Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Arcanum gets off to a rather poor start, immediately spewing campy exposition with no build up, pretext, or even so much as a heads up and assumes that players will naturally give a crap. Then some guy starts blathering to you about stuff that wouldn't make any sense even if you *did* have the slightest clue what was going on. In that respect it serves as a rather solid introduction because that feeling of awkwardness pretty much prevails this adventure. About the most Arcanum has going for it is its extremely versatile skills based character progression which pretty much allows you to build whatever character you want without restriction. The interface is obtuse. It's not impossible but it is far from intuitive. Minor things like not being able to quick-slot items from the item transfer screen or not being able to quick slot more than one of the same item aren't headaches but still make life less than easy. I'm still not sure what all the loads of indicators that clutter the screen are for. Combat is lame. It could practically play itself but it does provide a variety of weapons, skills and spells to play with. Otherwise the game is huge, open and free-form with plenty of content, a unique fantasy universe and a solid premise. A good idea lacking in solid execution.

As with all games Arcanum may not click with everyone, but it's one of my favorite CRPG's of all time. It takes place in a unique fantasy-Victorian Era setting in which emergent wacky technology and magic are in conflict. This conflict is the very essence of the game, it effects the character builds, the itemization, the quests and everything else you can think of. The possibilities in character creation are endless. The game lets you roleplay without getting out of character, for the most part. If you're a suave thief you'll always be a suave thief without awkward dialogue options or actions that'll take you out of the mood. Same with all other archetypes. Most of your companions are interesting characters with their own complex backstories, with very few "fillers". The game also manages to surprise you whenever you attempt to break sequence with unusual/unexpected actions. If something makes sense to you in theory, go ahead and try it, there's a fair chance it will work! One thing I don't particularly like is the gameplay. The turn based combat system unfortunately lacks the tactical depth of many other CRPG's, and victory is usually as simple as clicking on the enemy until you're out of action points, whether your active skill is melee, firearms, or an offensive spell. The enemy AI is gullible, and there are very few enemy types that force you to get out of your comfort zone and use a different approach. If combat had a tad more tactical depth, Arcanum would probably be my all time favorite. All things considered though, combat's ease and simplicity takes very little away from the game as a whole, so it still gets 5 stars out of 5 from me. Don't forget to apply the fan fixes.

This is a good game. Graphics and tools are amazing. Full Power pack of adventure.

One of the first games I ever played; I was immediately swept up in it's world of an industrial revolution in a land of elves and magic. So much did I enjoy this game and its concept that every normal high-fantasy RPG released since always lived in it's shadow. NB The game isn't without it's flaws, though the infinite modability and countless patches basically cure any and all problems.

For me Arcanum was hard to get into. It might not be for everyone, eventhough is plays like Baldur's Gate/Fallout. The world map doesn't have any question marks to point the player to the nearest explorable place. Arcanum doesn't hold your hand from A to Z. It instead lets you do anything you want. Be a hero/gentleman, and save the day helping maidens in need. Be evil, lie, rob banks, assist thieves. And this game is sometimes unforgiving, forcing the player to complete other quests before moving to the next territory of the map. Gather a party and equipment. To assure your survival in the world of Arcanum!