The Drunken Lizard Pub

Do I need to play Book 1 to enjoy Book 2?

It seems unlikely - different main character, different setting, and the ending of Book I is pretty much overwritten by the beginning of the introduction when it says "Thaermore has fallen".

Of course, you'll find yourself playing Book I after you finish Book II and realize it's the only way you'll get a fix during the long years before Book III comes out

Pretty sure it's the same main character as in Book I but the events are happening several years later such that the character's skills have rusted and your need to relearn them again.

But even so you won't need to play Book I to enjoy Book II, having not played Book II yet I'm not sure about this but I'd imagine that there are some minor references of things in Book II that occurred in Book I but not anything that would make the game incomprehensible without playing Book I.

Still, I'd suggest that you'd enjoy Book II more if you would have already played Book I simply because then you can see where Book II has made improvements.

You don't *need* to, but Book 1 is great. It won an award for Indy Game of Year. You also have a few weeks until Book II is released, so again, YES, I recommend playing Book I to whet your appetite for Book II.

-->> Lhoric

I think it kind of depends on your personality type. There are not any major changes to the engine BW created for Book 1 in the upcoming game. So, if you choose to go back and play Book 1 after Book 2, you won't feel that you are looking at something primitive.

That said, I started the Avernum series with number 6, then went back to play number 5, and I kind of wish I had done it the other way around.

Personal advice - since we still have a couple of weeks before Book 2 comes out, I would recommend having a ball playing Book 1 first.

Gwendo wrote:Do I need to play Book 1 to enjoy Book 2?

It depends, but Book I can be played through in as little as 20 hours or less if you know what you're doing (though the first playthrough might be more like 30 hours of gametime, if you enjoy putzing around in your first playthrough...). So I advise taking a stab at the Book I demo at least, just to see if you want to play through Book I first. Book II will be more advanced game-engine than Book I, so it won't be totally the same experience, but it'll help you get a feel for the series.

But, YMMV.

After seeing the flaws of Book 1 you will really appreciate Book 2. Going backwards will be somewhat depressing because so much has been added to Book 2 that players wanted in Book 1.

You don't have to play 1 before 2 but it does help in the background and enjoyment of the continuing story. Book II is much larger and longer to play than the first one. You'll enjoy it by itself. You can play a male OR Female this time around whereas in book 1 you could only play male. From my point of view playing female is a plus.

Dragonlady wrote:You don't have to play 1 before 2 but it does help in the background and enjoyment of the continuing story. Book II is much larger and longer to play than the first one. You'll enjoy it by itself. You can play a male OR Female this time around whereas in book 1 you could only play male. From my point of view playing female is a plus.

Yes, forcing you to play male must have really put the drag in Dragonlady.

Kreador Freeaxe wrote:

Dragonlady wrote:You don't have to play 1 before 2 but it does help in the background and enjoyment of the continuing story. Book II is much larger and longer to play than the first one. You'll enjoy it by itself. You can play a male OR Female this time around whereas in book 1 you could only play male. From my point of view playing female is a plus.

Yes, forcing you to play male must have really put the drag in Dragonlady.

It's a good thing for you I'd just finished my drink. Otherwise I'd have snorted it all over my keyboard!

I should have put a "swallow first" warning on that, yes. Glad that you did anyway.