Rating:4.4

Comments:This is quite an epic here; the layout was tight, the opponents' level and arrangement were challenging and exciting, but most of all the storytelling was FANTASTIC. Overall there was well balanced gameplay and a compelling plotline. There were just a few things that would keep me from wanting to play this again.

The cutscenes were done professionally well, and showed a lot of effort and care. But they appeared so often and lasted so long that even though they got better and better, I appreciated them less and less. The engine just doesn't support this kind of lengthy exposition; no matter how well you do them, they just aren't ever going to be that great. If you reveal the plot piecemeal, as a result of the player's actions and investigations, then it comes out interactively and maintains more interest than a slideshow presentation.

The way the plot funneled the party forward was unnecessarily heavy-handed and didn't give much opportunity to retrieve cached goods and loot before driving to the next area. There are a lot of goodies to fill your inventory and few merchants to unload them on; having your supply line cut is more frustrating than rewarding. Besides, there's enough incentive to forge new territory without the need to restrict cleared areas.

Rating:4.90

Comments:All I can say is: Wow.

Bahssikava is definitely the best scenario I've played so far (and I've played almost all of the scenarios in existence, which at this point includes all the scenarios that came with BoA as well as A Perfect Forest, Babysitting, Backwater Calls, Canopy: Manufactured Womb, Cave of No Return, Emerald Mountain, Roses of Reckoning, and Xerch'de.)

There were many interesting twists on combat, including enemies that fly over chasms, an area where one of your own party members attacks you, and a much greater use of special abilities than most other scenarios (such as golems equipped with sleep rays, undead with paralysis attacks, and some creatures that explode.)

In addition, the storyline behind Bahssikava is much more developed than any other storyline so far, including the ones that came with BoA. By building on the Avernum trilogy storyline, Bahssikava gets around what so far has been BoA's greatest deficiency relative to the previous Avernum games.

There are only a couple of small problems with Bahssikava. First, there is nothing to spend money on, except for a few thousand gold worth of spells. I entered Bahssikava with almost no money and left with the maximum 30,000 gold as well as items that I could sell for another 30,000. Unfortunately, considering the scenario, it would be unrealistic to have a master mage/priest/skill trainer who could provide services worth all of that gold. Second, this scenario is very, very difficult. It says level 35-45, but my whole party was over level 40 when I entered and over level 60 when I finished, and yet parts of the scenario were so difficult that I had to save and load many times. (To be fair, I was playing on Torment difficulty.) The final boss was especially difficult, although I suppose final bosses are supposed to be. You have been warned.

Other than that, this is an excellent scenario. I definitely recommend playing it.

Rating:4.00

Comments: Out of the scenairos that haven't been reviewed, Bahssikava feels real close to the Avernum storyline (a lot of A1 connection with the towns & names of certain characters) and was the most deep plot-wise. The part where you take damage from an unknown force adds a unique challenge to this scenairo as I haven't experinced anything that strange before. The Prophet reminds me of some holy person that is trying to save his people, yet this Prophet can't be compared to a Jesus or a Moses as he's his own character. Playing this scenairo was enjoyable and fun to me as it reminded me of the Slith quest you had to do in Avernum 1, so it was a good flashback to come back to. I also like the fact that if you choose a certain amount of party members to bring along or have different races, you get different conversation responses from the Sliths. I kind of think of Bahssikava as an extention mini quest of the Avernum trilogy, yet the scenairo as a whole followed along with t he Slith history quite accurately. I'd recommend anyone to play Bahssikava, if they're up to the challenge and want a trip down memory lane in the mystery behind the lost homeland of the Sliths.

Comments:This is one of the best scenarios I have played. It was designed by someone who has played the Avernum trilogy and this story is a flawless continuation of the earlier Avernum stories. This is a story driven scenario and one of the best and worst parts of it are the many cut scenes. Some of them may seem a little long, but I found that overall it was worth it and it made the scenario that much better.

The battles are very challenging and my level 53 players required the character editor a number of times, mainly because I found very few energy elixers and many of the encounters required a lot of magic to win and I didn't want to have to trek all the way out of the dungeon to camp every encounter.

I especially like the puzzles that I found in various places, especially the energy beams.So far this has been my favorite scenario, bar none. I especially like the fact that it allowed my characters to be heroes and that I was doing more than just running around and looking for non-humans to kill.

My characters gained about 8 levels within the scenario and I think they would still be challenged if they went through again.

Rating:4.5

Comments:The plot begins following the Avernum series. It is true to the spirit and stories of the originals.

It is huge. I would say it is comparable to one of the Avernum series. The story is well thought out and well put together. There is a lot of attention to detail. The cut scenes are very extensive and well done. To some tastes they may be too long and too frequent.

The puzzles are pretty good. None are super difficult, but there is some challenge. They don't usually become tedious.

The combats are very difficult for a level 40 party, in my opinion. You will probably need to try many of them a few times. There are a few tricks, but those are pretty much suggested explicitly by game text. There is a hint file that I didn't need until the last combat, where it had no hints, and that I haven't really evaluated.

(slight spoilers follow)

There are quite a few small locations that are not necessary to the main quest but are there for the thorough adventurer. There is a major side quest, which I didn't realize was a side quest until it was finished and the game text told me so. It had a decision point at which I thought at the time the only reasonable answer was yes. But most people would want to do the quest anyhow.

The only flaw I noticed in the story line was in the location of the side quest. It was past the "steel doors" but some of the text seemed to assume it was not past them.

You are given a super-warrior 5th member, but if you use what I have found to be most effective, going into fight mode outside the rooms, she frequently ignores the fact that you are getting beat up inside. You have to manuver around before entering fight mode to make sure she sees the enemy.

I think the final combat is absolutely impossible without major cheating. Maybe I missed something, but a cursory look over the game files didn't reveal a trick. The helpers that you collect don't contribute much, they just die. That was kind of a disappointing ending to an otherwise truly excellent scenario.

Rating:4.00

Comments:A scenario with a lot of promise. Starts out decently, but the combat becomes repetative and boring. I can say there was little interest for me later on. However, the eloquently written dialogue is impressive and the first major fight was awesome.

Well done!

The scenario contains only one outdoor section, but it consists of about 8 squares. Everything in the scenario takes place in the dungeons/towns.

Story: 5.0
The story is a continuation from earlier Avernum games, about the home of the Slith. People who did not play the original Avernum/Exile games will still enjoy the story. There are many cutscenes which help the story progress. While I do not want to ruin the story for anyone, the empire plays a rather minor role...mainly you explore and discover thier dead bodies, none of the "free us from the empire" of other scenarios
I give this a 5 because it is one of the few scenarios that plays differently (somewhat) depending on your party configuration

Challenge: 4.8
This scenario is difficult, and not just because you face many monsters, but because of altered monsters that force you to use tactics other than hack and slice. Some monsters are immune to physical, which would be easy enough to handle if it wasn't for the antimagic monsters that prevent spells. There is one part where your party leader becomes possesed until you figure out how to release him. Unfortunately, the final boss is a a bit too hard...I had to set the game to "normal" just to beat him...also there seems to be a lack of energy potions...
The energy beam/mirror puzzle was a nice relief from the monsters too...

Cutscenes: 4.6
While the cutscenes are great, and there are many of them, there just might be too many...

Sidequests: 4.8
While there is only one (major) sidequest, it is a very challenging and fun sidequest

Extra Characters: 5.0
There are two extra characters, but you get them depending on your party configuration (how many people you have, and how many are slith). The extra character that I got with the 4 member 1 slith party was the barbarian woman. I give her a 5.0, because this one was actually useful due to her hp and power, although she suffers the same problem with EVERY extra character...bad AI, cant control directly, have to use mass heal to heal...

Loot: 5.0
Plenty of nice items for any party, although there is only one person you can sell to...

Reviewers tilt: 5.0
While there might be some flaws, the way the scenario was put together I had to rate this one higher...