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Intro Arx Fatalis marks the second computer-style RPG to make its way onto the Xbox, with the first being Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Gamers that enjoyed the style of Bethesda's work should find much to like in this adventurous role-playing release from Arkane Studios. Gameplay: 8/10 Starting out, Arx Fatalis might not be overly impressive. Creating a hero entails allocating skill points to four major categories (strength, mental, dexterity, and constitution), then using a few more points to enhance sub-traits (intuition, stealth, close combat, etc.); these sub-traits are tied into the major ones by getting large increases when one of the four are selected to enhance, but the additional points that goes only for them allows for tailoring the character to how the player would like. After all of the points are spent, the only real choice left to make the character unique is to select of five faces. Console fans aren't used to too much character creating, so it's not likely that so few options will disappoint. Once character creation is done, the player selects either normal or easy difficulty, and then begins their adventure. But wait! The adventuring and role-playing isn't going to start just yet, first it's time to become familiar with one of the game's more frequent screens: the loading screen. Arx Fatalis loads a lot, a whole lot. Throughout the journey, players will encounter some fairly long load times and a slightly chuggy framerate, which makes the waiting sting just a bit more. The game starts out with the player waking up in a prison and realizing that they can't remember anything. After escaping, the gray stone walls turn to cavern walls, and that repeats over and over. You see, one of the more unique things about Arx Fatalis is that it all takes place underground. In a few cool sequences, the player can check out the surface of the planet and see how inhospitable it is. Surprisingly, for a game that takes place underground, the developers did a good job of making the surroundings far less boring than one would have imagined. Carved out and in the earth are large castles, mines, pools, bars, and even cities. The underground world is segmented by ruling factions that provide some of the conflict in the story. Since everything is so dark, there are times when the drabness makes the game feel like it is dragging on. But I guess that is how our hero feels as well. If the developers were going for immersion, they succeeded. What makes Arx Fatalis interesting isn't really where it is located, but what the player can do. Much of the game feels like an adventure title as it much as a role-playing one since there is much to interact with. If the player needs health, they can just kill a rat for food, but they can't eat the meat. Uncooked ribs have to be cooked, and for that the player needs to find an abandoned campsite to start a fire at or a kitchen to toss the raw meat on an open flame. Similarly, raw fish, which can be gathered from fishing in one of the games many ponds, have to be cooked to be eaten as well. The game goes beyond that though: the player can have flour and water, combine them to make dough, then place the dough on a flame to create edible bread. In fact, there is a pretty fun puzzle involving making a food to upset a king's stomach that was pretty innovative. Players can also mix potions with the right equipment, as well as attempt to repair swords at forges. Whenever there is a city, the player doesn't just have to walk through it, they can also participate in it - granted, it isn't as open as Morrowind. The same can be said for the surroundings as well; if a pickaxe is in the inventory, and a gem is seen on a mine wall, using the tool on it will result in a new item to sell for cash. These little touches, while not necessarily new, were implemented so well that the game averted the very real disaster of being incredibly boring, and actually gave life to such an unlikely game world. Navigating can be a bit tricky, though. The map, and its smaller version, does little beyond the basics; special locations aren't marked, leaving the player left with the unfortunate task of trying to remember landmarks in many areas that look exactly alike. Also, because of the choppy framerate, movement will feel stilted. Combat, on the other hand, is pretty natural and plays much like Morrowind: the longer the attack button is held down, the harder the blow will be, and moving while swinging will dictate what kind of an attack will be performed. There are no parrying systems or anything of the sort, just bashing, evading, and using magic. Magic plays a particularly interesting role, because it requires the player to actually perform the moves, instead of just selecting and casting. Runes are used in combination to perform spells, and each rune has a set of arrow keys assigned to them, so casting a spell requires the player to use the directional pad to move their character's hand in the direction stated on the rune. Powerful spells will require multiple runes, so after a while it'll feel like a combo system is developing. Thankfully, players can pre-cast spells so they don't have to fumble around with the inventory and rune directions in the middle of combat. While this certainly caused some truly hectic situations, it was handled well and fit in with game's style. The story is particularly interesting, as are the quests. There are a few of the fetch missions that are so common to the genre, but they are also intertwined with much more interesting, and fun, tasks. The aforementioned bread puzzle was enjoyable, as was finding a gift for a new troll friend. Watching the story unfold, with its earthly and unearthly twists and turns, complemented the game's claustrophobic feel. Throughout the player's journey they will get accustomed to their onscreen character, who, I think, has to be one of the more annoying characters I've seen in a while. Constantly whining about not wanting to participate in the world around him, but doing it anyway, his out-loud, soap-opera-like thinking spiels were just annoying. In
spite of the whiney main character, the loading, navigation issues, and graphic
problems, Arx Fatalis is actually a surprisingly enjoyable game. The sporadic
periods of doldrums are the result of many of the problems listed, but they still
remained nuisances. Console gamers who want something new would do well to try
out Arx Fatalis; granted, it isn't as fast or as glamorous as a Square
Enix outing, but it has charm and an adventure well worth taking.
Graphics: 6/10 Sound: 8/10 Control:
6.5/10 Overall:
7.5/10 [ top ] | |||
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