Customer Reviews

Arx Fatalis

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The kingdoms of the earth have moved underground as the Sun has been destroyed. The entire game plays out as one huge dungeon with beautiful interconnecting levels. The game is first-person like Morrowind but much different. This game was obviously inspired by Ultima Underworld 1&2.

The magic system is killer. You collect runes and have a spellbook. You look in the spell-book which shows you street-fighter style combos to perform with your d-pad to cast your spells. This makes the game like a pen&paper rpg and adds tons of strategy.

Music is very dark & ambient and the game heavily relies on sound-effects. The first time you run into a Lich-Lord you will be scared to death.

Storyline is very dark. There are no dialouge options.

Graphics are very good...just not good by xbox standards. A little sub par compared to Morrowind.

This is an excellent first game developed by French Arkane Studios. The sequal is rumored to be using the Half-Life 2 engine.

The major flaws with this game would be the cumbersome inventory system(think Diablo instead of encumbrance). And you HAVE to have a FAQ to figure this game out. www.rpgdot.com has a really good one. Also NPC audio has lots of echo.

But you really should see the item-creation system. You can make pies, roast-chicken, potions, swords, a fishing pole.

All in all expect about 30 - 40 hours of game play with a FAQ. Without a FAQ you will NEVER complete this game!!!

The above reviewer obviously had little patience. This game is worth the effort - the environment is dark and forboding, the options for your character far exceed those of normal RPGs, and the action/combat is challenging (even on easy setting). The plot of the game keeps your interest -- from the moment you begin to play you realize that this is not your normal RPG game. If you are into D&D and want an Xbox game that simulates that RPG -- I know of no other that does so this well.

I guess everyone's preferences are different, which accounts for a lack of high ratings for this game here. Arx Fatalis is certainly far from perfect, but it's still one of my top two or three favorite Xbox games. I got this on a whim because I remembered playing the PC demo and thinking it was interesting but nothing special. I was pleasantly surprised by the Xbox version. It has a good hand-to-hand combat system, a wide variety of weapons, equipment and items, and a lot of unusual, quirky features like the ability to make and cook food. The feature that makes this a great game, however, is the expansive, detailed, often creepy, always fascinating world the game creates and the enjoyable (if cheesy) story that motivates you to explore it. Its dated graphics and complicated menu systems may turn some people off, but I recommend at least giving it a try.

I like a good story, a good premise. This is Arx Fatalis' stronger point (society gone underground after the death of the sun / goblins, trolls, men and such sharing the limited space and resources of the underworld). I must however admit that I have been spoiled by contemporary graphics. This is Arx Fatalis' weak point; the graphics are drab, choppy, and far from creating the illusion of 3-dimensional. They are simply outdated.

Voice acting is interesting (even funny at times) and the ability to mix items together creatively is nice (you can bake bread; this is inexplicably satisfying) but the automap is very poor (I spent much too much time lost with no way of getting found except running over the same ground repeatedly with almost no regenerating opponents to challenge me, for, well, I don't know how many hours).

Not to sound shallow but graphics are important when you are trying to submerge yourself into an environment. If I wanted ONLY a good story I'd read a book. If they took their story, their creative ideas, and attached them to updated graphics and sound, they would have had an outstanding game.

In the land of Arx the sun has disappeared, leaving the earth a wintery wasteland. The entire human race (as well as goblins, dragons and ratmen) inhabit elaborate tunnels and caves. But evil is a brewin'. So it is up to our loin clothed hero to regain his memory and kick some evil ass. This, however, takes awhile. Just when I thought I had finished one section, I had to do something else. I have high standards for Xbox graphics, but Arx looks like a SNES release. Another strike against Arx is the massive inventory list. A lot of the game revolves around searching the ground for more inventory items. I actually got motion sickness from searching for gemstones in the troll cave. But not all of Arx is terrible. Finding food is definitely a highlight. Kill a rat and take its ribs. But the smart guys at Arkane won't let the hero immediately eat the animals. Oh no, you have to find a fire and cook those suckers. You can even find flour and make bread. Our hero is quite the homemaker. Aside from a good story, the game is still lacking. Don't count Arkane out though. This is a promising glimpse into what they are capable of.

This game scares me to death at times... I mean, I certainly don't want to play it in the dark when I am alone; but it's definitely fun and requires some thinking... You have to pay very close attention to your surroundings to gather things that you need to solve "puzzles" or move on to the next level... The controls take a while to get used to, but once you figure them out, it's a great game. :o)

This is a solid title but my experience was marred by the fact that I had just finished The Elder Scrolls III-Morrowind, a far superior game. It's not a fair comparison but I didn't think Arx Fatalis should suffer for it. The game was certainly worthy of at least three stars but I decided to give it four to adjust for my bias.

Traded this game in the same day I bought it new. It has a cumbersome inventory system, boring character choices, and just all over a waste of money. If I could give it less than one star I would.