| Arx Fatalis | Arkane Studios / JoWood Productions Software AG | 2002 | |
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Arx Fatalis is a great subterranean 3D dungeon crawl from French developer Arkane styled after the classic Ultima Underworld. It's in first-person view and highly atmospheric. It's a shame it was released in same year as Neverwinter Nights and Elder Scrolls III:Morrowind so it didn't get the audience it deserved. You play as a character who's lost his memory and awakens in a small cell. The game takes place in a world where the sun has fizzled out and civilization has picked up and moved beneath the surface of the earth, since it's warmer down there. For fans of dark games like Thief, they'll enjoy this too. You're able to pick up just about anything that isn't nailed down, you can use the local flora to brew various potions and such, you can move or throw things around, and if you look down, you can even see your feet. You create your character by applying ability points to four core attributes and skill points to a number of different abilities, from close combat and magic to stealth, intuition, and object knowledge. Gaining experience levels lets you further improve these attributes and abilities. Your character has to eat throughout the game to survive. The game's combat and magic systems work very well. You'll be able to find and use some ranged weapons, but much of the combat takes place at close range, where you'll use things like swords, clubs, and axes to execute thrusting, slashing, and chopping moves against your assailants. You cast spells using proper hand gestures. You first need to find the proper runes, and you then trace the symbols on the runes in the air using your mouse. There's great sound and enemy animations and the paths are not too linear so you can explore many areas. Very highly recommended! | ||
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