Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Arcanum is actually the game that got me hooked on Steampunk. I didn't buy it 'new', I think I got it in .. '02 or '03 in a double pack with another long since forgotten Sierra title. As other have said, like all Troika games, Arcanum was buggy. But it was an incredibly awesome game, that drops you in to this world and gives you a quest to do.. or completely ignore and go meandering off and killing things and helping, or screwing over, the townsfolk. Pretty much everyone in the game is mortal. Even plot important NPCs. You could find 'the boy' and put a bullet in his head if you felt like it. Every action though had consequences.. and of course your alignment played a major role in the game. One of the things though that I have longed for another game to do well was the magic/tech axis. It wasn't just a stat that determined what equipment you could use.. it was a multi-faceted stat that effected how effective you were with an item, how likely you were to critical fumble with it, how good of bonuses it provided.. and even how magic or tech would effect you. (Granted, it wasn't the most balanced system.) The gameplay was something like Fallout, only with the option of real-time combat. Though there was a certain amount of disparity in the balance of power between those two options, depending on what 'class' you're playing. To me, Arcanum's biggest fault was the leveling speed was .... off kilter in some cases. It's easily possible to hit the games cap halfway through the plot, and while there is a level cap remover.. if you thought it was maybe a little too easy before, post 50 it just gets too easy. R.I.P. Troika.

...if u haven't played Arcanum,Fallout,Planescape Torment you haven't played an real RPG at all. Master pieces of storytelling and game play on the p.c.

This is not a good game. It is a great story. If you can stomach the poor gameplay, you will be rewarded with a unique realm- shaped by a story equipped with a plethora of decisions and moral consequences. I would suggest that you purchase this at a sale price and explore the game's charms, until your curiosity is piqued.

I had gotten this game years ago and I couldn't get it to run on my computer at the time. A while later, I came across my disks when I had a new computer and decided I'd install and give it a whirl. Now, almost a decade later I'm going to delve into the world of Arcanum. That's the true rating of a game... is it good a decade later.

I just played this game again recently, having forgot just how dull and buggy it is, and I think I reached about the same point in the game as last time, before I couldn't bother anymore. Tip: Just boost your dex and grab a sword, and you'll be able to smash almost anybody in realtime combat. :P