Posted March 27, 2009
The creators of Arx Fatalis claim it's a spiritual successor to the Ultima Underworld games, to the point where they even originally planned to call it Ultima Underworld 3 before failing to get the license.
It's mechanics and systems (especially the Rune Magic system) are all very much UU, but it lacks a few things that made that game memorable. It's very linear for a good portion of the game, most of the NPCs are one dimensional, and the world in general lacks the imagination and mystique of the UU games.
That's not to say these things make it a bad game; it's actually quite good, especially in how it caters to different skill sets, it's just that these things were what made UU for some people.
The plot, though rather generic, has a few generally good twists. Each area feels expertly designed, full of secrets, and very much remind me of the levels in the Thief games, another Looking Glass Studios game. As I mentioned previously, it caters well to different play styles. There was one level with enemies I was too weak to take on with straight combat, but I managed to get by with a combination of stealth (a handy skill) and magic. Though there are only a few side-quests, some of them are fantastic. For the most part, it's a very solid and enjoyable dungeon crawler that will keep you up to the early hours of the morning.
There are a few flaws, such as horrible voice acting, difficulty spikes and a few skills require far too much investment before they are of any use (I'm looking at you, lock picking) but the biggest problem is the constant crashes. Apparently GOG are looking into it. Until it's fixed, I don't advise picking it up unless you're extremely patient, or if you have a system where it will not crash as much (I'm on a dual core machine with Vista 32-bit installed). It got to the point where I decided I'd rather just stop playing, despite nearing the end of the game. Add another star if it gets fixed, as it's a damn fun ride when it works.
It's mechanics and systems (especially the Rune Magic system) are all very much UU, but it lacks a few things that made that game memorable. It's very linear for a good portion of the game, most of the NPCs are one dimensional, and the world in general lacks the imagination and mystique of the UU games.
That's not to say these things make it a bad game; it's actually quite good, especially in how it caters to different skill sets, it's just that these things were what made UU for some people.
The plot, though rather generic, has a few generally good twists. Each area feels expertly designed, full of secrets, and very much remind me of the levels in the Thief games, another Looking Glass Studios game. As I mentioned previously, it caters well to different play styles. There was one level with enemies I was too weak to take on with straight combat, but I managed to get by with a combination of stealth (a handy skill) and magic. Though there are only a few side-quests, some of them are fantastic. For the most part, it's a very solid and enjoyable dungeon crawler that will keep you up to the early hours of the morning.
There are a few flaws, such as horrible voice acting, difficulty spikes and a few skills require far too much investment before they are of any use (I'm looking at you, lock picking) but the biggest problem is the constant crashes. Apparently GOG are looking into it. Until it's fixed, I don't advise picking it up unless you're extremely patient, or if you have a system where it will not crash as much (I'm on a dual core machine with Vista 32-bit installed). It got to the point where I decided I'd rather just stop playing, despite nearing the end of the game. Add another star if it gets fixed, as it's a damn fun ride when it works.
