NOTE: Running with clean GOG install, plus Drog's unofficial 2.02 patch, which I consider essential. Available at terra-arcanum dot com. When Arcanum was released, it suffered from two huge problems. #1, it was buggy AF, almost unplayable on release. #2, It launched in maybe the most phenomenal season in gaming history. 2000-2001 saw Halo, Splinter Cell, GTA 3, Wiz 8, Tony Hawk 2, BG 2, Morrowind, Thief 2, System Shock 2, The Sims, (and on and on). Small wonder that a buggy, weird title didn't get much love on launch. But some things really do improve with age. Between the official and unofficial patches, it's now possible to play the game as it was intended. While it still has problems, I think it stands as one of the best RPG's to ever grace my screen. Let me get the minuses out of the way. Even with the hi-def patch, the visuals are flat and uninspiring. Very much like Fallout 1 and 2. Voice acting is spotty (sometimes really bad), and by today's standards, infrequent. There are STILL bugs. (pro tip, have multiple saves before you hit Level 50). Completionists and power-gamers will tear their hair out. It was baked to reward fairly balanced characters, and it's impossible to complete on one playthrough. The more you lean towards either tech or magic, the more some paths become closed to you. Now to the good stuff. Even after the years, one of the deepest, richest worlds ever created. This single entry can stand proudly along Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, and KotOR franchises for world building. It is a world that you will love to learn and explore. Combat, magic, tech, stealth, and persuasion are all fully realized and useful. INSANELY deep and rich character creation and progression. Even today, it's character system is one of the best of all time. This is a weird game to categorize. By turns traditional and genre-breaking, sublime and frustrating, I rec it 100% for any RPG fan.
Gameplay: 9/10 Graphics: 9/10 Sound: 9/10 Voice:9/10 Art Direction: 10/10 Story: 10/10 Replay: 8/10 Simply you NEED to play this game if you love RPG's. It is flawless, or nearly so in every way. My one gripe is that while I loved the Aurora engine in 2002 (NWN), by 2008 it was seriously out of date. To Witcher's credit, they modified the hell out of the engine to suit the game. But it does feel clunky by today's standards. On to the goodness. The story is as rich and complex as any I've seen in a game. Better than Bioshock, better than Dragon Age. Yes, that good. The art direction is among the best I've ever seen. As good, at least, as Bioshock or Morrowind. Sound and voice are first-rate. No audio problems, no lo-rez sound. Voice acting is phenomenal, considering it's a localization of a Polish game (of course, they also knew the US would be their biggest market). Story-wise, I don't want to say anything except this a dark, gritty, ancient punk-rock, and ambiguous saga, and it's only the beginning. Game-play is keyboard/mouse Aurora engine. It's real-time with auto-pause. Character development can seem ornate and over-done, but you get used to it. It's the same combo of attributes, skills, and spells we're mainly used to. Combat and spell mechanics don't suck, but they could be better. The thing that really hooked me? You might not know the consequences of your actions for a couple of chapters. This is not a save/reload/repeat kind of game (unless you really screw up in combat). This is simply a phenomenal game that you deserve to play. Despite a few minor things, this is one of the best RPG's out there. If anyone buys it on my say-so, and doesn't like it after 10 hours, I'll personally refund your $1.50 :)
Virtually no replay value (though at the end you choose between two completely different endings). Horribly bad and muffled voice-overs, even when those voices were essential information. FMV in '96 sucked really bad. It's short. Puzzles occasionally are just pixel hunting. The few action/shooting scenes are annoying) Those are the problems that kept me from giving it a 5. But now let me tell you why you should invest precious money and time in this brilliant game. Full cooperation, and consulting from former heads of CIA and KGB. This is the only spy game ever to have the input of real spys. That doesn't make it real, but it is far more realistic than Splinter Cell. The challenges and puzzles are all logic-based (even when they do involve pixel-hunting). This game (amazingly for this era), makes you evaluate, investigate, and decide on sometimes incomplete or faulty information. It made you feel on the knife-edge of history. Even though FMV sucked back then, some of the performances they got were really effective. (especially Wm Colby...who knew?) But mostly, in 2020, this game remains fun, smart, accessible and very worth playing. (now please excuse me, my com-link is flashing)
I recently got a new box, and decided to check all my old games on it. My criteria were; "how much do my eyeballs bleed ?" "How hassle free is the install and needed patches?" Most important, though, is "How much fun is it in 2020?" I am so happy to report that Abe's Oddysee is every bit as brilliant as ever. It is still a brutal hard platform game. But the voice acting is superior, mechanics are logical and smooth, and the puzzles are wicked hard but understandable. It installs and scales up flawlessly to a Win 10 widescreen. If you only play one platformer ever, it should be this one. If you only play one GAME ever, " maybe" it should be this one. Abe set the bar for a generation. (or two)
(bonus if you get the title reference without googling.) AiD is a hard game to review. It created the survival horror genre, and deserves mad props for that. However, the primitive control scheme is epic, unreservedly, bad, and 20 hours practice will still leave you flailing. The graphics are mind-numbing ugly...except they kinda work for the game. Not at all perfect, honor it for swinging for the fences, and having a wonderful Lovecraft inspired story. Also a seminal PC game (yes I mean seminal in the original sense)
