Abaddon

The Good
The game has a sense of humor which is demonstrated with a few clever interactions in the beginning of the game. Gerard wrote his own engine instead of using RPG Maker 2000, so the size of the game is small. The interface works smoothly and with some minor exceptions is intuitive to use. The idea of a post-apocalyptic setting for an RPG is a good one, but ...

The Bad
... the settings as established by the "borrowed" graphics look like something from SNES Final Fantasy rather than lend itself to the feeling of a not so distant future where society has crumbled into ruin. For example, when you step out of the town the surrounding area is filled with green forests. The tiles ripped from other games look nice of course, but the graphics unique to this game look bland.

The music in the game is highly repetitive and is also "borrowed" from early 90's demo groups like Future Crew; after about 10 minutes I was happy to see that the music could be turned off.

All of this can be overlooked since we all know that game mechanics and balance of design are what can keep us hooked, and that is exactly where Abaddon kills itself. Quite simply the enemies are too difficult, even at the beginning of the game. Most battles were over after being hit twice. The player has to stay close to the city, and run away from most of the fights. For the sake of healing to stay alive, one runs out of magic points and money very quickly, so death occurs often. Even when you do win battles the rewards are not enough. Furthermore it takes a LONG time to level up, the effort just isn't worth it. It's not like there is some cleverly hidden pathway through the challenges in the beginning of the game, because I say all this having found a secret that should have given me some advantages. I really wanted to like this game, but after having reloaded the game more than 20 times in less than 10 minutes, it was time to delete this and return to playing NetHack.

The Bottom Line
This is a fan-made game, so it may seem this review is harsh, but having seen that the designer reviewed his own game and gave it a glowing review, I felt this review had to be done.

Unless you want to play an unbalanced game with little to no satisfaction, it is recommended that this version of Abaddon be forgotten.

The Good
Note: this is a review by the author of the game

Another solid entrant to the relative obscure world of fanmade RPGs, Abaddon is a fun anime-style, top-down RPG similar to console hits such as Dragon Warrior, with many notable differences. In contrast to the cliché fantasy world in which you are hero who must fight evil/save the world/rescue princess, Abaddon is set in a post-apocalyptic world. You are Duke Gilead, an aging, egomaniacal despot who is trying to find the secret to immortality to avert imminent death. The world of Abaddon is probably best described as a “futuristic dystopia” not dissimilar to Interplay’s classic Wasteland. The controls are simple to learn: everything can be done with the keyboard, from conversing with NPCs, choosing attack options during battles, and moving the Duke around. Abaddon uses the traditional, but hugely entertaining, branching approach to dialog and events, where you're given a number of options for each action. This helps make the game open-ended enough that you can replay it later to see what a different choice would bring. As in traditional console RPGs, you will need to defeat monsters to advance in levels, and collect coins and other items to prepare for tougher battles. The graphics are crisp and clear in VGA, with very good details, particularly of run-down buildings.

The Bad
Although most monsters are derivative of other RPGs, there is a few—most notably robotic kinds—that deserve high marks for originality as well as challenge.

The Bottom Line
In summary, Abaddon is one of the best games so far to have come out of the amateur RPG community. The designer’s stated goal for the game was “... to capture what made [the tabletop RPG Gamma World, the excellent CRPG Wasteland, and the amazing Anime of Battle Angel Alita and Akira] so unique and the fun of ploughing through the ruins of the ancients with a chainsword in one hand and a garbage can lid as a shield in the other :).” While his ideals may be too lofty, Abaddon is an admirable attempt, one that should please fans of post-apocalyptic games and Zelda-style games alike. Recommended!