Arcanum: of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
Rating:  -
I'm a fan of PC RPGs, and when I heard this one was made by programmers who previously made the great Fallout/Fallout 2 games, I figured I would check it out. It's a few years old now, but is just as good as I'd hoped. The only thing that feels a bit dated about the game are the graphics, which isn't too surprising..they're in the same isometric view as the Fallout games, and the resolution is sub-Diablo II. Nonetheless, they're good enough, and the game play dynamics are awesome.
One of the great features of the Fallout games was that your character was initially class-less; you could emphasize whatever skills you felt like without getting bogged down in 'Fighter' or 'Mage' or whatever other categories some games bind you to. Arcanum keeps this great feature, but also expands it by adding Technology skills. As the title of the game suggests, the setting involves a world where magic is now forced to share space with crude but advancing technology. The classic elven magic user now has to worry about a magic-resistant dwarf who might be packing a crude automatic rifle and a protective cast-iron robot spider. Arcanum allows you to pick and choose from all sorts of skill categories, including combat, thieving, magic, technology, and various social skills. To be successful you tend to have to pick a few areas and concentrate, but even lower level skills can be worth picking up on the cheap..both the Magic and Technology areas are vast and have plenty of good low-level abilities you can take without committing your character forever to that one area. The Technology skills also require physical components (springs, metal plates, etc.) and you can even purchase or discover schematics for new technologies as the game advances, which are in addition to those you can earn in the regular technology tree.
Another great aspect of Arcanum is that the land is simply vast. You can stroll about it in real time, or use a world map feature to travel between various points. According to the FAQ, the world itself is a giant realm about 3000 by 3000 areas..pretending it were empty of the many secret areas or encounters you run into, it would still take your character about *35* hours to walk across it if you didn't use the world map. That, my friends, is a *big* game.
Arcanum has all the other trappings of a great RPG..it has lots of equipment and goodies to find, interesting areas to explore, and a fun sense of humor. One of the best aspects, and the rarest, is the fact that an evil character can also do well. Some stores exist only for evil characters, and many 'evil' dialogue options (such as threatening people or otherwise acting cruel) actually result in compliance rather than a fight involving the entire town. So if you've ever gotten sick of some weaselly town constable or farmer giving your 30th level claymore-wielding half-ogre a hard time, now you can actually do something about it that makes sense. I intentionally used a cursed helmet to give my latest character a -100 alignment (the lowest/evilest) from the start, because it had other beneficial effects, and it hasn't slowed him down at all. That means that the dialogue options are actually *options*, rather than being the obvious good/proper choice surrounded by a bunch of obviously suicidal choices added just in case you click there by accident.
In short, Arcanum has aged well and offers a very large and detailed world for folks to explore. The replayability seems almost limitless, which is why it still seems popular after several years of release.
Rating: -
I bought this game a month back, i had a feeling that am i getting the right RPG i'm looking for, amazingly the answer is yes!.
My first RPG was Diablo II, when i finished playing it, i thought this would be the best RPG, then i played Baldurs gate II, Revenant, wizard and warriors, Dungeon Seige. At the end Baldurs gate II, was still left in my mind as the best game.
All my old RPG's where erased from my mind after i brought Arcanum into my house. so every body can ask what so special about this game? the answer is here,
* This game is a balance between Magick and Technology, you can choose your charecter as a Pure magician, Technologist, a pure fighter, Thief, a Ugly charter, a charismatic charecter and much more. what's so special here is that, the world reacts to you differently depending on your charecter, for instance, if you are ugly and intelligent people will talk to you and can fetch quests, but if you are beautiful and dumb, you will be missing a lots of quests and people will not be even bothered to talk to you.
*One more best part of the game is, unlike other RPG's, no chareter is pre-defined as Thief, bard, socceress etc. You can customize your chareter of your own, with basic eight charecter points which includes Dexterity, Strength, Constitution, beauty, Intelligence, willpower, Charisma and perception.
*You can complete the game as a good or evil, the world will react to you differently on both the cases. Sometimes we dont know wheather we are good or evil, to avoid this, there is a meter which can measure good and evil. This is very cool and each time when you complete a quest you will be tempted to see the meter.
*And finally, the graphics is good and not the best when compared with current standards. Music is very calm and gentle and it goes well with the game.
I'm writing this review, after i finished playing this game as a fighter. My experience with the whole game was full of fun and enjoyable. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes to play a true and indepth RPG.
Rating: -
Arcanum is near perfect for what it is. When you consider the cast and crew that placed their souls into creating a game such as this, you cannot help but be floored (if you are an old school gamer who remembers the days of Fallout 1 and 2). If you don't know those days, then pick up a copy of Arcanum, and take it for a drive. But be warned: You won't put it down.
Arcanum is a truly classless game, unlike many others that claim to be. You design your character. From race, to birth defects, to past experiences. Everything. It is even possible to make it through this monolithic game without interacting in battle, granted this takes more time than even most completionists would choose to invest. Picking up where other games have failed, Arcanum mixes both Technology and Magik. But, unlike other games, they succeed.
There are upwards of 20 branches of magic, and no, they're not all "Harm" with a different name. Each branch has great additions to it. I mean, "haste" is your first spell in the Time Magic slot...Can't beat that with a stick. From simple spells that turn you invisible, to Disintigrate which wipes out everything around you, this game offers more than I'd seen in the ways of magic (at least in a non Baldur's Gate game.)
Now, to the nuts and bolts (literally) of technology. It's not easy being a gunsmith. In fact, it's a down right pain in the ass! But it's such a rewarding pain in the ass. To watch your character take aim with a shotgun or repeating rifle is just incomparable. Or, how about that Elephant gun? If you don't want guns, there's always "physical stimulants", Poison compound bows, metal arachnids that each serve a purpose. This game is limitless. And one of the best parts? You may buy and find "Schematics" that enable you to learn designs you wouldn't otherwise.
Arcanum is a truly interactive environment. I mean, say you want to make a Molotov Cocktail. You must go to the poor section of town to find the broken bottle and rags, as they won't exactly be lying around a Mansion. The voice acting is done well, I enjoyed it, even the annoying Virgil. There are numerous party members you may add, each with something to offer. Be it Virgil, the very helpful healer, or the Ogre, whose pure brute strength can only be surpassed by your character, if you so choose.
I mentioned classless. Well, it is. There aren't classes. Sure, you can tell the game to automatically build you a character from a list of preset options (and there's a good amount of those), or choose to do it yourself. Do you enjoy being a thief? Go at it. Nothing more satisfying than stealing from a shopkeep's chest and selling it to someone else. Granted, they're harder to play at firs, but done correctly, there's limitless fun to be had.
Areas for the game? There are too many to count. Go to your local bookstore and look at a guide for Arcanum, then look at the map. Enough said.
I loved the graphics in this game, and still compare them to most everything else. Sure, the loading times can be a pain in the butt, but only on a slow machine.
Fate points were a wonderful addition. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 exist, and they allow you to abuse the "critical" concept. Do you just have to have that sword the shopkeeper has, but keep failing to steal it? Click "Next steal is critical." on a fate point and boom, it's gone, and you've more than likely got that sword. They're not easy to find, mind you, and generally require rather insane tasks. But, I'll let you find those out for yourself.
If you are an RPG fan, you must play this. Even if you've only played the Final Fantasy games (like far too many have), you need to try this. I'm not saying the game doesn't have it's flaws (level cap, damnit!), but it's as damn close to perfect as you're going to get. I've replayed this game far too many times to remember. I love it. Should you be a fan of the oldschool games (Fallout 1 and 2, Throne of Darkness), pick this up. It's not as hack and slash and pointless as Diablo 1/2 are, thank god. If you've tried their newer release (Temple of Elemental Evil), in my opinion this game is better, because of the lack of bugs if nothing else, not to say that ToEE isn't great; it is.
Please, try this game.
Rating: -
When I first was told to buy Arcanum, I hesitated. It looked good, but I just wasn't sure. When the price dropped to twenty bucks though, I just couldn't hold off any longer. I bought it, and lost many hours of my life along with it. I just couldn't stop playing it. The steam and technology aspect of the game was so refreshing and the story wasn't that bad either. The progression of the characters through the degree track was annoying at first, but very fun and interesting as progression peaked. I strongly suggest that everyone who puts stock in RPG's give Arcanum a fair go.
Rating: -
I found the name of this game in the forum of a competing game and being an RPG junkie I thought I would give it a try. WOW. If you buy this game, get ready to play an RPG that gives you TRUE options in character creation and growth. The combinations for character development are literally endless. Be a mage that uses an elephant gun for a weapon, or a techie that makes all of their own armor and weapons. Warning: If you buy this game you really do need the strategy guide (included!). My only small complaint about the game is that you are never sure what to do next. In other words, clues to the next quest are far and few between. Even talking to everyone you see sometimes does not reveal the next step in the story. Sometimes you have to just wander over the HUGE landscape to find places and clues. I am on my second time through, and plan on playing again as soon as I'm done. In summary, if you like an RPG that has a good balance of combat, problem & puzzle solving, and TONS of dialogue options, you will find something you like about Arcanum. And for 20 dollars you can hardly affor NOT to add this to your collection. Oh, and this game works fine with Windows XP. It doesn't say that in the description, but it was made after XP was realeased so it is compatable. Have FUN!
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