Gert Lush Gaming

Review: Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues (Steam)

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Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is a multiplayer fantasy RPG and the spiritual successor to Richard Garriott’s wildly successful Ultima and Ultima Online games.

Pros:

  • Ok graphics.
  • 8400MB Download size.
  • Steam achievements.
  • Graphics options- Fullscreen, AA, Depth of field, Cloth simulation.
  • Online/offline worlds.
  • Matchmaking- Open, Party or private.
  • Opening tutorial section with pop ups later on.
  • Deep charcter creator.
  • Can customise the UI.
  • Keybinding is possible.
  • Decent soundtrack.
  • Frequent events and double EXP activities.
  • RPG gameplay.
  • A spiritual successor to the Ultima games.
  • Trading cards.
  • All the features of an MMO without a subscription.
  • New content released monthly.
  • Buy land and houses to store your goods.
  • Classless player where you can create your own class as it were and tweak away.
  • IAP are tradable.
  • Has PVP combat.
  • Full deep crafting table.
  • Plenty of loot.
  • Huge world full of many varied biomes and worlds.
  • A wide variety of enemies/creatures.
  • Very old school feel in its approach and appearance.
  • lots of sidequests and a management system in place.
  • Easy enough to get into and play.

Cons:

  • Huge frequent updates which are always a few gigs at least.
  • Long loading times.
  • Clipping issues.
  • Combat is clumsy and not that fun.
  • Stops responding issues.
  • Feels like a game still in development.
  • Huge learning curve.
  • Housing is very costly and takes a long time to actually buy.
  • The slowdown in built-up areas.
  • Small online numbers.
  • Little voice acting.
  • Easy to rack up 100s of sidequests.
  • In-app purchases.
  • Steam actually patches the game slower than the standalone client.
  • A lot of ugly textures.

The Numbers:
  • 7/10
    Graphics - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Sound - 7/10
  • 6/10
    Accessability - 6/10
  • 7/10
    Length - 7/10
  • 7/10
    Fun Factor - 7/10
6.8/10

Summary

Ok so I went in expecting a nice RPG game that stinks or retro goodness, What I got were a game that felt unfinished, A lot of ugly textures and eye aching pop-ups. Not to mention every few days I get a few gigs to update the game, It really began to irk. Anyway, I found Avatar to be old feeling in its approach but more antique than retro and more obtuse than open. You can get a lot of hours out of this game as they do nail the MMO feel and content, whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you. In short, its has many flaws but it could at any point break into a must own title. Best to wait for now.

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Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!

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