New release: Avernum 2: Crystal Souls

Word reaches me that Spiderweb Software has released a spiffied-up remake of the classic wRPG Avernum 2, titled Avernum 2: Crystal Souls.

The narrative premise:

The end has come. Years ago, your people were imprisoned in the underworld, doomed to end their lives in the darkness. Then that was not enough. Your captors have invaded your caves, determined to kill you all. They are winning the war.

All known lands are commanded by the Empire, the eternal power that controls the known world. Everyone who spoke out, who misbehaved, who didn’t fit in was cast into the dark, volcanic pits of Avernum, far below the surface. There, these exiles survived, gained power, and struck back. They assassinated the lord of the Empire.

Now the Empire will have revenge. They have invaded Avernum, taking cave after cave, destroying your people. Your land needs a hero, and it needs it now. If you can’t find a way to stop them, and soon, you are all doomed.

The Avernum series is turn-based, party-based, and employs a 2D isometric presentation. As you can see, the game now looks much nicer than it did in its incarnation from 15 years ago:

The feature list:

• Epic fantasy adventure with over 40 hours of gameplay.
• An enormous underworld, with multiple nations and alien cultures.
• Over 100 towns and dungeons.
• Three separate game-winning quests. There are many ways to fight the invaders. Do just one of them or all three!
• Unique races and settings make Avernum different from any adventure out there.
• Dozens of side quests and hundreds of magical artifacts.
• Rich game system with over 60 spells and battle disciplines and a multitude of beneficial character traits to choose from.

You can download a free demo of Avernum 2: Crystal Souls for Windows or Mac. The full game will run you $19.99; you can nab it from GOG, The Humble Store, or Steam. Vogel writes that he plans to port the game to iPad as well.