Aveyond by Amaranth Games
First of all, I'm a fan of the RPG genre. I can appreciate the creativity and imagination that is required in order to make the most of today's 'Role Playing' games as they were meant to be appreciated. When Aveyond came across my plate i thought that it could be just the project to introduce my 8 year old daughter to. It looked like a rather simple looking game that would allow her to experience her first rpg without the fairly standard RPG distractions of detailed and confusing character creation screens and lengthly movement and battle sequence learning curves. I often enter a new game with the knowledge that it will be an hour or two before any real battle or meaningful game play is experienced. The Aveyond story is underway immediately from the first frame.
Introduction:
Aveyond is a 2D Role Playing Game created using the Windows application "RPG Maker XP". This looks like quite a powerful game creation application for relatively small storied games which give the creator compete control over all aspects of the graphical mapping and storyline. From the brief promo videos it reminds me of the old "D&D GM Modules" on steroids! For the creative mind this is a brilliant tool in which to bring the ideas of the author alive in a computer game setting.
The install file is a mere 47MB which is a little unnerving considering I recently had to grab a 1.2GB file for a new RPG beta! Still down it came and off we went. The game starts off right away with a classic good Vs evil prelude with an Evil Demon bent on enslaving the world and and a Priestess who thwarts an attempt on her life only to enlist the unknowing help of your main character.
Thus begins the saga.
The initial main character is a young girl so perhaps this is targeted initially to the younger female children and older dedicated RPG'ers that cut their teeth on early Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger releases. The font is clear and readable and the dialog and basic controls make this game a perfect starting point for a grade 2 - 3 youngster (unless mom or dad reads the dialog aloud). Try to resist, the intrigue of the game should entice your child to read it them selves if they are up to it.
Game Play:
The story begins with a small cinematic where a priestess is confronted with a 'messenger of evil' (watch for scattered sarcasm) and promptly zapped into unconsciousness. Assuming her passing the Evil Henchman scurries off to spread news of his victory. Shockingly the priestess is not dead and is promptly saved by some manner of magical servant of good and whisked away to a distant village where she can regain her strength away from danger and the evil hoard that would surely wish to finish the job that they bungled at the start. The priestess quickly befriends a young girl whom she bestows her 'Ring of Protection' to. Game play is quite slow up until the moment which has the young girl mistaken for the Priestess. She is kidnapped and sold into slavery. What a thrilling start to what is sure to be an epic journey. Thankfully the world opens up quite a bit at this point and you are forced to learn the ins and outs of the battle mechanics, equipping items and general item usage.
If I was to offer a single tip it would be to save and save often. With the initial lack of pace it proved quite frustrating as I traveled around only to die while attempting to figure out how to correctly equip a weapon. There is no auto save to you must remind yourself often. Also it would pay to spend time at the authors website and take advantage of any of the guides found there as the in game help system is non existent.
In game controls consist of movement using the four "arrow keys" and various actions using either "enter" key. Once again, Aveyond's character control very manageable for young aspiring RPG'ers in your family. This is primarily a 2D game with the battle screens incorporating more 3D elements. All movement takes place on the 2D tile set with seamless screen transitioning. Well what would you think when the complete game is 47MB's. :) Movement is entirely North, South, East and West with no diagonal movement possible.
While reading other reviews it can be seen that the storyline here is vast. Various markers are set on your character depending on certain choices that you make in game. These choices will bend your character to the side of evil or you could maintain the path of good. You will meed hundreds of characters and will have the ability to grow your traveling party. I've seen that certain game play high lites include purchasing property, digging up graves, get married and riding dragons (kids are sure to want to get to that point!). Visit Amaranth Games for various add ons and hints such as cheats, easter eggs and a support forum.
Game play is currently on hold as my daughter is away. We will resume play shortly and I'll be sure have some quotes from her about her impressions of the game in the next installment.
...to be continued
Technical Information:
Size: 47MB
Platform: Windows 98+ (Except Windows 2000)
Processor: Pentium II
Memory: 256 MB RAM
Video: DirectX 8.0+
  | Aveyond by Amaranth GamesESRB: Platform: PC Games Category: n/a |
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4 7 7 7 6.25 | ||
Aveyond by Amaranth Games
First of all, I'm a fan of the RPG genre. I can appreciate the creativity and imagination that is required in order to make the most of today's 'Role Playing' games as they were meant to be appreciated. When Aveyond came across my plate i thought that it could be just the project to introduce my 8 year old daughter to. It looked like a rather simple looking game that would allow her to experience her first rpg without the fairly standard RPG distractions of detailed and confusing character creation screens and lengthly movement and battle sequence learning curves. I often enter a new game with the knowledge that it will be an hour or two before any real battle or meaningful game play is experienced. The Aveyond story is underway immediately from the first frame.
Introduction:
Aveyond is a 2D Role Playing Game created using the Windows application "RPG Maker XP". This looks like quite a powerful game creation application for relatively small storied games which give the creator compete control over all aspects of the graphical mapping and storyline. From the brief promo videos it reminds me of the old "D&D GM Modules" on steroids! For the creative mind this is a brilliant tool in which to bring the ideas of the author alive in a computer game setting.
The install file is a mere 47MB which is a little unnerving considering I recently had to grab a 1.2GB file for a new RPG beta! Still down it came and off we went. The game starts off right away with a classic good Vs evil prelude with an Evil Demon bent on enslaving the world and and a Priestess who thwarts an attempt on her life only to enlist the unknowing help of your main character.
Thus begins the saga.
The initial main character is a young girl so perhaps this is targeted initially to the younger female children and older dedicated RPG'ers that cut their teeth on early Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger releases. The font is clear and readable and the dialog and basic controls make this game a perfect starting point for a grade 2 - 3 youngster (unless mom or dad reads the dialog aloud). Try to resist, the intrigue of the game should entice your child to read it them selves if they are up to it.
Game Play:
The story begins with a small cinematic where a priestess is confronted with a 'messenger of evil' (watch for scattered sarcasm) and promptly zapped into unconsciousness. Assuming her passing the Evil Henchman scurries off to spread news of his victory. Shockingly the priestess is not dead and is promptly saved by some manner of magical servant of good and whisked away to a distant village where she can regain her strength away from danger and the evil hoard that would surely wish to finish the job that they bungled at the start. The priestess quickly befriends a young girl whom she bestows her 'Ring of Protection' to. Game play is quite slow up until the moment which has the young girl mistaken for the Priestess. She is kidnapped and sold into slavery. What a thrilling start to what is sure to be an epic journey. Thankfully the world opens up quite a bit at this point and you are forced to learn the ins and outs of the battle mechanics, equipping items and general item usage.
If I was to offer a single tip it would be to save and save often. With the initial lack of pace it proved quite frustrating as I traveled around only to die while attempting to figure out how to correctly equip a weapon. There is no auto save to you must remind yourself often. Also it would pay to spend time at the authors website and take advantage of any of the guides found there as the in game help system is non existent.
In game controls consist of movement using the four "arrow keys" and various actions using either "enter" key. Once again, Aveyond's character control very manageable for young aspiring RPG'ers in your family. This is primarily a 2D game with the battle screens incorporating more 3D elements. All movement takes place on the 2D tile set with seamless screen transitioning. Well what would you think when the complete game is 47MB's. :) Movement is entirely North, South, East and West with no diagonal movement possible.
While reading other reviews it can be seen that the storyline here is vast. Various markers are set on your character depending on certain choices that you make in game. These choices will bend your character to the side of evil or you could maintain the path of good. You will meed hundreds of characters and will have the ability to grow your traveling party. I've seen that certain game play high lites include purchasing property, digging up graves, get married and riding dragons (kids are sure to want to get to that point!). Visit Amaranth Games for various add ons and hints such as cheats, easter eggs and a support forum.
Game play is currently on hold as my daughter is away. We will resume play shortly and I'll be sure have some quotes from her about her impressions of the game in the next installment.
...to be continued
Technical Information:
Size: 47MB
Platform: Windows 98+ (Except Windows 2000)
Processor: Pentium II
Memory: 256 MB RAM
Video: DirectX 8.0+
