Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

"Oh my God! You can even jump through windows!"

…Was my friends response when I showed him Arcanum for the first time. Many people disliked this game because it ‘wasn’t quite Fallout’. Well, as much as I like the Fallout series, I believe it’s a good thing to be different in this case. I mean, you have to admit, Fallout was getting a little old wasn’t it? I think we all needed a refreshing change, and this was it.

Story (8/10)

The story begins shrouded in mystery. You are the sole survivor of a blimp crash that has been attacked by some kind of fighter plane (yes, that’s right, a fighter plane in a fantasy game). Entrusting you with an old ring, a dying gnome pleads with you to return the ring to it’s owner. Only moments after his death you are approached by a rather unusual monk who believes you are the chosen one, destined to save the world. Quite a lot to take in isn’t it. Make the most of it, there are few points in this game when you’ll be blessed with so much information. Don’t get me wrong, the story of this game is incredible and worth the price of the game on it’s own, but there are twists and turns right up to the end. There will be times when you just sit there staring at the screen yelling, “What the hell is going on?!”. Don’t worry, it’s a good thing, and you’ll understand it when it happens.

Audio (8/10)

The soundtrack to this game is superb. The background music never gets tiresome (with the exception of the combat music which could have varied a little from time to time) and the sound effects themselves are beautifully created. Trust me, you’ll never get tired of the little gong that sounds every time you advance a level. Although not all characters in the game use actual spoken dialogue, the ones that do perform incredibly well. No more cliché voices like you had in Fallout, these characters will have you believing that they are real people.

Video (7/10)

When I first started playing this game, I didn’t think the graphics were anything special, but then a few things happened that changed my mind. First, I met one of the early quest characters who appears to you in the form of a spirit. WOW! The ghost wasn’t just transparent, he actually appeared to be ethereal. The second thing was when I reached the capital city of Arcanum. I won’t go into much detail but the place was huge! So big in fact, that the city had to have signposts on every corner so that newcomers won’t get lost. Sure, these graphics aren’t up to the standards of recent games, but for a game of this genre, they’re damn good.

Gameplay (10/10)

Where do I begin? Okay, let’s start with character creation. Unlike Fallout, your NPC reactions aren’t based on charisma alone. The game could play out very differently if you were to choose a human male instead of, say, a female half-orc. The NPCs actually react to your race, gender and even the clothes you are wearing. But the innovative nature of character creation doesn’t end there. The unique time setting for this game is probably it’s best feature. It is a fantasy world that has just entered an industrial revolution. Some countries believe technology is the future, while others believe the old ways of Magicka has never let them down. And you, the player, has the wonderful choice of being able to make this decision for yourself. Will you become a powerful mage? Or one of the greatest inventors that Arcanum has ever seen? Choose wisely though, as this is another factor that will affect your reputation throughout the game. The game interface itself is actually quite friendly. All of the various screens (map, character stats, inventory etc.) are all easily accessible by clicking on friendly picture-based buttons and those keyboard tappers among you will be delighted to know that these screens can be reached by various shortcut keys. The game gives you almost total freedom to do as you please. For example, the monk I told you about who believes you are the chosen one. If you’re not the religious type you can simply tell him to leave you alone or, if you’re just down right evil (always a fun character to try at least once) you can just run him through where he stands. Don’t worry, there are plenty more quests to keep you occupied. In fact, by the end of the game, you’re journal will be filled with pages upon pages of quests you have undertaken. This game doesn’t let you get bored.

Replayability (10/10)

I often find it difficult to replay a game. Stepping up the difficulty a notch doesn’t seem to help with that problem either. But Arcanum has a fairly subtle difficulty modifier, in addition to the one in the options menu, that grants the game massive replayability. Being a Technologist (as they are known in Arcanum) is considerably harder than being a mage. With mages, once you have the spell you can just cast it. Technologists have to learn how to build something, then find the components to build it and then finally, if it’s a gun of some kind, find (or create) the ammo to fire it. This makes it very easy to play through the game at least three times (Mage, Technologist or Thief) and more if you try out all of the different race/gender combinations. And of course, you could also play the black-hearted evil character I suggested you try. Of course, getting to the stage where you can replay the game is a challenge in itself. The game is huge, and completing it the first time is difficult enough for some.

Buy Or Rent?

Buy! Buy! Buy! This game is too good not to buy, and to long to rent. It is a must for any avid RPG fan’s collection.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/29/03, Updated 01/29/03