Organization: Spiderweb Software

Usually when something is named "The Black Fortress," it's the place where the bad guys hang out practicing their evil cackles. Not so in the world of Avadon, where it once was the symbol of order and justice. That's changed in Avadon 2: The Corruption, a retro-styled RPG that offers you a choice: either rally people around the old ways in the face of dangerous new threats, or add to the chaos that threatens to overrun everything. Either way, hours of fun await you.Playing the first game isn't a prerequisite for getting into the sequel, which summarizes the partial fall of Avadon in the introduction before throwing you into the quick character creation - just pick one of five classes, a gender, and a name, and away you go - and introducing you to a scout who shows you the ropes. Life isn't easy in this particular fantasy setting, what with dangerous wildlife, magic-powered mines, and a budding rebellion consisting of humans, ogres, and titans."To make matters worse, the relationship between Avadon, led by the mysterious Redbeard, and the people it claims to protect is clearly strained. The citizens seem resentful of the Black Fortress' influence even as they rely upon its power to hold off the approaching darkness, especially the magical Corruption that is running big chunks of land. Some of Avadon's hands have been conscripted to serve against their will, and the game asks some very modern questions about how much liberty is worth giving up in exchange for relative safety.