Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

I'm giving this game 5 stars, even though it's not necessarily a 5-star game, at least as you might imagine. It certainly lacks some polish, and hasn't aged that well. This is somewhat offset by a couple of easy community patches (check the forums), but Arcanum is still a rough diamond. Why does it deserve 5 stars then? It's because this is the quintessential classic RPG. The amount of freedom is staggering. You can approach any probelm in any way you want. Seriously - there are almost no dead ends. The story is also excellent, and there is a great twist on the whole "Chosen One" trope that really pleased me. Arcanum is like no other game - exceedingly ambitious, and it trips up several times along the way. But what it does achieve is incredible, and for that it deserves a place in every RPG fan's library.

Such a great rpg with beautiful soundtrack. Play it. Its a true good old game. Difficulty is not too hard. The world building is exellent. Its one of my favourite isometric rpg,s to this date.

This is one of the most conceptually original RPGs ever made, and I wish its ideas had had a bigger impact on subsequent developers. However, a lot of design errors ranging from bugs to major game balance issues prevent the game from rising to its full potential. Well worth the GOG.com price, but more for an appreciation of what it could have been than for the game itself.

An enjoyable game made somewhat frustrating by the design mechanics and limitations of the era in which it was made. But if you can overlook that, it offers a fairly unique RPG experience. Pros: +An interesting story filled with twists and turns. +Many and varied side quests. +Robust character creation. One of the best I've ever seen, in fact. +Multiple ways to complete most quests. +The technology verses magic mechanic is more than just story filler or world building. It affects your character build greatly. +Many different NPC's to recruit. Or go it alone. It's up to you. +Lots of exploration. You can always find a back door or a window to climb through or some hidden hatch that will offer an alternative route. +Doesn't pigeon-hole you into a fixed role. Want to play as an evil character? Go right ahead. +Lots of hidden locations on the world map to find. +Lots of replayability. Without using a guide, you can probably play this game through 3 or 4 times and still not experience everything. Cons: -It doesn't do a good job of explaining certain gameplay mechanics to you. Definitely RTFM. -Can be quite buggy. The unofficial patch helps somewhat, but it's still not perfect. It's mostly small stuff though, like combat music that won't stop. -It's quite possible to build a weak, ineffective character. The game expects you to specialize to some extent and will punish you if you spread your character points too thin. Don't make a jack-of-all-trades character. -Ore Golems. These are enemies that when attacked with a melee weapon, cause that weapon to take damage. The problem is that the NPC's in your party aren't smart enough to figure that out and will happily smash their weapons against the ore golems until the weapon breaks. It can get frustrating at times and definitely shows its age. But it's also one of the most unique RPG games that I've played in years. If you can tolerate its old-school design, I highly recommend giving this one a go.

I do not know of another crpg that has orcs debating union laws. I do not know of another crpg that has gnomes flying blimps. I do not know of another crpg that has the same depth. There is a very large and uptodate mod/patch, called Arcanum Multiverse Edition. (can be found on the net)