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A exelent game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Pros:Technollagy and magic
Multible game paths and endings
Nearly full charater custimazation
A ton of fun and ingaging side quests and side plots.
You can have many followers based on your charisma
Ultra unlinear
Wonderful main story
Nice interface once you get to know it
Manual is very interesting to read and even includes a halfling recipe that resembles bannana bread.
A fun and rewarding experiance
Cons:Manual has know index.
Maby to unlinear
Occasionaly you might not know what to do
It has bugs in it but I ignored them
You might custimize your character to make them so so strong you can beat the game without a good challenge

A refreshing take on the RPG genre.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When I first was told to buy Arcanum, I hesitated. It looked good, but I just wasn't sure. When the price dropped to twenty bucks though, I just couldn't hold off any longer. I bought it, and lost many hours of my life along with it. I just couldn't stop playing it. The steam and technology aspect of the game was so refreshing and the story wasn't that bad either. The progression of the characters through the degree track was annoying at first, but very fun and interesting as progression peaked. I strongly suggest that everyone who puts stock in RPG's give Arcanum a fair go.

For 20 bucks you couldn't go wrong!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I found the name of this game in the forum of a competing game and being an RPG junkie I thought I would give it a try. WOW. If you buy this game, get ready to play an RPG that gives you TRUE options in character creation and growth. The combinations for character development are literally endless. Be a mage that uses an elephant gun for a weapon, or a techie that makes all of their own armor and weapons. Warning: If you buy this game you really do need the strategy guide (included!). My only small complaint about the game is that you are never sure what to do next. In other words, clues to the next quest are far and few between. Even talking to everyone you see sometimes does not reveal the next step in the story. Sometimes you have to just wander over the HUGE landscape to find places and clues. I am on my second time through, and plan on playing again as soon as I'm done. In summary, if you like an RPG that has a good balance of combat, problem & puzzle solving, and TONS of dialogue options, you will find something you like about Arcanum. And for 20 dollars you can hardly affor NOT to add this to your collection. Oh, and this game works fine with Windows XP. It doesn't say that in the description, but it was made after XP was realeased so it is compatable. Have FUN!

So close to good, but a little dated.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I can't say I didn't like this game. It's got an interesting premise, a decent story, and some entertaining moments, but I couldn't help asking myself if this was the best they could do with it. So much of this game reminds me of 1996; the graphics, the repetitive music (ONE SONG?!), some of the gameplay. . . it's just old. Nothing's wrong with old games. Ultima 1 was a good game, but that doesn't mean I'd pay forty bucks for it. Fallout was also a good game, but I can get it and it's sequel for ten dollars now. Here, I'm playing the same game on a different world for 4 times that much money.

Personally, I think this is a good start to a franchise. I'd buy a sequel, assuming they update it. Better graphics, more music, more skills, a better combat system, and deeper characters would have made this game of the decade.

Cross Country Running with Swords and Pistols

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: January 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game was almost really cool. In fact, how cool it almost was will just make you want to scream in frustration. After a certain point, it really does turn into 'And now I run across the city from X to see X'. I realize that some amount of running, etc. is necessary, but it got old. Also, combat was eh... well, I tried the real-time mode once or twice, but it just was NOT happy. That's fine, I was not looking for diablo. Finally, things seem to drrraaaagg in the middle, but I suspect that is related to my choice of character. All in all, a very good game with fun graphics, UI, game world, mechanics, and plot. Arcanum was well worth what I paid for it; I'm just upset that it was not better. Yes, I also think the sun is too bright, the moon is too cold, and I'll be damned the terra ain't just a little too firma. Have a nice day.

Perfectly Written & Well Carried Out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: September 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I am for all intents and purposes, a geek. I love PC gaming and RPG's. This game carried off a series of rich and complex story lines in a very robust world.

Also, I give this game a high replay rating, due to the EXTREMELY detailed character creation system. My orginal character was a Warrior/chemist/explosives expert. Once I completed the game I replayed it as a Con Artist. I will probably try it again taking advantage of the various schools of magic you can use.

These options are so diffrent because of the 100's (yes hundreds) of different reactions your character gets based on his/her abilities. A character with a high persuaion & Charisma will probably never have to pick up a sword. Whereas a warrior's lack of a high charisma or intelligence stat usually leads to a kurt and violet responses.

TWO WARNINGS: This game was made by the same people who made fallout. Fallout was also a good game but extremely buggy. So is this one. YOU NEED THE PATCHES TO MAKE THIS GAME PLAYABLE. With the patches the game is a 10, without them its a 6.
ALSO, those of us with a video card with 64 megs of ram, there is a glitch in the game that make frequent slow downs. In the next patch this issue is supposed to be addressed.

A NOTE TO FELLOW GEEKS: This game has a world editor, so you can make your own stories and put them on the net or link up on them and multiplay. I have yet to use this option but it does get high praise from other geeks.
Have Fun!

-Golaith

Playable, but lacking so very much

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: January 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Arcanum was a good time burner, but It wasn't a game that I got into very much. Graphically I felt like this was on par for maybe 3 or 4 years ago, but for 2000 standards it was lacking, except for a few of the spells wich looked pretty hype. Gameplay was what I felt too similar to Diablo II, a lot of point click hack and slash. The plot was decent, but I didn't like the whole "you are the one" type story line, it's been played out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. The interface could be tricky at times, but it wasn't too difficult to figure out. I like the character development, it was very good as far as that goes, but thought they could have used a few character classes as well. All in all, if you want to waste some time before Neverwinter Nights comes out and you have played every other Top of the Chart RPG then pick up Arcanum, I wouldn't say it's a waste of money.

..........Another Sierra flop.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: September 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Stuttering graphics, severe slowing during actions, cheesy graphics you'd expect from about 5 or 6 years ago......[PRICE]Not only that, multiplayer is practically nonexistant, the patches are extremely unreliable, game freezes AFTER the patches............

Take my advice.........stay away from this and all other Sierra Products. Keep in mind, this is the same company that came out with the little gem Rage of Mages.............

A mix of DII and D&D

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: September 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Although deffinately hopping on the bandwagon and trying to emulate games like Baulder's Gate and Icewind Dale (Who wouldn't want a game that popular?), Arcanum is very similar to the long drawn out, and what I sometimes find very boring world of RPG games like the two aforementioned. I tend to prefer the hack and slah without much thinking about it Diablo 2 style of play.

In other words, I'm that friend who tried to kill all of the townspeople when you tried a multiplayer game of Icewind Dale.

But Arcanum is somewhat different. I haven't figured it out yet, but for some reason, I happen to like this game, rather than spend $... on it, get frustrated 10 minutes into the game, and end up giving it to my friend's girlfriend like I did Icewind Dale.

I think it was how the chickens fought back when you attacked them... yeah, that was hours of amusment for me.

It was great until...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: December 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When my husband and I started this game, we raved over it. It had some unique and intelligent points. Instead of the typical AD&D type character schemes, Arcanum is a world where magick (their spelling!) and technology coexist and are constantly in contention. You can choose the science route, or the magick route, but trying to do both is very tricky and usually counterproductive. Strong technology (steam engines, machines, etc.) can make magick go haywire or fizzle, and strong magick can make technological machines stop working or even blow up. So we were very intrigued over the new possibilities in this game. He took the technology route, and I took the magick.

The number of options available for character development is almost bewildering at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a very fun part of the game. Experience points rack up at a reasonable pace, even at later stages of the game, so you're always looking forward to the next level so you can gain more skills. Each time you level up, you get one character point to increase one of your character skills. At level 10, 20, 30, etc. you get 2 points. Character points can be used to increase fighting skills, thieving skills, bartering, equipment repair, increased casting ability in selected schools of magic, abilities to build more advanced machines in selected technology schools, etc. The possibilities are endless. The experience point scheme is not based on AD&D rules, and the levels go up more quickly, so you're constantly looking forward to the opportunity to better your character.

So we're toodling along, enjoying the game when to our shock my husband discovered there was an experience cap at Level 50. The level cap really ruined the game experience for us. We'd played our characters for a great number of hours, and since we didn't know there was a level cap, we'd been rounding our characters out instead of focusing on particular fields of interest. It's not like we were going out of our way to increase the experience points. It just happened as an integral part of playing the game. Remember me mentioning the endless charcter skill possibilities? Well, the discovery of a level cap jerked that to a halt. Now we have characters that don't have all the skills we wanted, and we would have spent our character points much differently had we known there was a limited number available.

So what's the final verdict? I still love the game itself. The plot and the game play have bee a lot of fun. I am extremely disappointed with Sierra for programming an unannounced level cap, though. My character isn't to Level 50 yet, so I have time to optimize my character before hitting the cap. Once I get there, I know it will be a big let down. My husband isn't so lucky and has quit playing altogether out of frustration. I can't say I blame him.

I still recommend the game because it is a lot of fun, but I hope knowing there is a level cap at 50 will help people choose their character skills more wisely.

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