The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I loved Fallout I & II, so for me, Arcanum was well anticipated. It took long enough for them to play-test it, so by the time it finally arrived, I was practically frothing at the mouth.

So now its here, and how is it? In a word, good. But that word betrays little --- as their are some profound dampeners.

SUMMARY

For those of you who have never heard of it, Arcanum is a roleplaying-game for the PC, set in a Victorian-era steampunk world, mixed with shadowrun (sorta). There are elves, dwarves, humans and the like, and they battle each other with sword n' steam, tech n' magick, which all compete for power.

GRAPHICS

The graphics aren't great. In fact, they're definately a low point. Think Diablo II, as far as graphic capabilities are concerned (I mean, c'mon, they're all sprites). Unfortunately alot of the background visuals (the towns etc.) are dark and poorly drawn, so this of course adds to the graphical misery.

GAMEPLAY - CHARACTER CREATION

The character creation is extremely well thought out, for a computer-based RPG. There are a number of races to choose from: Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Orc and Half-Ogre. Then you choose your sex (no female Half-Ogres, unfortunately) and your background (alot of which are quite comical, like: raised by snake-handlers, etc. They do have an absolute effect on the game). You then add points to your eight stats an' skills (which vary from lock-picking, firearms to melee --- all of which will effect how you play this game), an' off you go. Beyond even this, there is magick and technology --- two power trees you get to choose from, which includes /alot/ of different powers. The interesting (and in some ways unfortunate) thing is that when you pick Tech abilities (to be able to take crap and make it into items, basically) you lose out on Magick stuff, and in fact you eventually become poorer and poorer at using things of the converse nature.

GAMEPLAY - COMBAT

Fair at best. The graphical combat system is pretty poor, in that melee is relegated to just smashing the enemy with your sword at super-high speeds (there's /one/ swinging animation. Yes. One.) And it looks very dated. Also the firearms (Which for me was a selling point) don't need to be reloaded --- so your one-shot flintlock pistol can be fired as quickly as a .45 Caliber Thompson Submachinegun, basically. Also, all guns use the same bullets --- from rifle, to pistol.

But in some strange ways, I found the combat to be fun, particularly if you take it permenantly off real-time mode and stick to turn-based. Its beyond reminiscent of Fallout, it practically is that.

STORY

The story is good, from what I've seen thus far. The characterization is allright, with its share of annoying 'groaner' lines, like in Baldurs Gate II, but you'll live.

SOUNDS

The soundtrack is pretty cool --- fairly decent violin stuff, at times.

OVERALL

I'm playing the game now, have run two characters thus far and am excited to see other options. Its a very good effort, with quite a few problems --- but then again, Fallout had some issues too. I don't agree with certain other game reviews out there that're slamming it, I played it for over ten hours today and don't intend to return it. Plus if you've got a Victorian fetish like me, you'll love it.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura Capsule Review by Jeffrey Greene on 22/08/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Long-awaited Victorian-Steam-Punk-Fantasy-RPG comes to the PC. Product: Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura Author: Troika-Games Category: PC - Game Company/Publisher: Sierra Line: Cost: 49.99 Page count: Year published: 2001 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Jeffrey Greene on 22/08/01 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction	I loved Fallout I & II, so for me, Arcanum was well anticipated. It took long enough for them to play-test it, so by the time it finally arrived, I was practically frothing at the mouth. So now its here, and how is it? In a word, good. But that word betrays little --- as their are some profound dampeners. SUMMARY For those of you who have never heard of it, Arcanum is a roleplaying-game for the PC, set in a Victorian-era steampunk world, mixed with shadowrun (sorta). There are elves, dwarves, humans and the like, and they battle each other with sword n' steam, tech n' magick, which all compete for power. GRAPHICS The graphics aren't great. In fact, they're definately a low point. Think Diablo II, as far as graphic capabilities are concerned (I mean, c'mon, they're all sprites). Unfortunately alot of the background visuals (the towns etc.) are dark and poorly drawn, so this of course adds to the graphical misery. GAMEPLAY - CHARACTER CREATION The character creation is extremely well thought out, for a computer-based RPG. There are a number of races to choose from: Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Orc and Half-Ogre. Then you choose your sex (no female Half-Ogres, unfortunately) and your background (alot of which are quite comical, like: raised by snake-handlers, etc. They do have an absolute effect on the game). You then add points to your eight stats an' skills (which vary from lock-picking, firearms to melee --- all of which will effect how you play this game), an' off you go. Beyond even this, there is magick and technology --- two power trees you get to choose from, which includes /alot/ of different powers. The interesting (and in some ways unfortunate) thing is that when you pick Tech abilities (to be able to take crap and make it into items, basically) you lose out on Magick stuff, and in fact you eventually become poorer and poorer at using things of the converse nature. GAMEPLAY - COMBAT Fair at best. The graphical combat system is pretty poor, in that melee is relegated to just smashing the enemy with your sword at super-high speeds (there's /one/ swinging animation. Yes. One.) And it looks very dated. Also the firearms (Which for me was a selling point) don't need to be reloaded --- so your one-shot flintlock pistol can be fired as quickly as a .45 Caliber Thompson Submachinegun, basically. Also, all guns use the same bullets --- from rifle, to pistol. But in some strange ways, I found the combat to be fun, particularly if you take it permenantly off real-time mode and stick to turn-based. Its beyond reminiscent of Fallout, it practically is that. STORY The story is good, from what I've seen thus far. The characterization is allright, with its share of annoying 'groaner' lines, like in Baldurs Gate II, but you'll live. SOUNDS The soundtrack is pretty cool --- fairly decent violin stuff, at times. OVERALL I'm playing the game now, have run two characters thus far and am excited to see other options. Its a very good effort, with quite a few problems --- but then again, Fallout had some issues too. I don't agree with certain other game reviews out there that're slamming it, I played it for over ten hours today and don't intend to return it. Plus if you've got a Victorian fetish like me, you'll love it.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura