Arx Fatalis

The Good
First of all, let's make things straight. Deadly City is the English translation for Arx Fatalis (latin). I don't really know why the game is called like that, Arx isn't that deadly, but I guess its all about the history of Arx.

Most people hate this game because of it's small world and few characters. I personally love this feature, the game is easy to explore and you will never get lost in the world. Also, you will always know what you have to do. You won't need to travel 998383838 regions to get to an NPC in order to get... one Magical Feather of the Phoenix (random name) or another...

The combat in Arx Fatalis is easy to learn since it uses the classic "recipe". You hold the mouse button to "deliver" a stronger hit. You can use bows, swords, axes, daggers or any other weapon you can get.

I liked the spellcasting system. Each spell can be casted only if you cast specific runes (each spell requires specific types of runes.) in a specific order. To cast the runes you must "draw" with the mouse cursor the symbol which represents each rune. Switching between melee/ranged combat mode to spellcasting mode is easy thus making combat even more intense and at the same time interesting.

The character's interaction level with the surrounding objects is simply "heroic"! You can cook, go fishing, read books, steal and more!

The story in the game is interesting overall, but the ending seemed a little "abrupt" to me...

The game graphics are absolutely great and the atmosphere offered by the graphics is unequaled. Maybe some buildings look a little bit weird... but I won't consider that a flaw.

Each character has it's own voice and the actors did a great job. I watched all the characters in the game, and believe me they seem to be real! Also each character has it's own "daily routine", which makes things even better. However, you can't tell if there's a day-night cycle since the action takes place in the underground so I've never seen any character sleeping. Too bad...

The quests you recieve are always different, I've never seen any "cloned quest". Each quest, even if it may seem to be secondary, affects quite greatly the main storyline.

The game also features some puzzles, which aren't entirely difficult, but you never get bored by solving them since they are interesting and if you ever get stuck on one puzzle you'll be very satisfied if you solve it after.... don't know why but you will be :)

The opponent's AI is well scripted and each enemy seems intelligent... some may even cause you trouble.

The environment sounds and sound effects are helping the overall atmosphere of the game to get even higher! I liked the music played by the local musicians and the atmospheric sound from Arx...

The Bad
Well first of all the loading times are... deadly... The world is made of many "regions" that you can access one at a time, and everytime the loading is really deadly. Maybe that's why the game is called Arx Fatalis...

The spellcasting system requires the caster (player) to go somewhere for training before casting spells in a fulltime combat... Sometimes it's really difficult to cast some runes just because you "missed" a "shape" with the mouse.

The Bottom Line
That would be all bad things... the game is great, a classic even. Maybe it does not surpass other "great" RPG's, but Arx Fatalis is special in a special way and maybe if you play it you'll put the CD in a special place, to be seen by everyone. The game deserves such a "sacrifice"...

The Good
Arx Fatalis is an obvious homage to the Ultima Underworld series, with a similar core concept and gameplay lifted right from the pages of the Underworld manuals.

The core idea of the game it that it's an RPG with freeform character dynamics but a linear plot. It succeeds in as far as making building your character an entertaining process and simulating freedom of gameplay.

What keeps the game so fresh is that despite being locked to the game's straightforward plot at all times, there are plenty of unique things to do along the way. All sorts of items can be combined to make more useful ones, and the world can be interacted with in unique ways. For example, fish can be cooked over a fire, bread can be baked and potions can be distilled.

Arx has an innovative magic system in which you collect runes and draw their shapes in the air to form combinations which cast spells. It's clumsy on a technical level, but there's an inherent coolness in drawing runes in the air that makes up for that.

Apart from these innovations, the game is pretty standard RPG fare: Talk to someone, get a quest, kill a creature, get better items, level up, increase your statistics, rinse & repeat. There's nothing to complain about as Arx succeeds in keeping this formula quite entertaining for the duration of its game.

Also of note are the game's sound, which is above average, and its visuals, which, while not particularly striking in terms of special effects, evoke the atmosphere of dank, oppressive underground catacombs quite well. (Whether this is a good thing or not is clearly a matter of opinion.)

The Bad
Unfortunately, Arx trips over its own feet on the way to RPG greatness. It's horrifically unbalanced. Any poor sod trying to play as an archer will soon find that all their points spent in ranged weapon skill are completely useless, as ranged weapons are barely useful against the very weakest of the game's sorted enemies. Similarly, some spells are useless while others are the miracle cure as soon as they're acquired.

Another major failing is the plot. For an entirely plot-driven game, Arx really doesn't have a lot of it. It clearly attempts to be a fantasy epic, but there's nothing here that one wouldn't expect to find in a paperback Forgotten Realms 'novel': Strange prophecy, ancient evil, foretold savior, Ring/Sword/Teddy Bear of World-Saving, et cetera.

Arx's voice acting is subpar, but since it's a translated game that is to be expected.

Finally, one of the biggest problems with Arx is that it's incredibly short. A veteran RPG player will probably be able to churn through it in under fifteen hours, possibly less. The only RPG I've ever played shorter than Arx is Fable.

The Bottom Line
I've learned to judge game's plots by much lower standards than books or movies, so I was able to forgive Arx's lack of originality and enjoy the unique, innovative RPG game dynamics and the rich environment. For RPG players who can forgive a terribly unbalanced game, I recommend Arx; it really is quite fun... for the short time it lasts.

The Good
Long time ago, Ultima Underworld games revolutionized the RPG industry by showing how well meticulous character management and exploration can be combined with atmospheric immersion into a true 3D world. Strangely, very few games followed their brilliant design philosophy. Confining ourselves to first-person 3D games, we find that King's Field had simplified interaction and focused mostly on the actual challenges of survival; Arena opted for a gigantic expansion of the game world at the expense of detail; System Shock and its followers reduced the RPG elements.

It is therefore surprising that a game like Arx Fatalis was actually released. Made by a little-known (at the time) French developer, the game was conceived as a tribute to Ultima Underworld, a deeply respectful homage to the genius classic. However, thanks to the passion and the talent of its designers, it ended up being more than just a fan remake. Notwithstanding its flaws, the biggest of which is its modesty, it is a worthy follower of the great legacy.

What catches the eye immediately in Arx Fatalis is something I treasure so much in games: attention to detail. On the most plain level, there is stuff everywhere, and much of it can be interacted with. The seemingly innocent, harmless features such as the ability to grill fish or put a chair on a dead goblin's body actually betray a much more lofty purpose and harbor a much deeper meaning: they serve to immerse us into the game's world. The world of Arx Fatalis feels alive. It feels like something we, the players, accidentally discovered - something that has existed before we were allowed to enter it. If you have ever experienced such a sensation with a video game you'll understand what I'm talking about. It may be a curiously misplaced pillow concealing a mysterious unidentified ring or stunning art decorating a church you casually pass by - the point is that everything that constitutes the world here was created with love and dedication. So many games pay little attention to details, and their worlds end up being bleak, hollow, devoid of true colors no matter the amount of polygons and fancy special effects. Arx Fatalis is different - it's one of those games with a soul.

Fooling around with household items and re-arranging furniture is intricately woven into the fabric of the gameplay. Arx Fatalis masterfully captures the spirit of exploration in confined areas. Yes, it is not as generously open as Underworld games - but for what is essentially a dungeon crawler, the game offers plenty to explore, often within something that may not look like much much at the first sight. Balancing linearity and exploration is very tricky business, but Arx Fatalis almost succeeds in making it perfect. Note I said almost - for my taste, the game could have been larger and do away with artificial obstacles altogether. But even so, each area, in itself, is exquisitely designed. There is always something to look for, optional locations to discover, items to collect, unknown paths to explore. Every dungeon is interesting, and none feels hastily designed or too straightforward.

Arx Fatalis has intense atmosphere. That is perhaps its most valuable asset. Underworld games, with all their greatness, could mostly create immersion only through their impeccably executed gameplay systems. The actual early 3D graphics could do little to convey the dark mood penetrating those games. In Arx Fatalis, technology has caught up with gameplay vision. The game is beautiful in that melancholic, cozy way that I particularly like in games. The environments are not only rich in detail - they are pleasant and soothing without detracting from the romantic appeal of darkness.

I could list more features, such as the original magic system that allows players to draw runes on the screen to cast spells; the variety of weapons, armor, and all sorts of items to experiment with; the interesting quasi-post-apocalyptic setting with different races hiding in a vast underground world; the occasional clever puzzles reminding of adventure games. Most important, though, is the quality rarely found in games of that time period: the desire to experiment. Arx Fatalis is not afraid to let players think outside of the box, adapt to different gameplay styles, display flexibility when it is needed most. Granted, the game could have been braver in following its venerable teachers; but it still does a lot, and for that it should be commended.

The Bad
Now comes this inevitable comparison with Ultima Underworld. It is easy to admit that Arx Fatalis often feels like a diminished, simplified version of the old classic. However, we need to put things into perspective. Ultima Underworld games were and always will be unsurpassed as astonishing pioneers and founders of an entire sub-genre. That doesn't mean that imitating them while making a few concessions to contemporary demands is a bad thing. That said, these concessions are, of course, bound to irritate the unsatiated Underworld fan. Arx Fatalis is indeed smaller and more linear. There are less things to do, less people to talk to, and less exploration possibilities. Disappointment sinks in particularly strong when you feel the developers' talent flowing into fragments, being spent on minor features instead of embracing the whole game and imbuing it with a bolder vision.

That is, ultimately (no pun intended), the game's biggest problem: it is too insecure. It resembles an enthusiastic, but exceedingly modest youth bowing in awe to a statue of a hero he reveres, too shy to try and become hero himself. Humility is not a virtue when applied to video game design. Arx Fatalis is too meek to go all the way, dare and eclipse the master. That's why there is too much caution everywhere. Dialogue feels underdeveloped, areas that could have been explored are conveniently blocked off by contrived plot devices, and lack of balance becomes more and more evident in character-building when you realize that the developers were afraid to be generous enough to let the player experiment more without being punished by all sorts of confinements.

The Bottom Line
While not quite being the third coming of Ultima Underworld, Arx Fatalis is still a unique and important game for its age. It could have been bigger and more daring; but even so, it is a testimony of talent and love for the genre, and certainly one of the more atmospheric, oddly engrossing RPGs I've come across.

The Good
Arx Fatalis is one of the more ambitious roleplaying games that I have seen for the PC. This is no doubt in part because it is a clear homage to another very ambitious, though better executed, game - Ultima Underworld. But I want to make it clear that "homage" does not by any means indicate a lack of creativity from the developers of Arx. It is very much its own game.

Much like Underworld, Arx Fatalis takes place almost entirely underground. There are glimpses of the world above available for the curious, but since the story involves an entire civilization hidden below the earth to survive the difficult conditions above, this is rare.

This dark environment is both an asset and a shortcoming. It certainly becomes atmospheric and, in some place, tense. And some of the places you end up visiting have an otherwordly beauty to them.

Arx Fatalis is an extremely free-form game. You generally have the ability to roam where you wish while following the primary storyline. The world is populated with various useful items which may be combined at times to make better items. No doubt the best of these are ingredients for alchemical use and food which may be cooked at various fires. There is something satisfying about taking ingredients and making an apple pie yourself.

Exploration can be enjoyable and yield some nice treasure. And the fact that you can definitely run into places that are deeper than you can deal with at your level is a nice touch.

Of course, the real claim to fame for Arx is its spell system. Spells in this game are made up of runic combinations. In order to cast, the player must actually draw these combinations on the screen with the mouse. In a hurried situation, this can be almost painfully difficult - a problem somewhat remedied by the ability to "store" a few spells up for later use. But overall it really adds to the enjoyment and memorability of the game. I would love to see this idea used again with a more forgiving system.

The story of Arx is very standard fantasy fare for the most part. It is serviceable, though. I enjoyed the plot as it unfolded and the ending was satisfying.

The Bad
Graphics looked a bit dated in Arx, even at the time of release. Sound was decent but did not leave a big impression on me. Thankfully, in an RPG, the gameplay takes an even higher place than usual.

The rune casting system was definitely clumsy when it was most important. Some runes I was almost never able to cast properly. This could have been fixed with a more forgiving system.

While I praised it above, the darkness of the game can also get a bit grating. If you play it for too long, you may find yourself longing for brighter colors and daylight.

Finally, the NPC's in the game were largely uninspiring.

The Bottom Line
If you have the patience to deal with the flaws, Arx Fatalis is definitely worth playing. Fans of Ultima Underworld should be especially interested.

The Good
This game reminds me of one of the games that made me switch from C64 to the trusty PC (386 at the time): Ultima Underworld. It's a heavy RPG that plays out entirely underground and is filled with treasures, problems and difficult quests. It has a complicated real time magic system where you have to draw runes in the air using your mouse pointer! It sounds kinky but it's actually working really well. There's lots of original equipment, boss fights and well written dialogue in there too, plus a great deal of character development. And food. And more!

The Bad
I didn't like the weapon deterioration, the fact that you have to eat continously and since I am bad at drawing things, the magic system got on my nerves. Other than that, this is a high quality game.

The Bottom Line
If you liked the Ultima Underworld-series, then you're almost bound to love this. It's a great homeage to those old classics, yet it contains a lot of original ideas and implementations, enough to make it stand on its own proud feet. A hard core 3D RPG with a real time fighitng system and a real time magic system that isn't the best game to choose if you're claustrophobic.

The Good
First of all the graphics are really good in this game, as is the atmosphere and feeling. In the beginning of the game you come to a castle which is some of the most impressive graphics I have seen in any game. The music also is atmospheric and moody. Similar to Thief: the dark project it has some very cool locations like underground crypts and cathedrals with zombies and mummies. Some quests also reminded me alot of those of Eye of the beholder.

The Bad
It is very unbalanced. The Ylsidies especially are very though to beat without using magic, which is boring if you want to play a warrior and not rely on magic. The other big thing is that it is often quite vague what your next mission is or how to begin it. You feel that the designers have missed something. Also in some scenes the framerate falls very low on my computer which is a 2400+, albeit with a geforce fx5200 graphics card.

The Bottom Line
The flaws in this game hinders it from being a masterpiece although it is a very fun game nevertheless.

The Good
The graphics are nicely done, not extraordinary, but alright. The sound is quite good, only there is too little of it and no music at all. I especially liked some of the cutscenes, which are done with sparsely animated stills. Sometimes animation will only consist of moving across several elements of the still, or of a flickering light effect, but all in all it's very effectively done and creates more atmosphere than many state-of-the-art rendered cut-scenes in other games.

Some of the dungeon crawling is sufficiently moody as well, I recall an interesting, lofty ice cavern and the last level of the maze was quite spooky.

What else...oh yeah. You can bake bread in "Arx Fatalis". What is it that people like about baking bread in games, I wonder? A rush of primal satisfaction à la "My digital character can live off the work of his own, digital hands?" I never understood that sensation. Neither do I understand why quite a lot of people liked this game.

The Bad
First of all, this game goes out there shouting "I'm the 'Ultima Underworld' for a new generation". Since I played both "Ultima Underworld" and "Arx Fatalis" not too long ago, I can clearly say that this new generation is to be pitied. Let's quickly compare gameplay features.

In "Underworld" you have a great sense of exploration due to an enormous amount of non-linearity in its trail of events. Very often there is more than one way to get through a door, an NPC can be killed, lured away, ignored or bargained with in well written multiple-choice dialogue. The element of "life simulation" is very predominant, too, since your character gets exhausted and has to eat and sleep, furthermore, you can always have a look at the time of the day. The story involves the cliché of a kidnapped daughter, but other elements, like for instance the whole "murder of Cabirus"-affair, are original and well executed (these weird dreams!). Moreover, "Underworld" is delved into an extremely rich background (e.g. the whole colony-founding affair) and, ultimately, even carries a message, namely that for all the bickering and war going on between different races, the ultimate evil can only be defeated when all of them lay aside their differences and contribute, symbolized with the respective talismans the Avatar has to get from each race. It may not be much, but hey, for a game of the early 90's it sure is something.

What do you have in "Arx Fatalis"? Level exploration is extremely linear, there are dozens of doors one can only open when they're supposed to be opened and if, by mere chance, one gets into a new place before the story would expect one to be sent there, confusion quickly claims its toll, because linear item A is missing to perform linear task B and there's no other way to get around mentioned B. Dialogue is non-existent, the number of NPCs is little, there are no memorable or even remotely talkative NPCs at all and one simply cannot talk to them - except in generic one liners which the computer conveniently chooses to say for the player (I would have loved to at least have the option of not saying anything and keep my mouth shut). Considering the "life simulation"-element, well, there is no way of measuring time, your character has to eat, but doesn't need sleep. Did they do that to come closer to a roleplayer's life? As for the story of "Arx" - all right, so what if this game is linear, as long as it would come up with a decent story I wouldn't have minded, but truthfully, this is just a perfect example of the most boring "You are the chosen one and have to save earth against evil-evil god" mumbo jumbo. At least they put some fine twists and turns in between, like for instance "find this to get that to wield those against them to destroy said evil-evil god!" As I mentioned, there is no dialogue, so you're not even allowed to protest, neither are you allowed to solve these formidable "quests" in any other (perhaps more intelligent?) way. It's all destiny and prophecy, and this streak of thought is not only still a predominant one in many games, it's also an archaic one, based on the old and wrong assumption that each of us just has to do what we're "chosen" to do and everything will be sugar & spice. Last but not least: as for a background to its abominable tale, "Arx Fatalis" has nothing to little of it. Never does any of the numerous races really go beyond your stereotypical fantasy alphabet: trolls are stupid, goblins are stupid but think they're clever...etc., etc. The initial idea of people having to live underground because of a fading sun might have been a nice one, but "Arx Fatalis" simply fails to fill it with meaning.

However, the trail of mistakes doesn't end there. Worse than the contents of "Arx Fatalis" are its gameplay mechanics and balancing. Some quick facts: there is hardly any light anywhere, torches will last about a minute, and the appropriate spell to see in the dark colours your screen pink (quite psychedelic, that, but obviously destroys any means of "dramatic" lighting). Still worse, the game is haunted by some peculiar sort of "riddles", especially in the crypt levels. These riddles consist mostly of illogical, trial-and-error switching of large numbers of levers, clues as to what one should be doing are either rare or non-existent and - worst of all - these sequences are in no way integrated into the game. They appear to be present merely to stretch the "gaming experience", never is anything explained, leading to questions such as "Why did they put all these levers in a tomb anyway?" popping up, or "If they didn't want anyone to enter that grate, why didn't they just lock it and threw away the key? If they did only want those to enter who knew a certain combination, why can I still solve the riddle and open it, i.e. why is the combination not insolubly complex?" And - the most important question - "Why does the almighty hero-from-another-world player-character not carry a file around to get rid of mentioned grate in a more 'in-yer-face"-way?" You can carry a shovel and a sledgehammer, or wield fiery spells of mass destruction, after all...

Finishing off this rather bleak review, the "Arx Fatalis"-interface is clumsy and reacts outright strangely from time to time. Jumping is imprecise at best, fighting can be quite tricky to manage, which is not helped by the game's absolutely horrible balancing. I know that everybody who played this game has said it already, but here it goes: the battles against these tough-looking, bald-headed Ylsides are laughable. I didn't need a single healing potion for five huge levels of "Arx", I pondered selling them because I thought they might be obsolete after all...and then - I used twenty of 'em during one fight which lasted ten seconds max. Whoever came up with such a weird "twist" really has to re-enter game-school, or rather fun-school - because that simply isn't fun.

The Bottom Line
I know this has been a long review, but I felt that someone had to say something negative about this game because, although it wasn't hyped, it nevertheless acquired some "cool indie stuff"-status. Well, here's the short of it: "Arx Fatalis" is mediocre in presentation, generic and boring in content, boasts a whole lot of horribly executed, "original" gameplay features while not even being able to implement standard stuff such as jumping and fighting well. In the end, it's not a step ahead but a large leap backwards compared to a classic such as "Ultima Underworld" (which also had its faults, but more than enough virtues to redeem itself).