I was just browsing through GG´s offers and Avencast looks quite promising. Has anyone here played it? How does it feel and to what game can it be compared? Is it worth the purchase? Thanks in advance!

Sorry - Have not played it yet but there is a demo - Gamespot off the top of my head and I am sure elsewhere.

I second this post, I too would like to know what people have thought of this game, keep looking at it but never sure enough...

Thanks, will check out the demo.

It's been a while now, but I did like it quite a lot. It had a very innovative and unique spellcasting/combat system, so it doesn't play like any other action/rpg I've ever played. It also had some real adventure game-like puzzles, which was pretty neat. The graphics were pleasant too, but again, it's been a while.

I also seem to remember that the first hour or so was fairly boring compared to the rest of the game. So don't trust the first impressions too much.

I played it, though I haven't finished it.

It's a relatively standard hack&slash, apart from the fact that you can only play as a mage, though you have a choice between the standard "glass cannon" stuff and a more fighter-oriented skillset.
The controls are slightly different, with more player skill involved, like manual dodging. It's also more difficult than games like Diablo or Titan Quest.

Overall, it's a good game if you like hack&slash games like Diablo or Torchlight. if you don't, you should stay away.

I would say that it's inspired by the 3D Zelda games.

I liked it more than Neverwinter Nights 1, which to me it bears the closest resemblance. It's a lot more focussed than NWN, dealing only with the mage class. But then NWN's many pointless character options were part of the problem with it as far as I was concerned. That said, I personally thought that Avencast did suffer uneven difficulty in what I've played of it so far.

Damn, Navagon, now you've got me interested in the game! Better than a Bioware game, you say?

Better than what I'd consider to be Bioware's only misstep, yes. It's a lot more focussed, which compared to NWN is a notable advantage. I still haven't completed it mind. But what I have played is certainly promising.

Some impressions (picked it up over the crimbo sales, just installed it, played it for 30 mins or so):

A quite nice action hack'n'slash, seemed to have an interesting magic system: either you can develop melee focused magic (i.e. magic attacks through melee) or ranged magic (or both). All the magic is executed through key and mouse click combinations i.e. the starting magic melee attack is D,W, left click. All rather neat, fairly unique

The game kind of reminds me of Sacred 2, although strangely that did not float my boat whereas this one kinda does on the basis of the first half an hour.

Just be warned: the dialogue is silly. It's not taking itself seriously, but I did not find it funny. I was relieved to find it did not seem to be suffering from translatitus, although they had apparently hired drama school rejects to voice the characters.

Graphically, its all neat and tidy. Nothing spectacular, nothing horrifying.

In spite of myself, I found there to be alot to like from what little I have played.

Nice summary. My impressions are very much the same (apart from the Sacred 2 comparison as I have not played it).

I played it over a weekend and finished it in a go without playing anything else inbetween, which is the first time I've ever done that. I loved it a lot. Hang on a second.

My review in full.

I'm afraid I descend into hyperbole in a few spots in the review, but I still stand by it, despite the rude mock-review below mine.

TL:DR -> Buy it.

Bought it because of you. Hope it is good.

Wouldn't recommend it otherwise. Best spellcasting system (no, best skill system) I've seen in any CRPG, ever.