Avencast: Rise of the Mage Review
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I most enjoyed the puzzle solving which had me thinking throughout the game. The graphics and spell effects were great, and story line was true to form for a classic high-fantasy RPG. Swarms of monsters are my favorite as nothing is so boring as section after section of empty scenery in an RPG. Action was very fluid and I never noticed any bugs. The way the boss monsters appeared at times made me jump as they weren't the usual I'm-standing-around-waiting-for-you-to-attack style that I've been sorely put to play in other games.
Some of the sections in which boss monsters crop up can be another cause for frustration. This and the lower-level monsters would try to avoid your attacks if possible. This brought up interesting possibilities of where they would hide behind gates and walls which would require you to flush them out. As your mage is low in levels at the beginning, it's a matter of deciding to duke it out or run. I had to save lots of times and I do mean lots as death means the end of the game. Working your way to an important part and not saving caused needless pounding of the table as I had to redo everything from the last save.
