Ah...yes...the gameplay. The thing that makes or breaks a game. When I started
Siege of Avalon, I was expecting an epic quest, an open-ended gameplay experience, and a great story, similar to the Infinity Engine games. What I got was a fashion simulator...and here's why.
The game promises a story that would rival those of novels. It says on the box 'Played any good books lately?' This comment was very promising. I figured that I would get a great experience that would rival that of a great book. I thought that it was a good thing. I was wrong. It turned out that the game was so story driven that the designers obviously didn't think of any other ways that the story could go. No multiple paths...no completing quests out of order. The game was so absolutely linear that I found myself screaming at my monitor! Why did I have to go kill rats in a kitchen before I save my captured brother? Let me give you another example of the sheer horrendousness of the linearity. I go off and find myself running around a wrecked village looking for my lost brother. I figured that my brother was caught behind a boulder wedged into a tunnel in the house. Before I could move the boulder, however, I had to do every side quest in the first chapter!! Frustrating? Extremely. Once I found out where my brother was, all I wanted to do was find a way move the boulder. Alas, there is no way for your measly character to blow up the boulder with a fireball, or move it with your immense strength, or find an alternate route into the cavern. You are stuck killing rats and doing other various menial tasks. Once you're done, magically an Ogre decides to go into the cave and move the boulder for you. YIPPEE.
Your NPC's that can accompany you have no personality whatsoever. They are used like pack mules and shields. There are only 3 classes to choose from and you can only be a male character. The '3-D' map is nothing more than a horrid excuse for a map. There are no markers signifying importance, you can put no markers signifying importance, the whole map is yellow, and buildings, walls, trees, etc. aren't distinguishable. Imagine my horror when I got to the end of Chapter One and the characters state, 'Go to your room'. I ran around the rat-maze castle for what seemed like days, using nothing to guide me but the abstract directions of the NPC's and the worst map ever. Finally, after traversing the same areas over and over again, I found out why I couldn't find my room. I DIDN'T HAVE ONE!!! Your character is supposed to go into the inner courtyard for the second chapter to begin. The only enjoyment I got from the game was when I could dress up my character in various clothes and then see them in the 2D model. Hence, why I ended up with a 'Fashion simulator'. This would be good for a Barbie game...but not for a CRPG.
