Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

"Why does this remind me of Full Metal Alchemist?"

Arcanum is something of a quandry. While on the one hand, elves, dwarves, orcs and magical beings are abound, but on the other hand, there's steam engines and blimps everywhere. The game is huge, both in scale and in the amount of things you can do, and while it may seem daunting at first, the world of Arcanum quite easily tamed.

Graphics

My Geforce 2 loves this game. Not a whole lot of graphical prowess being used, which may turn off you texture and bump mapping whores, but for folks like me who are stuck with antiquated technology, it's like a dream come true. The game is sort of quasi-3D, with an isometric perspective and odd polygonal people. The texture work is nothing to sneeze at, but the character models are pretty blah. Not much detail, even for the important characters. I can forgive this mainly because I focus on gameplay more than pretty colors (as made obvious by my other reviews).

Sound

There's some great music in this game, but it seems to be an acquired taste. Lots of violin work, and tons of voice acting. The voices are good, certainly nothing to wail in terror upon hearing. The sound effects are mostly cookie-cutter swords clanging and guns blazing, but it fits.

Gameplay

There's a lot here. The game starts out with your blimp being shot down (not really your blimp, but who cares?) You're recovered from the wreckage by a nice man who will join you depending on your responses to his questions. It seems you're someone destined for greatness...like that was in doubt by anyone. There's not much of a tutorial to get you started...in fact, I don't recall one at all. Still, it's all very simple if you're a PC RPG veteran. For those of you who are new to the genre, you better dive into the manual to learn the basics.

At the beginning, you're given the choice of your species, gender, class and stats. Your class makes up a large part of how your character ends up, but in the end you have free reign over how your stats are distributed. You also have the option of picking a background for your character, which can further boost certain stats, but often at the expense of others. After you've made up your character, you can buy your starting supplies (which should include a set of lockpicks, since they're hard to find in the beginning).

The world itself is pretty damn massive, so much so that traveling via the field map would take hours to get anywhere. To that end, the game provides you with the world map. Traveling in this way shaves hours off your time, but it still takes quite a while to go from one end of the continent to the other (as it should). You run into random battles, so you'll have something to do as you go from one end of the planet to the other.

The game is filled with many distinct characters, some good, some bad. Some are just plain mean, and some are prostitutes that will sleep with you and a sheep if you pay enough. Yeah, you heard me, you can hire prostitutes for a night of whoop-de-do, even if you're a woman (elven girl plus two female prostitutes equals great game!)

Anyway, you have a variety of skills at your disposal, which you can improve upon leveling up, or by finding certain people who will train you in the ways of haggling, pickpocketing, persuasion, gunplay, and a host of other abilities both essential and useful to the game. You're given points to improve these skills when you level up, but it's best to save these points to improve skills you end up needing during the course of the game, like lockpicking.

As the game's title suggests, you can focus your efforts on mechanical or magical gameplay. The spells you can learn range from cantrips to deathrays, while the mechanical path takes you down a road filled with guns and explosives. The more you use one type (magic or science) the more effective it becomes, while the opposite type becomes more and more ineffective. You can even walk the thin path down the middle of science and magic, but it's quite difficult keeping things in balance.

The story isn't the best in the world. In fact, it's been done before. An ancient evil is breaking free of the netherworld or whatever, and over the course of the game you'll find your way on a path to a final battle with the big bad. The game lets you walk the path of a saint or devil, hero or villain, and you can help people or slaughter an entire city if you wish (if you're strong enough, that is). People will join you based on your alignment, as well. Villains and thieves will side with your bad self, while brave dwarves and ogres will join up if you prove yourself as a force for good. The game goes so far as to let you have a certain important figure join you (no spoilers here), if you so desire. Arcanum is heaven on earth if you're looking for full control over your virtual destiny.

Replay Value

There's a ton of different ways to play the game, so if you love trying out new ways to play, you're in for a treat. The downside to this is the game is incredibly long, but only if you dedicate yourself to finishing all the sidequests. There's a lot of fun to be had in Arcanum, and a thousand and one ways to play.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/03