8.3

Avencast: Rise of the Mage was developed by Clockstone Software and published by Lighthouse Interactive. We normally like to put a little info about the developers in our reviews but there’s little info out there about Clockstone. We are hoping to get an interview or at least some additional information about these guys because frankly, we love their game!

Avencast: Rise of the Mage is an action role-playing game (aRPG). Many games like Titan Quest, Fate and Diablo claim this genre because you have to click on an enemy each time to attack them. This results mostly in a worn-out mouse and tired index finger. Avencast is to the aRPG what Oni was to the FPS… a game that redefines the genre with fresh control mechanics and gameplay that is new and interesting. We think this is a good thing, however, it’s more difficult than standard RPGs. This game is ideal for RPG fans that also like action games that require a bit of keyboard + mouse dexterity.

Graphics

The graphics in Avencast are a little dated (Neverwinter Nights -esque) compared to some of the latest stuff out, but only slightly. That being said, the special effects are beautiful, satisfying and, most importantly: the game runs smooth. Which is something the industry at large has forgotten lately. The game definitely looks pretty enough and the environment design is very atmospheric. The spell effects are awesome, which is very important in a game that’s all about magic. It’s also fun to watch your character duck, dodge and roll away from various enemy attacks (see gameplay section for details).

Sound

Avencast has a great soundtrack. The music is interesting and hasn’t become boring or grating for us yet. The spell sounds and monster sounds are good. Almost all conversations we’ve had feature voice over which is a great bonus in an RPG where there is a fair amount of dialog. The voices are in character and add flavor to the game.

The dialog has a few odd bits here and there that seem to indicate it was translated. For us, this was not a downfall but rather a fun little quirk that added character.

Gameplay

Avencast doesn’t offer the character customization that many RPGs like to flaunt. You get to choose your name and that’s it. You play as a male character that begins his journey to Magicus Stardom at the Avencast magister university. You must seek out and face trials provided by three instructors at the game’s outset which launch you into the game’s storyline. The intro’s unique design style and the immediate entry into gameplay kept us from missing the character customization.

The first thing a player will notice is the unique control scheme. Players may pick from Novice, Expert or Camera Follow control modes. The developer recommends Novice for beginners (obviously) and Expert as “the way it was intended to be played.” SyndicateX recommends “Camera Follow” because it is easy to master if you’ve ever played FPS games or an RPG like Oblivion. All modes allow you to rotate the camera in 3D by holding the CTRL key as you move the mouse.

Movement:

The character always faces the mouse cursor and the player uses WASD to control his movement. Double tapping a direction while in combat mode causes the player to execute a dive-roll in that direction. In addition, pressing the spacebar and a direction will make the character do a quick side-step, handy for dodging enemy ranged attacks. Left-click with the mouse causes the character to do a melee attack with his current weapon. Right-click fires off a ranged attack (which consumes mana). When not in combat, the player can put away their weapon and move around more quickly by pressing the “R” key.

Magic:

There are two/three types of magic in Avencast. The main two are Blood and Soul magic. Blood magic is used for powerful melee attacks. Soul magic is used for ranged attacks. In addition there is a summoning magic that allows the player to summon a creature for assistance. Spells can be cast in two ways. The player can press the function key that corresponds to a spell, or they can trigger the spell with a key combo. Blood magic uses the right mouse button, Soul magic uses the left mouse button. For example, you may be fighting a skeleton in close combat and press W, A and Left-click in quick succession, executing a powerful rage attack spell that reduces your foe to a pile of bones. Soul magic works the same way but follows up with a Right-click instead.

Combat:

This is where Avencast really shines. While some hardcore RPGers might be turned off by the slightly more complex control scheme, we loved it. Watching your character dive roll out of the way of a flaming skull, freeze the enemy with a Soul magic blast and then charge in and finish them off with a Blood magic Rage attack was super cool and pretty easy to get the hang of.

The enemies in Avencast are no pansies. Even early on the baddies go down pretty hard. Instead of the hoards of weaklings that most RPGs offer up, Avencast has fewer, tougher enemies. In some games this wouldn’t work but in Avencast it’s well-suited to the combat style. Weak enemies would give you no opportunity for the eye-popping spell combos that make Avencast fun.

Puzzles:

Avencast rewards the thinker too. Fun puzzles abound in the game. Whether it’s learning to walk on water or decoding who killed the fair-maiden, Avencast adds character to the gameplay with unique twists.

Longevity

This is a tough call. We feel like we haven’t given the game enough time to test this metric. It’s immersive but fairly linear. We suspect that big RPG fans will want to play through on tougher levels and find more quests… others will probably really enjoy the ride through and then move on.

Avencast does not offer multiplyer as of this review.

Technical

We mentioned that the graphics in Avencast look a tiny bit dated. They make up for this with awesome lighting effects and strong ambiance from the combination of visuals and sound. The best part of this is that it all runs smoothly. We encountered no glitches or issues during our adventures.

Overall

Avencast is a toss-up. It’s a very well-done game, good (though traditional) story, neat puzzles and fresh control mechanics. However, this could turn some gamers off. We blame the industry for this as genres have become very defined and gamers have gotten used to a stereotype for each genre. Many games that mix or cross genres have failed.

We sincerely hope that this is not the case with Avencast. We feel like Clockstone has taken the best parts of several genres and put them together into a very nice package. If you’re an RPG fan looking for the next good adventure, give Avencast a try!