The name Avernum refers to a series of caves deep below the earths surface. Avernum is used by the Empire as a prison for criminals, unpopular politicians, wizards and people who are just plain weird.

In the first game of the series, you fought the lizard like Sliths, the evil demon lord Grah-Hoth and assasinated the evil Emperor who sent you there. Now in Avernum 2, the Empire has invaded Avernum as revenge for slaying the emperor Hawthorne. You start out in a small outpost in the far northeastern corner of Avernum. There you recieve a mission to kill a Nephilim chieftain who is raiding caravans. From here you must proceed throughout the game encountering the mysterius Vahnati who have set up barriers to trap humanity. You learn that 3 of their crystal souls (Souls of their ancestors taking the form of a crystal) have been stolen by humans. You must then convince them that it was the empire who stole them and return them to gain their trust.

Combat in the game is handled in simplistic turn-based mode, and the gameworld is full of interesting NPCs to talk to, treasures to find, and numerous subquests. The graphics are nice and pleasent to look at. While not "game of the year" material, Avernum 2 is a fun game that is sure to entertain even the most diehard RPGดers. Thumbs up!