Spiderweb Software has announced the next installment of their outstanding RPG series, Avernum. The company will be releasing Avernum 3 in the fall, and has posted a wealth of information on its Web site. From Spiderweb Software:
Spiderweb Software, a maker of fantasy role-playing games for Windows and Macintosh, announces the upcoming release of Avernum 3, the final game in the Avernum trilogy. Avernum 3 features an enormous scenario, with well over 100 towns, villages and dungeons. There is a fascinating story and a dynamic world which changes according to the actions of the player. Refugees move from town to town. People die. If nothing is done, cities will crumble into dust.
Avernum was a prison, an enormous warren of tunnels and caverns, far below the surface world. The surface is ruled by the Empire, the all-powerful masters of the known world. Misfits, petty criminals, and those with the wrong opinions were sent into Avernum for the rest of their lives. At least, thatis what used to happen.
Then the Avernites assassinated the leader of the Empire and spent years fighting off the brutal invasion of the surface tyrants. The Avernite rebels won. Now, at last, they are beginning their campaign to leave their caves and return to the surface.
You are the scouts. You will be the first envoys to the surface. However, instead of the sunlit paradise you dreamed of, you will find a world ravaged by mysterious plagues and hordes of bizarre monsters. Soon, the Empire will ask you to help solve the problem. Your enemies will become your allies as you race to find the source of the destruction.
Fail, and your people will never return to the surface. There will be nothing left to return to.
Avernum 3 is a massive and open-ended game. You can save the world or work as a merchant. You can buy a house or go on one of many side adventures. You can hurry to save the cities, or sit back and watch them crumble. Whatever you choose, Avernum 3 promises a massive and engaging adventure which will gladly absorb all the hours you can spare.
Experience with Avernum or Avernum 2 is completely unnecessary to enjoy Avernum 3. Minimum system requirements: 120 MHz Windows 95 or later or PowerPC Macintosh, 12 MB free RAM, 20 MB hard drive space, 800x600 screen resolution, 16 bit color.
Avernum 3 will be priced at US$25 (US$32 with a hint book). Mac users will be able to enjoy it in the Spring of 2002, and Windows users will get it a few months later. You can find more information on Avernum 3 at the Avernum Web site.
