I'm having a hard time getting into this game. I just don't get the mix of everything. Can anyone give me the break down of this world?

Revolvers, tesla guns, necromancy, molotov cocktails, plate armor, frag grenades, 'herbal' remedies, trains, zeppelins, racism, deadly barfights, acid gun, clockwork animated minion, zombies, wolves, rats, rats, wolves, zombies, molochian cultists! SPOILER GB actually doesn't know why the old man sent the ring and you're going to have to figure it out with all of the crap above and more beauty.

Imagine Lord of the Rings, but the world is in the midst of an industrial revolution. There's still magic, but its power seems to be fading, while technology is on the rise, with guns, steam engines, top hats, pollution, and even steampunk-style automatons. True to the Lord of the Rings tradition, the dwarves and elves live much longer than humans and this ends up affecting the plot in very interesting ways, with certain major players in Arcanum's history having been around for quite a long time and lived through a lot of things. These different races are also given very distinct and interesting cultures. Through the game's main plot you will learn all about Arcanum's history, and how it often turned into not-quite-accurate legend. The plot has lots of surprise twists and is one of the game's strongest points; my first character got a little boring to play about halfway through but the plot was so good I kept going right to the end, before starting over with a new, more interesting character.

The game certainly has some weak parts, with some poorly balanced mechanics and a particularly annoying dungeon early on in the main plot that will turn a lot of players off, but it's worth sticking through it. The main plot is really cool, and the ability to create all manner of unique characters who interact with the world in very different ways gives the game tons of replayability. The game really rewards playing characters in different ways, not just in terms of using technology versus magic but also in how your character acts. You can be nice, or evil, smart or stupid, and the game reacts quite differently to these approaches. Even your race and gender affect how people treat you.

In summary, try to give the game a chance to hook you. It's not for everyone, but can be really rewarding in the long run.

Thanks, I did go back and made it into a cave and got my butt handed to me by a spider n wolf... Guess I need to go out and level. I'm just have'n a hard time getting sucked in. The summary was great though.

It's a harsh game through as far as I've gotten, which is Level 19. Still stuck in the Black Mountain Clan dungeon at the moment, but even beyond the main story it's fun to do all of the side quests and I even enjoy just exploring for random encounters in the wilderness, selling, forging ammo and salves, and rinse-repeating. Molotovs go boom in a very fascinating and satisfactory manner in Arcanum =D.