Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

An old classic worth buying again.

Probably the RPG that holds the dearest place in my heart, this game hit every button for me from the first time I opened it. Like Fallout, or Planescape torment - I left my experience with Arcanum wowed. The open world, the details in each city, the freedom which can be found in games like the elder scrolls was wonderfully put together in Arcanum... pickpocketing keys and plundering store owners... Plus the ambiance, characters, story.. These days, there is a little clunkiness to it but the game is still perfectly playable, the story is great, and the open world aspects of the game were done perfectly. On the bright side, the very long load times are no longer present on modern machines Wish someone would pick up a sequal to this baby. The world they created in Arcanum deserves to be revisited.

Although the playstyle is similar to Fallout 1&2, with the isometric view looking very familiar; however, I had to force myself to play the original Fallout series, where as I loved this game from the get-go. As other people have noted, initially this game can be rather unfair towards specific races or builds, specifically low INT builds. My freind and I were playing through this game simultaneously and he missed a very important quest item at a place that doesn't allow you to return and as such had to start over. Arcanum is a game that doesn't wrap you in cotton wool; it exposes you to the harsh realities of its universe quite spectacularly.

There's enough reviews out there already that speaks to how great this game is. Just make sure you get the fan patches.

As good as I remembered. "Easy to lear, hard to master" - this game requires a lot of patience and You might get bored or discouraged, but later You won't be able to get up from your computer...