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The most thoroughly enjoyable game since Half-Life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 44 / 47
Date: October 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

THE BASICS:
I played Baldur's Gate, and found it lacking action and fun.
I played Diablo II, but became bored with constant hack-n-slash.
I played Arcanum, and fell in love with its combination of action, storytelling, and sheer freedom.

THE GOODS:
This game has an original and engrossing story, complete with great dialogue and written items the main character finds. There is unrivalled variety when creating and advancing your character. The game does a great job at balancing the effectiveness of magic and technology. The game gives the player a surprising amount of control in how the main character develops. Will the protagonist become a great hero (or despicable thief)? A crusader against technology (or magic)? A hero loved by the people (or villains)? The protagonist can be some of these things, or none of them, but not all. One thing I love about this game is how, if you choose sides, there will be consequences to your choosing. Do you take the side of the wizard being disrupted by the local steam engine, or an engineer, trying to keep his machines (and self) safe with saboteurs lurking about? Or will you avoid the situation? This game offers even more freedom than Fallout/Fallout 2 did.

THE BADS:
There are decently long load times, which can be frustrating if you're a person who does not like to be kept waiting. Also, during gameplay, the game paused for a few seconds if my character was casting a spell that had complex grapics. This is nothing that will keep me from playing the game, though.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Buy this game, download the patch, and enjoy, my friend!

The Best RPG since Fallout

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 29
Date: August 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game has A HUGE about of depth and options. It has an incredible amount of re-playability and a giant world. (it would take 48 real-time hours to just cross the world... thank god for the map function :) ) It is NOT a Diablo clone! although I can see how one might think so... if you are accustomed to playing Diablo you will play a character that has emphasis on fighting skills, and not on such things as building items, gambling, thieving and diplomatic skills. That is the great beauty of this game. You can play it as a Half-Ogre brute, a wealthy Human upper-class gunslinger, a spell-casting gnome that builds grenades on the side, a halfling mage that ran away with the circus and wears gnomish chainmail... just about any character that you can think up you can play. Also Arcanum has GREAT re-playability. It is possible to kill every living creature in the game and win. It is also possible to kill nothing and win. The great amount of options will make you want to play again and again. For instance, each NPC has a unique personality and will respond differently to you based upon your race, magick/tech alignment, background, how beautiful or charismatic you are, and a host of other variables. People that snubbed you as a Dwarf will greet you with open arms when you play an Elf. All this makes sure that no two Arcanum games are EVER the same. All I can say is... If you like RPGs you will love Arcanum.

Bugs play minimal part in this excellent RPG Adventure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 23 / 23
Date: August 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you were to take the best aspects of the Fallout series and throw in some elements from the Baldur's Gate series and then combine them to form this excellent RPG Adventure. From the get go every decision you make will alter the path of the game. From choosing a Male Elf or a Female Human your decisions effect the outcome of the game. The First overwhelming aspect of the game is the leveling system. Unlike games such as Diablo, Arcanum has a vast array of stats, skills, technology, and magick to distribute ability points to. Trying to stay balance among all of the available options will result in a very difficult game. However if you specialize in a certain skill, technology, or Magick you will have a stronger character. The combat engine is a very unique one that adjusts to your playing style. If you are used to hack and slash RPG's you might enjoy the Real-Time combat. However if your used to Fallout or Baldur's Gate turn based approach you can choose the turn based mode. There is even a cross between the two called Fast Turn based Mode which speeds up the turn based movement a bit. In any case there is a mode for everyone.
Another large part of this game is the development of your character. Through conversations and your actions you will develop a reputation. In addition if you focus your talents on Magick or Technology certain people will treat you differently. The entire land of Arcanum is divided between magick and technology. Choosing a focus is the most difficult task. Throughout the game you will have the ability to meet other characters that will join you on your quest if your leadership ability is high enough and you request their assistance. When you gain control of these NPC's they act as real people. Each one having its own personality and objective. They all can be upset by your actions and sometime might even decide to attack you and the rest of your party. Some NPC's are good some are evil. Based on your characters alignment you will get along better with some than others. However, this is half the fun.
On the negative side you will find several bugs, most of which should be fixed with the release of the new patch. On a unfortunate note the multiplayer was designed to be played on what used to be WON.net. Being won.net has officially closed shop and is currently being run by a minimal staff large lag times and several bugs a present here. Most people are hoping for an addition of TCP/IP to the network settings allowing players to play on GameSpy or Kali. On another note the biggest flaw in this games release was the Manual. It is completely unorganized and will provide little to any assistance. There is no Table of Contents or Glossary and to find the information you want you will have to a. read it from cover to cover. b. visit a Arcanum web site. or c. Buy the Strategy Guide. It is unfortunate that a game so fun and well thought out would place its manual on its lowest priority.
All in all this game is a very exciting and unique game that will be a sure fire nominee for game of the year. If you are a fan of Baldur's Gate and Fallout 1 & 2 this just may be the game for you. I do however suggest that when purchasing the game you also purchase the strategy guide. It is very well written and contains a complete guide to all of the characters and weapons you will run across.

Gooey role-playing steampunk goodness.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 24
Date: January 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

There is one reason this game sticks out in my mind. I've been a die-hard gamer for fifteen years. In the last two years, this was one of ten games out of the sixty or so I've purchased that I've been able to install and run without a patch and enjoy in what I consider a satisfactory fashion. Satisfactory fashion is defined by, no "fatal" bugs and no impedment of the game itself either by bad design or technical trouble.

Arcanum is a seamless transition into the world of Victorian Steampunk that is located in a fantasy-based world. The tone is H.G. Wells crossed with high fantasy. It works surprisingly well.

The logic of the world works. It is unfortunately extremley complex, even more so than similar games (of the Fallout mein) are. There are several stats and skills, and to play through unimpeded by the system takes starting over once or twice for the average person. My advice is that before you start the game, scan a few webpages relating to it and design your character *before* you're level fifteen and realize that one point in three dozen skills more or less isn't necessarily so much fun.

This is in truth the one down side to Arcanum; the manual is thorough, but it is written primarily in character. This is somewhat cool...but since it's also a *technical* manual teaching about the very out of character fact of stats, skills, etc...such in-character things can be a bit grating. There is also no index for specific subjects, which for a game complex as Arcanum can be tedious. I'd love to see a very thorough table of contents and index both in future games.

The graphics are better than Fallout. The sound is wonderful. Battles can be a bit repetitive. There were not nearly as many magical enemies as I'd have liked, considering the entire theme of the story is based on the outcome of an ancient myth/prophecy. Of course, the world is also slowly killing magic off (or at least that's the implication), so I guess it makes a sort of sense. Still, it was somewhat disappointing.

All-in-all, Arcanum is a fascinating game, and a captivating one. The story is excellent, the characters intriguing, and it's just plain fun. It's one of those games where days pass and you haven't realized it's already six days from when you started. The only drawback to the treasure-trove of its complexity, is if you pick the wrong character, you end up being utterly frustrated. Research before you play definetly, and avoid some of that potent annoyance. I sure wish I did! However, I'm grateful I gave it another try.

It is all things considered, worth the money. The frustrations I experienced were minimal compared to other snafu from other RPG's -- the most recent Ultima disaster and the Fallout2 problems to name a few.

if it's as good as the demo- then this game rocks!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 18
Date: May 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I just played the demo for about 6 hours, and thought it was fabulous. Now I'm not an expert @ PC games- i come from the nintendo/playstation genre of RPG, namely Final Fantasy series. And I like that kind of feel to my games. So when the full version is available i will definetly buy it.

Breathtakingly Incredible

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: September 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

To say that this game is incredible wouldn't even begin to describe it. It's dazzling ingenuity and shockingly massive replay value will keep even those with minute long attention spans on their toes.

To begin, Arcanum is not a Diablo, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, or any other clone. It takes aspects from all of those games and adds incredible new levels. The first and most obvious is the presence of BOTH magick AND technology. However I think one of the most innovative things is the ability to do NEITHER and still be a successful character. You could be anything from a barbaric half-ogre to a smooth talking gnome politician to a world renowed theif. And if that wasn't enough, the character developement is such that EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IS UNIQUE. It is DIFFICULT to make any 2 exactly the same.

If you think that the above is all that Arcanum has going for it, think again. In 1,000 words I cannot begin to describe it's glory. From the isolated capitol of Dernholm to the bustling industrious Tarant; from Slim Picken's general store to Madam Lil's brothel, this game is the most innovative and enjoyable games made for the computer. Period.

For the RPG enthusiast

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: November 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big fan of computer role playing games (especially the two Fallouts) and as a result, Arcanum has been a treat. It's rare that you find a game with such a huge world and vast variety of options in creating and developing your character. I've already put well over 100 hours into it, and expect to replay it all the way through several more times.

For casual RPG players, there are many elements of Arcanum that may make your experience less enjoyable. The graphics are probably the biggest drawback: not only do they look dated, they seem washed out with too many grays and browns. The richness of the character development system and size of the world may also make it difficult to get into the game. The interface itself can take some getting used to, and the combat system is merely adequate. If you can get past those things, though, you'll probably enjoy the game.

Hardcore RPG players won't care about most of those factors, but there are a few other things that may bother them. One is that there are some balance issues; the most notable is a weapon which you can get relatively early in the game which is powerful enough to kill almost any enemy with 2-3 blows. Even though my character wasn't combat-oriented, I never had a difficult combat after obtaining that weapon. Another issue is that money is probably too easy to come by. Finally, the game has quite a few bugs; most of them are minor and being addressed with patches, but there is one bug (obviously a memory leak) which causes performance to gradually deteriorate until the game is unplayable. I had to restart the game every few hours to get around this.

The ranking I give to a game is based on one factor alone: how much fun I had playing it, and despite some of the negatives I've mentioned, I've really had a blast playing Arcanum. I look forward to future games by Troika.

Incredible RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: November 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Looking at the reviews for this game, I was amazed at some of the negative reviews it received. Don't let them fool you, THIS GAME IS AWESOME.

The graphics aren't shocking, but they're good for the way the game is played. The buildings and backrounds are very well designed, and the movies (especially the first few opening ones) are very nice. I like the sound, too. It has a certain 1800s feel to it, and adds to the flavor of the game.

The world itself is just amazing. The editorial reviews will confuse you: this is no "Steampunk" or whatever sort of timeframe. It is set in the middle of an industrial revolution. But the world itself is a magical one, with dwarves, elves, orcs, and the like. Therefore it creates a clash between magic and technology. An overwhelming presence of magic will screw up technology, and vice versa. In fact, a wizard in the game's first town actually asks you to destroy a steam engine that the mayor put in because it is suppressing his magic. Throughout the game, you see examples of the enmity between technologists and wizards. Some kingdoms shun technology, and some are less approving of magic.

Character creation and advancement is full of endless possiblities. A sophisticated point system allows you to fully customize your character in a classless nature. You can make a technologist or a wizard, a gunslinger or an archer, a gentleman or a thief, etc. etc. You can even ride the line, choosing neither technology or magic and just create a stealthy thief (who inherently leans slighly toward technology, due to the nature of the pick locks and disarm trap skills) or a tank-like fighter, or a savvy member of the social elite, and more. The point system even allows you to combine all of these elements, as you choose any skill you want as you gain more character points for increasing level. For other customizations, it also allows you to choose a background for your character. Histories such as Miracle Operation, Bandit, and more.

All in all, a great game with few bugs.

Fantastic RPG!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: April 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was introduced to Arcanum by a friend of mine, who often spoke praise for it. I installed it, opened it, and watched the CG of the the blimp crash (loved the fanciful "heavier-than-air" machines). From the moment I met Virgil well on to going to Tarant, I found I couldn't stop playing.

Why was this game so addictive? Perhaps just the replayability Arcanum has! I'm guessing there are ten different side-quests in small towns, thirty in the major cities, and each one has different outcomes depending on how you handle it. Dialogue is very flexible, and fits the personality of every one. For example, let's say you meet a flower girl in a town who offers a flower. You can respond with:

- "Yes, thank you. [pay her]"
- "No."
- "That flower would look better in your skull."

And no that last part wasn't put in for good humor - you actually HAVE responses like that! They're not always as severe, but if you like being a crabby old man, this is your game. Another friend of mine (one who would join the Dark Side gladly) went through the game constantly using those responses. Yes even the ones for Virgil.

Character development is also a MAJOR aspect of this game, and another reason it is so replayable. Besides the fact you can choose to be a magic user, a tech user, or a bit of both Column A and B, you can also get blessed, curse, get good (or bad) reputation with towns, and also choose your "background" at the beginning of the game, which will determine your skill or disposition. I should warn you if you choose to go magic, technology users will begin to shy away from you, as it is believed high levels of "magick" will cause mechanisms to burst. One character of mine became such a heavy user of magic that they wouldn't even let me ride the train any more! So I killed them...

You also get a good number of people who can join your party. You can choose to boot them or let them stay (even Virgil), and quite often that is determined on your character's Good or Evil rating. I played a character with a high Good level and was told by one person she couldn't join me because I was so "morally inclined."

So with out a doubt, this is probably the most fun RPG I've played yet. It really does make me feel like I'm inside a fantasy world, and I'm pretty sure they spent a good amount of time on this. If you want to find an RPG with a different world than what you're used too, or you're ticked off they aren't releasing "Fable" for the PC, then I suggest you give this game a try.

Excellent, but buggy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: June 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I knew i had to buy this when I first began reading about it back in 2000. The setting just sounded so great. A fantasy world, but one having an industrial revolution. In other words, your typical fantasy world, turned upside down.

The game doesn't disappoint.

First off, the character creation system is very cool. Completely classless, which while initially rather daunting, is very deep and fun to use. Basically, your stats determine your ability to train in skills. When you level up, you receive 1 point, and every five levels, you receive 2. These can be spent on skills, stats, spells or schematics. For example, if you want to become proficient with melee weapons, you must raise your dexterity accordingly, and the spend points in the Melee skill. if you want to hit harder, you raise your Strength stats.

You can play as a Male/Female Human, Male/Female Elf, Male/Female half-Elf, Male/Female half-orc, Male half-Ogre, Male Halfling, Male Dwarf and Male Gnome. I didn't like that you couldn't play as a female for several of the races, but the reasoning is explained for some in the manual and in the game. Still, it was disappointing.

If you fancy magic, you can use, it though the spells are often not as fun as the ones in D&D 3.5. Still, the spells are cool, and have intersting effects. Excpet the elemental cantrips. They make annoying constantly playing noise (especially Strength of Earth). But anyway, magic is a path you can follow; in order to use magic, you must raise your Willpower stat accordingly. High intelligence also benefits a spellcaster, in order to maintain more spells at once. Instead of having your character's magic increase in power when you level up, in Arcanum, your magical apptitude increases when you learn more spells. This makes as much sense as the D&D system, so i like it. There are 16 Colleges of Magic.

If magic isn't for you... you can become a technologist. Based on your intelligence score, you can aquire schematics when you level up; schematics allow you to combine items and create new ones. You can create guns, armor, potions, etc. You can also buy schematics in stores, and learn to build equipment by using things you can already make, and combine them. There are eight technological disciplines, inclduing Blacksmithy, Electrical, Chemical and Explosives. Each have their own benefits and playing style.

Arcanum also has an excellent story. You are appparently the reincarnation of a powerful elven wizard, destined to fight a great evil. All I will say is that the plot leaves you guessing until the very end.

NPCs follow you around, and can be given certain instructions, like Back Off, Wait, Walk to X Location, etc. by right clicking their portrait. The commands don't always work due to some fun bugs, but this doesn't happen often. NPC interaction is not as complicated as in Knights of the Old Republic, but is still good. A few have voices, but not all. The more interesting ones generally are the ones with a voice, like Magnus, or Virgil. Some even have a story you can complete, again, Magnus and Virgil, and a few others.

Combat is a mixed bag at times, but fun. In Arcanum, you can choose to use a turn based or a real-time form of combat. Stick to turn based. The real-time setting is poorly developed with no pause button, or round system like in Knights of the Old Republic and other real time games. Combat tends to favor melee fighters, which can be disappointing. Bullets and arrows are assigned weight in this game, which is realistic, but it hampers gameplay. It is also harder to play as a gunslinger, at least in my opinion. This isn't to say its not fun. The most amusing weapon to unleash on enemies is the Mechanized Gun, followed by the Pyrotechnic Axe.

The sound is well done, with my favorite effect being a dying lich. The weakest effects are the "crowd sounds" you hear in bars. They say the same thing over and over.

The graphics are now quite dated, but acceptable. They get the job done, but it wouldn't have killed Troika to include more character models. Even (yuck) Baldur's Gate let you customize your character's looks.

There are several bugs, some of them annoying, and a few can crash the game. Save often, and you'll be fine. There is a patch available.

Overall Arcanum is an excellent game, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys RPGs, fantasy, or in my case, those who enjoy science fiction or alternate history. It has something for everyone. I got addicted to CRPGs thanks to Arcanum.

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