Arx Fatalis Review

“... The sun had long died. Just went out. The kingdom of darkness comes. Bowels of the earth became our home. We humans once lived on the surface. Hardly , however, remains the man to remember and to tell these days. Once large and shining star is warming with its magical rays surface of our land. Once people, trolls, goblins, dragons and demons lived together, ignoring each other, absolute peace and quiet. But suddenly the so-called sun began little by little to cool until he disappeared forever from the sky. Then came the eternal darkness, and the ground froze from chilling cold and eternal. Many died, while others sought refuge in the ancient dwarven mines and called them a new home.

Over the years, things have calmed down and everyone found its place under the ground. However, our existence was unfortunate. I have forgotten the taste of real food grown under the rays of bright sunshine. But one thing I know for sure - it is far more tasty than that which we are forced to grow with the help of magic. Today the only people who come to the surface of the earth, are members of the guild of wandering. They walk the icy areas hoping to find any sign of life. But will hardly succeed ...

“ (excerpt from the unofficial chronicle of the Kingdom Arcs)

To everyone's joy Arx Fatalis is not just another nondescript and bland RPG, which was spawned in the market. Arcane Studios development team manages to carry us into a world reminiscent of the dark, illuminated only by the flames of the torches finally oxidize, dungeons of classic games like Ultimo Underworld and Stone Keep. World populated with creatures that exist only in fairy tales and legends. A place where the magic of honor and is considered an integral part of everyday life of each creature. The protagonist in Arx Fatalis , is you suffering from total memory loss. At the outset of the game he wakes up in a prison cell.

Prisoner in the kingdom of goblins and no memory of who he is and how he got here. Your task is to get him out and help him recover his lost memory. Contrary to his will, he will become a mercenary King Lanshaya r and little by little you will find that the whole world who knows, faces a huge threat - a powerful demon named Akba's eating death, misery and sorrow of the people.

Naturally, you are the one who has to prevent his desire to reign eternal chaos. The smell of stale It lies in the narrow, low and dark corridors. The only places at which air leaks are small and narrow shadowy tunnels associated with the surface of the earth. This game can definitely astound you with their mind-blowing setting. The very thought of life underground, the fact that you will not even see a single ray of sunlight more terrified me. Generally, the atmosphere in the game is very depressing. But after a half hour game these small, narrow, low and stinking of stale air corridors are starting to look comfortable and feeling of claustrophobia disappears completely.

Perspective in Arx Fatalis is a first person and the management does not differ in anything from that of most role-playing games of this type. On the other hand, the more familiar with her world, the stronger will realize how rich and interactive it is. You can interact with almost everything Which you glimpse the sight. A small example of this is connected with the eating habits of our man.

For example, your character will not want to eat raw fish, so it can not hurt to improvised a little fire and bake aquatic creature. And a plurality of possible combinations of food products. If mix water and flour to make the dough, which you bake. Then we will get bread. But there is another alternative. If your hand is rolling pin, you can roll out the mixture to add an apple and put the resulting slow fire. The end result will be apple pie. If you just starved to death and there is nothing more appropriate to eat, find simple rod and combine it with a rope. This will give you a hook to help you to sialic little fish from the nearest stream.

If you at a later stage of the game it turns out that you need a rope, just use the weapon and cut the cord imaginary - that you already have again rod and rope. I think you convinced how amazing is interactivity, but these are just small examples of opportunities in this game.

As gameplay Arx Fatalis remind briefly and Thief, because often you can choose whether to sneak quietly near his enemy or use brute force. At the outset of the game, while in prison, will overhear conversation between two goblins who discuss their dissatisfaction with dirty dishes. To make them angry and set them against their other brother, quietly replace the clean dishes on the table beside them dirty, then enjoy what will follow. The system for doing magic It is a mix of Ultimo VIII and Black & White. From the dungeons of Arx Fatalis are scattered dozens thoroughly well hidden runes. Their correct combination (unfortunately this happens automatically) leads to a different standard for role-playing games, but still useful magic spells. Each rune is triggered only when using the mouse redrawn typical of her character. At the very beginning it is interesting, but as the game becomes a bit tedious and even difficult. However, you can save once to three remade spells and use them quickly in the tense moments. Whether you scroll through the game as a brutal warrior, thief or subversive adept spell caster, depends entirely on you. Freedom of action and interactivity in Arx Fatalis, her catchy story line and claustrophobic atmosphere of a medieval type contribute to the overall, almost perfect image of the game. Adding to all this and more or less decent graphics and sound system, will receive one of the best RPG.

Rating: 9/10

Developer: Arkane Studios Publisher: JoWood Productions, DreamCatcher Interactive.

Genre: RPG. Mode:Single-player.

Release Date: Nov 11, 2002