the main way for you to level up and improve your team of heroes is by completing quests (both main and side quests, though the game doesn't really separate the quests out for you) and killing things, and there are plenty in this game.

It also feels a bit like a dungeon crawler, mainly because you'll basically be exploring an underground world where open spaces are quite limited and there are plenty of loot for you to collect. On the other hand, it doesn't have the extensive inventory management gameplay that most dungeon crawlers have because not everything are valuable = can be sold for coins, and you literally have a bottomless bag - it's called the Junk Bag - where you can store whatever stuff you like (Not really its intended purpose but it works :) ).

The turn-based combat in this game is really standard I think. The order in which actions are taken depends on your character/the enemy's speed, and in each turn, you'll have limited amount of action points to use. Having a "tank" with the Challenger skill is really useful here because it actually works most of the time, and I would also recommend bringing along a priest - heals and buffs can be incredibly useful in this game, and if you don't need 'em, your priest can still smite your enemies into hell with holy fire, which is pretty cool too.

The only downside to this is that I can't seem to recruit new people to join my group and swap out different roles of heroes depending on my need. In other words, you're likely stuck with your lousy starter group until the end of the game. I'd also like it more if I can see the hit percentages for each enemy my heroes attack - in a way that's like Shadowrun Returns.

I don't find the music or sound to be worth noting, and the graphics are, obviously, quite old-school (nostalgically so, but it depends on the type of games you play when you're younger), but if you can get pass all of that, then you'll find Avernum 2 a worthwhile RPG adventure to play.

Personally, I find Avernum 2: Crystal Souls to be an indie gem - a slightly rougher, less polished gem maybe, but a gem nonetheless! Everything in the game seems to be working great, except maybe its full screen mode (just play the game in Windowed mode instead), and as long as you don't go ahead of yourself and take on enemies much tougher than you, then you should be fine.

Oh, and don't be fooled by its antiquated looks - this is the sort of RPG that will keep you engrossed for hours on end! That's also why the game has been remade twice over the years!


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