Terry Penrod
April 28th, 2004, 09:57 pm
.
I'm just getting into this SP-only, first person, real-time 3D CRPG ode to Ultima Underworld and wanted to share a few initial impressions.
First of all, Arx Fatalis is set in a dark, claustrophibic game world by design and it has some odd quirks like slightly sluggish, non-intuitive first person movement and combat controls. It also has relatively dated graphics by today's lofty standards and a high learning curve - especially for magic users.
But once you get used to the controls and unique magic casting system it really becomes good with a very cool story, quite a bit of immersion and some rather interesting little gameplay details that lend a sense of immediancy to your situation.
So far I have made dough from flour to bake my own bread and pies, caught and fried some fish with a self-fashioned pole, killed, prepared and roasted chickens, mined for gems to sell (gold and high dollar loot is very scarce in the beginning) and even created a number of potions from processed natural ingredients with a simple mortar and pestle in a lab. I've also collected the first of many magical runes, committed them to permanent memory / the spellbook, learned several nifty new spells and practiced the often iffy mouse moves needed to draw their various symbol combinations in the air in order to cast them.
Along the way, from the opening level in a dank depressing prison cell with total amnesia, my character helped a fellow inmate escape and immediaitely became lost in the narrow, inky, winding catacombs full of poisonous spiders, large rats and some very strong goblin guards - using minimal stealth skills, one lousy spell and a puny bone for an initial weapon. But once he found a real knife, some basic armor and picked-up a little more XP, he quickly grew to a reasonable state of defense, offense and self-preservation.
Now, he has discovered his true identity and his main quest as well as a large number of side quests while meeting some very well voiced / rendered NPCs of many races, read some books about the lore and even defeated his first golem while also learning the secret to activating the teleportals that make getting from one subterranean level to the next a VERY welcome breeze.
The game employs equal doses of stealth, diplomacy, survival instincts, combat and exploration with some minor puzzle solving in between - all in a seamless environment that makes you earn every golden reward, every XP, every new item or spell and every critical level-up. It is pretty hard in places but you do feel quite satisified at the accomplishments each time you succeed and that makes the roleplaying very immersive. Much moreso than in most other titles in the genre.
I'd love to see this game redone with a far more advanced graphical 3D engine and much more fluid melee combat controls as well as better positional surround sound, enemy AI and physics. But other than those technical aspects, it is already a very good SP CRPG that all serious gamers should consider.
Cheers, Terry
.
I'm just getting into this SP-only, first person, real-time 3D CRPG ode to Ultima Underworld and wanted to share a few initial impressions.
First of all, Arx Fatalis is set in a dark, claustrophibic game world by design and it has some odd quirks like slightly sluggish, non-intuitive first person movement and combat controls. It also has relatively dated graphics by today's lofty standards and a high learning curve - especially for magic users.
But once you get used to the controls and unique magic casting system it really becomes good with a very cool story, quite a bit of immersion and some rather interesting little gameplay details that lend a sense of immediancy to your situation.
So far I have made dough from flour to bake my own bread and pies, caught and fried some fish with a self-fashioned pole, killed, prepared and roasted chickens, mined for gems to sell (gold and high dollar loot is very scarce in the beginning) and even created a number of potions from processed natural ingredients with a simple mortar and pestle in a lab. I've also collected the first of many magical runes, committed them to permanent memory / the spellbook, learned several nifty new spells and practiced the often iffy mouse moves needed to draw their various symbol combinations in the air in order to cast them.
Along the way, from the opening level in a dank depressing prison cell with total amnesia, my character helped a fellow inmate escape and immediaitely became lost in the narrow, inky, winding catacombs full of poisonous spiders, large rats and some very strong goblin guards - using minimal stealth skills, one lousy spell and a puny bone for an initial weapon. But once he found a real knife, some basic armor and picked-up a little more XP, he quickly grew to a reasonable state of defense, offense and self-preservation.
Now, he has discovered his true identity and his main quest as well as a large number of side quests while meeting some very well voiced / rendered NPCs of many races, read some books about the lore and even defeated his first golem while also learning the secret to activating the teleportals that make getting from one subterranean level to the next a VERY welcome breeze.
The game employs equal doses of stealth, diplomacy, survival instincts, combat and exploration with some minor puzzle solving in between - all in a seamless environment that makes you earn every golden reward, every XP, every new item or spell and every critical level-up. It is pretty hard in places but you do feel quite satisified at the accomplishments each time you succeed and that makes the roleplaying very immersive. Much moreso than in most other titles in the genre.
I'd love to see this game redone with a far more advanced graphical 3D engine and much more fluid melee combat controls as well as better positional surround sound, enemy AI and physics. But other than those technical aspects, it is already a very good SP CRPG that all serious gamers should consider.
Cheers, Terry
.