One of the more bizarre phenomena of the "gamesphere". A game that feels like a spiritual sequel to its own spiritual sequel.
Hear from starting town NPC that "something needs to be done about those bandits in [insert generic fantasy name]" (hint hint) Go there Get spotted by bandit "Fight" bandit by spamming left mouse button, either mostly missing or doing pitiful damage Kill bandit after about 100 clicks (even Diablo is better in this regard) Find prisoners Release prisoners (they just stand there) Get spotted by another bandit, lead him to prisoners in the hopes that they assist me They ignore him Fight bandit on my own (click click click), run out of HP Run outside cave to rest Return, bandit is dutifully waiting for me After many clicks kill bandit Go outside to rest Get woken up by a ninja assassin and a worm thing Out of HP so run to town to get help from guards Guards kill worm thing and ignore assassin (he's a ninja after all) Assassin kills me Uninstall game
A very unique game. Basically a point and click adventure in Resident Evil clothing where your gun is less of a weapon and more of a "cursor function" among the classic look/use/talk (but still has limited ammunition!). Gripping James-Bondesque "low sci-fi" story (narrated in the form of flashbacks as a captured spy is confessing under torture). Great worldbuilding (the "land train" is a genius idea that could probably work in reality). Sensible, logical puzzles (no "combine dog with banana" stuff here). A must play.
Mediocre "immersive sim" (read: Ultima Underworld clone - what's more, the game was originally intended to be a third entry in the series). The world is EXTREMELY tiny and the main character CAN'T RUN to mask this (yes you can acquire a "speed" magic spell about 1/3 into the game but it simply makes Am Sugar walk faster). As an example, the "goblin kingdom" consists of about 20 goblins in total. Yes you can tediously bake apple pies but this is more of a novelty than a necessity as you can simply go in people's houses and eat their food in front of them with no repercussions. You can also sell a blacksmith his own tools. Not very "immersive". The much lauded magic system is better in theory than practice and casting spells with more than 2 runes in combat requires constant kiting or running (walking) away. Yes, you can "pre-cast" up to 3 spells but that's a very small number and offers little tactical depth and rather invites "metagaming" (to wit: savescumming). It would have been nice if the number of spells you can "memorize" increased with level or points put in magic, like in, say, Baldur's Gate, but that would probably make the already overpowered magic even more overpowered. Melee combat boils down to "smacking" and "charging to smack harder". Shields simply reduce damage and you can't use them to block. Bows are worthless as arrows are limited. Enemies drop little XP and don't respawn and most leveling is done by way of quests. Obtuse puzzles and a general lack of direction practically require the use of a walkthrough. To sum it up, you're better off skipping Arx Fatalis and going straight to the great Dark Messiah of M&M or the excellent Dishonored series (by the same developer) both of which abandoned superficial RPG trappings of Ultima and are simply fun action games with progression elements.
Burst out laughing at the pathetic "ambush" in the second level where the insurmountable chest high barriers (that serve no discernible purpose) raised out of the floor and a monster rushed out of a hidden closet. This game came out the same year as Half-Life. Two trees and a small hopping alien animal in a vast open space look ridiculous. Gigantic Quake-style buttons and levers look comical especially in a "realistic" setting (emergency switch complete with BREAK GLASS opens a small hatch smaller than itself). Uninstalled after the plank "trap" at the bridge.
Why does the nano-augmented superhuman JC Denton take 10 seconds to line up a headshot from 20 paces (and still misses)? And why is the nano-augmented superhuman's only starting augmentation his FLASHLIGHT EYES (!!??)? Is that what he meant when he claimed his "vision is augmented"? Why is the hacking minigame dumbed down? Why does a pistol need an upgrade for reload speed? I'm not sure why people overrate DX so much. If you want a revolutionary FPRPG "immersive sim", you have System Shock 2. If you want "stealth" gameplay, hammy acting, conspiracy themes and an ironically cheesy story, you have Metal Gear Solid 2, which came out a mere year after DX while having 10 times better graphics (and is arguably more immersive - does Deus Ex have melting ice cubes? Didn't think so).
