This game consists of three kinds of things: those from the original, those from 90s, and those from modern games. It looks like they picked up them in a wrong way. Things from the original: gore (fun), flying pads (fun), lots of hazards (fun, but not so much), Nazi-looking enemies (like I care), exchangeable 4th weapon (but if you pick another one of the same type, the one you had simply disappears, unlike the original), the plot and the whole atmosphere. Things from 90s: colored keys... and that's about it. Modern things: nice graphics (good) and linearity (awful). Now, the original wasn't particularly good and it was outdated. This game is even worse. It can be fun to play at first, but then it gets repetitive, and on top of that, there is a lot of jumping and running "puzzles" filled with flamethrowers, slicers, crushers and whatnot, and that makes it not only repetitive but also frustrating. What makes me absolutely sick is the linearity. It doesn't feel like you're playing the game, like in 90s, but rather that you're completing it stage-by-stage. I've played to episode 2 so far and haven't seen a single maze which would make me feel free to roam. This game doesn't totally suck, as there are bloody fights, awesome music and lots of fun involved, but it is also repetitive, frustrating, and doesn't feel nostalgic at all after you get used to all that flying pads and other familiar stuff. Not worth buying unless you don't give a damn about linearity and are a real fan of the original.
I admit, I love Fallout and Fallout 2. And this game had the potential to become the third in this set, but it didn't, and here's why. To make a Fallout-style game, the following things are absolutely needed: interesting and non-linear plot, lots of quests, lots of places to explore, excellent dialogs, turn-based combat that has at least some tactics in it, and multiple ways to develop a character. Arcanum has excellent world, interesting plot where you don't know where you'll be going next and have no idea how it could turn out in the end, it also has excellent dialogs and many interesting quests. There is even more ways to develop a playable character than it is in Fallout. But it also has its own faults, some of which are just too much. First off, the combat is very tedious and repetitive. If you develop the right skills, it is easy and boring. You'll have to fight the same type of monsters again and again, and you can have so many action points that any enemy can hardly get a chance to attack. To add to this, while the main plot is interesting, it is also somewhat linear, leaving the player with few choices as where to go next. In Fallout 2, you were absolutely free after the Den and until you reach Vault 13. In Arcanum, you only have little freedom in the beginning. This greatly decreases its replay value. And the balance issues don't make it better, either. It is approximately 10 times easier to play as magic/melee character than a gunslinger or an archer. And, as a finishing touch, we have that level cap when you stop gaining experience in the mid-game at easy difficulty setting. Surely, both Fallouts have their own caps too, but you could hardly hit them when playing a normal game. That being said, it is still one of the greatest RPGs of all time. It is definitely worth to play at least few times. The unique atmosphere alone makes up for a lot of faults and in-game texts are absolutely marvelous.
Surely first Fallout was a bit more realistic and it didn't have that many things that are supposed to be fun, but aren't. But that's about the only advantage of the first Fallout. And at the same time it was shorter, the time limit was annoying, and the user interface was slightly worse. This makes Fallout 2 definitely better, although maybe less Fallout-ish than Fallout. Of all the other games the only one that can compare to it is Arcanum, which was good, very good, but unfortunately not as good as Fallout. Annoying and boring combat and more linear plot unfortunately make it less interesting and decrease its replay value, although it becomes obvious only after you have played through it 3 or more times. Fallout 2 is long enough to keep playing for a month even if you don't do anything else during that month. It has excellent atmosphere, lots of quests, different ways to develop a character, countless paths through the game, well-balanced turn-based combat, lots of interesting dialogs and much, much more. What else one could possibly want from an RPG?
