sammy22 on 4/3/2004 at 16:12
interesting
marklo on 5/3/2004 at 09:52
A flawed classic.
I liked the athmosphere, the graphics, the sound, the magic system.
The level load was painful, also it was quite a small game with a bit too linear a plot.
Game balance was a bit weak for magic as once you got fireball you didn't really need any other spell.
That said I thouroughly enjoyed the game and want more.
mrPither on 24/3/2004 at 22:51
I hereby want to add my late 0.02€ to the pool, and declare that Arx Fatalis is a great game, warts and all!
Actually, couple of hours ago I entered the Crypt section of the game, and the experience has been enough nerve-wrecking, that I needed a break and do something else (and to put the lights back on for a while). Not since Bonehoard have the undead had this effect on me. This, if anything, is a sign of a good game. The Being There factor. Immersion. The BOO-effects manage to keep my heartbeat quite "jazzy"for a long periods of time.
I also agree on what you said about graphics: I recently upgraded my video card to Radeon 9600 Pro, which allows me to run the game at 1280*1024*32, which is 1:1 to the native resolution of my 17" lcd-display. This made the graphics really SHARP, and I think the game graphics look just great. The style and artistic factor more than compensates for the lack of polygons or whatever.
Arx Rox:
+ atmosphere
+ ambient sounds
+ graphics (fits the game 100%)
+ magic system (somehow, I got Dungeon Master flashbacks)
+ the old skool RPG-feel
+ details with the inventory items (like making apple pies, pinning down the zombies etc.)
Arx Sux:
- Interface (with reservations). Why does it always default back to the inventory view (like after quicksave or checking the map), when the player was on the free-look mode before?
- Linearity (with reservations). I'd like to be able to have an effect on the conversations. Funny thing is, even though Morrowind was so open and vast, I've had more occasions in Arx where I had to look hints on where to find the next specific something. In Morrowind there was always some quest or plot thread one could make progress in.
- Stablility (not much after patches). Sometimes the game just freezes and that's it. Might also be my ATi display drivers :erg:
- Bugs (not much after patches). For example: left the crypt for a detour in level 5, and when I came back, the fog was gone.
sammy22 on 25/3/2004 at 12:31
yes, i'm enjoying the game more now.......
Still only on level 3, but I have 10 runes, and have discovored that if you find runes you already have you might as well sell them, rather than adding to your spellbook.
