Description
A zeppelin is cruising over mountains. Out of nowhere, two planes appear. Who could have guessed the journey will end in such a horrible manner? Death, fire and destruction fill the sky. The zeppelin crashes, smashing everything on the ground, and even the attackers - two orcs - die in flames... Are you the only survivor? But wait, here is a gnome lying on the ground, dying, deperately trying to tell you something. "The boy... find the boy!" He gives you a ring. The mystery is now in your hands. Who was the mysterious gnome? Who is the owner of the ring? In this moment, seeing the flames violently destroy everything around, you can't even suspect you'll soon be the one who will change the destiny of the entire Arcanum...
This role-playing game is set in a unique world, where magic and technology co-exist, where dwarves carry guns, and where you take a train through a landscape full of ferocious monsters. Arcanum belongs to the end of 19th century - sciences prosper, and new industries develop quickly. But the old world of elves and dwarves won't give up, revealing the eternal conflict between nature and technology.
The gameplay of "Arcanum" is closely related to that of
Fallout. You can freely roam in the huge world, exploring it in a totally non-linear fashion, or simply following the main story. Like in Fallout, there are many skills you can upgrade, and unlimited possibilities for character customization. Depending on your charisma, you can recruit many characters to join you on your quest, and choose your own way and style of interacting with the world and its inhabitants.
Alternate Titles
- "奥秘:技术与魔法" -- Chinese Title (Simplified)
- "Arcanum: von Dampfmaschinen und Magie" -- German Title
- "Arcanum: Przypowieść o Maszynach & Magyi" -- Polish Title
- "Arcanum: Hechizos y Engranajes" -- Spanish Title
- "Arcanum: Feitiços e Engrenagens" -- Brazilian Title
- "Arcanum : Engrenages & Sortilèges" -- French Title
- "Aomi: Jishu yu Mofa" -- Chinese Title
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Press Says
| Absolute Games (AG.ru) |
Jul 06, 2001 |
90 out of 100 |
90 |
| PC Gamer |
Oct, 2001 |
90 out of 100 |
90 |
| Gamigo |
Jul 27, 2001 |
8.9 out of 10 |
89 |
| NZGamer |
Apr 02, 2004 |
8.6 out of 10 |
86 |
| RPGFan |
Jun, 2002 |
86 out of 100 |
86 |
| Game Vortex |
Nov 24, 2002 |
8.5 out of 10 |
85 |
| 4Players.de |
Aug 27, 2001 |
82 out of 100 |
82 |
| GameSpot |
Aug 21, 2001 |
7.3 out of 10 |
73 |
| GameSpot (Belgium/Netherlands) |
Sep 03, 2001 |
69 out of 100 |
69 |
| Just Adventure |
Nov, 2001 |
C |
50 |
Forums
There are currently no topics for this game.
Trivia
One of the original developers has labored to produce a mod for this game that addresses some balance issues, makes it overall a little more challenging, and replaces the entire opening area and quests. This latter is important because the opening area was used in the demo, and many players have just seen it too many times to want to start a new character any more, despite the near-infinite possibilities for character design. The URL is
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/~chris/download.htm.
This entry to the MobyGames database was contributed by
Unicorn B. Lynx
(63206) on Jul 12, 2001.