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Great game, but beware...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The system requirements listed here at Amazon.com are incorrect - they do not match the requirements given by the game developers. They should read as follows:

64 MB RAM
Pentium II-300mHz
DirectX compatible 8MB video card
4X CD-ROM
Windows 95/98/ME/2000
1.2GB disk space
Windows compatible sound card

Now, IF you have all that, I'm sure it's a fantastic game! Sadly, I only have a 5.5MB video card so I get real choppy and ... performance even in decreased-graphics mode. Believe it or not, I still struggle through playing because it's a fantastic game, plot-driven yet still open-ended, and I do enjoy myself. I'll simply have to get a new computer in order to enjoy it more fully.

From the Designers of Fallout

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Arcanum is the newest RPG from the orginal designers of the classic post-nuclear game Fallout. Is the game worth playeing? Yes. Does the game have some serious issues? Yes. Does the game overcome those issues? YES!
The game shares Fallout's sense of depth. character depth and plot development. Like most RPGS the plot is simple but the path is complex and interesting. Set in world of magic that is just discovering the joys of the industrial revolution; the game revolves around the inherent conflict that results. Magic and technology can't coexist; unfortunatly magic is elitest and technology represents the masses. The character (with extensive creation options) enters the world as the sole survivor of a zepplin crash. Called the chosen one, the character battles his destiny for the soul of the world.
Now that the good points have been made it is time for the bad ones. First, the graphics are state of the art for the year 1998. Secondly is the pace of the game. The game jumps from easy encounters to fiendishly difficult ones and back again with no rhyme or reason. The final strike against it is the variety of opponents: only the humanoids are acually difficult.
Despite these problems, Arcanum produces a well-imagined gameworld that is unique and enjoyable.

Most original rpg of late

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I am a pen-and-paper roleplayer, and I was most impressed with the way this game changes depending on what your character is: you play a different story as a male or female, as a technologist or a mage, as a warrior, a thief, a women's man, a diplomat or a necromancer. Endless smaller and bigger quests exist to suit all tastes, from sewer hunts to frauds and robberies, investigations, diplomacy, monster hunts, archeological missions... a pretty full list. You get to meet many interesting characters with complete, believable personalities, including probably the most interesting arch-nemesis, and you definitely get drawn into the technology-magic debate.

A full 5 stars despite its dated graphics and occasional glitches - this is a game to play and like every minute of it. And then try it again with a half-ogre to experience racism, and again with a gnome for haggling games, and with a thief womanizer, and with that elf necromancer... Probably the best rpg since Fallout 2.

RPG of the year

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've noticed that there hasn't been many decent rpg's released lately. And apart from Baldur's Gate 2, they hasn't been a decent top down rpg in a damn long time. And there hasn't been an original and engaging and funny rpg since Fallout and Fallout 2. So that is why any person who loves rpg's should go out and but this game immediently. And I mean immediently.

Arcanum is set in the 1800's when the world was on the verge of a technical revolution. A world were Elven mages and gun-toting orcs live side by side. Thats right. A person might as easily don plate armour and a sword as they might brandish a rirfle and top hat. In this rich setting, your character comes in. You were flying high in an airship when it crashed. Among the wreckage you find a dying gnome who gives you a ring, and asks you to find its owner. So begins your travel across the land of arcanum.

Character development is one of the most immersive and open ended since Fallout, which is no surprise since Tim Cain, who worked on Fallout, is the lead developer. You can take your character in any direction you please.

The graphics are a little dated, but do the job nicely. Although fans of Fallout's graphic death animations will be a little disapointed.(As I was :)). The story is great also, and you become immersed easily.

In all, arcanum is a must for any RPG fan, although fans of other genres might be dissapointed.

Successor to Fallout series ! unfortunately not a worthy one

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 16
Date: July 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

(If arcanum is anything like Fallout and Fallout 2 then it will be worth your time and money.) this was my initial review. After having played the demo, the game, and read many reviews I have downgraded the arcanum game to 2 stars. The reasons are as follows:

-Arcanum fails to live up to the world of fantasy that it resides in. The concept was wonderful but it was not develloped to its potential.

-There are many small bugs in the game
-Monster generation is poorly handled. Wolves and spiders make up alomst 50% of all monsters encountered. The combat mode does not allow for the amount of sophisticated strategies that we are used to.

If you are looking for an RPG then turn towards the Baldur's gate series, particularly BG II and the BG II expansion. they will give you a much better experience.

A good time, worth the effort

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing Arcanum for a week or so. Its a lot of fun, and there is so much to do. I love being able to make a character with a real person's set of skills and "interests". Its a huge open-ended and enjoyable world. The sheer variety of quests and twists and turns is fabulous. I love it.
The downsides are some issues with it slowing down, and some places where you just cannot see what is happening. The graphics are somewhat dated, but I don't really worry about those, and the voice acting is great.
This a huge step up from games like Diablo where you hack monsters and open chests for hours. There is real thinking and problem solving. A great RPG, for all its lack of polish.

Just one notch down from Balders Gate2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The world is interesting and complex. The character generation system allows for a totally customizable character. You can build the ultimate theif, a kicking mage, a genius technologist, a hulking combat monster, a smooth charmer con-man or someone who is a mix of any of the above. There are tons of mini quests to keep you interested and the main quest is pretty interesting. It also has a world builder engine to let you make your own sub modules (although I personally didn't try this)

There are some draw backs. Unlike BG2 all interaction is by dialog boxes. I missed having my companions characters talk to me and they felt bland and souless compared to Minsk and Boo, etc. You don't have control of your companions progression and that can be a problem if for example you really want your healer to stand in the back and use arrows rather than be up front getting clobbered. He will never develop a bow skill. I dislike the level cap at level 50. I got to level 50 and there was still a good bit of the world left to explore. But it felt kind of pointless since I had ceased to improve. When the finale takes place you are not returned to the world to continue your quests so there are still some left uncompleted. Lastly I wish they would improve the monsters as you progress. i got awfully sick of fighting ailing wolves by the time I was high level. There are lots of monsters, some of them very formidable. But each area tends to have its own types and these never change. since you do a lot of running around near Tarant with is low level monsters they get rather dull.

Overall however its very orignial and well worth playing. One important thing to note. It is fairly important to get a good persuasion skill early in the game. A lot of the NPCs won't open up lines of inquiry or quests for you unless you are reasonably persuasive.

A Role Playing Giant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I never thought that I would find an RPG that lived up to the considerable standards set by games like Planescape and the Baldur's Gate series. Arcanum showed me the error of my ways.

The Fallout influence is definitely present here, although I found that I liked this game better than Fallout. The classless character system is refreshing but, like some other reviewers, I would advise newcomers to spend some time really THINKING about the direction they want their charcter to go in rather than randomly distributing points. I did that at first myself, and wound up starting the game over at least twice, once after getting my character up to level twenty six. Right now, I am building my current character to be a Melee expert, with awesome strength and dexterity. Also, I am specializing my character in Explosives to give me that little extra edge in battle.

The game's backgrounds are good, although not particularly stunning, and the character animation does appear to be a bit dated. If you are looking for a great game to PLAY, and not just to LOOK AT, then you cannot go wrong with Arcanum. Even after starting over two times within a month, I am STILL totally addicted. This game is indeed a role playing giant. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A Best RPG ever made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game a month back, i had a feeling that am i getting the right RPG i'm looking for, amazingly the answer is yes!.

My first RPG was Diablo II, when i finished playing it, i thought this would be the best RPG, then i played Baldurs gate II, Revenant, wizard and warriors, Dungeon Seige. At the end Baldurs gate II, was still left in my mind as the best game.

All my old RPG's where erased from my mind after i brought Arcanum into my house. so every body can ask what so special about this game? the answer is here,

* This game is a balance between Magick and Technology, you can choose your charecter as a Pure magician, Technologist, a pure fighter, Thief, a Ugly charter, a charismatic charecter and much more. what's so special here is that, the world reacts to you differently depending on your charecter, for instance, if you are ugly and intelligent people will talk to you and can fetch quests, but if you are beautiful and dumb, you will be missing a lots of quests and people will not be even bothered to talk to you.

*One more best part of the game is, unlike other RPG's, no chareter is pre-defined as Thief, bard, socceress etc. You can customize your chareter of your own, with basic eight charecter points which includes Dexterity, Strength, Constitution, beauty, Intelligence, willpower, Charisma and perception.

*You can complete the game as a good or evil, the world will react to you differently on both the cases. Sometimes we dont know wheather we are good or evil, to avoid this, there is a meter which can measure good and evil. This is very cool and each time when you complete a quest you will be tempted to see the meter.

*And finally, the graphics is good and not the best when compared with current standards. Music is very calm and gentle and it goes well with the game.

I'm writing this review, after i finished playing this game as a fighter. My experience with the whole game was full of fun and enjoyable. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes to play a true and indepth RPG.

Nice Long Single player RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The game had many entertaining and long quests. The story is well scripted. The game is almost an open RPG, where the main storyline doesnt matter. Unlike Diablo 2, towns are entirely resting spots between dungeons, cities in arcanum is a well balanced resting spot, quest starters, and within town quests.
Ignoring the cons below, it is one of the best rpg I've seen.

Cons:
Load time is slow. A computer better than the "reccomended system" is required.
Virtually no multiplayer support

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