Arcanum: I can't remember if it's worth 5 yuros

[ulmont]

Pity the surprise ending was one of the best parts.  Totally blew me away.

Yes.  Arcanum had a great* story and setting, but the interface was a bit clunky and magic ruled supreme.

*By CRPG standards, anyway.

[Caliga]

I played Arcanum quite a bit but never did beat it.  I remember liking it, but I think I got some other game that distracted me and then I never went back to it.

Pity the surprise ending was one of the best parts.  Totally blew me away.

I'll never play it again, so do you mind sharing (in spoiler white text, plz)?

[DisturbedPervert]

I don't think I could take it up again today, simply because the graphics are so bad by modern standards they would actually hurt my eyes.   I tried to go back to Fallout 2 once and couldn't for this reason.

The graphics were awful for when it was released

[Valmy]

I'll never play it again, so do you mind sharing (in spoiler white text, plz)?

Well I would love to but it was a long time ago and I do not remember it well enough to do it justice.

[Valmy]

The graphics were awful for when it was released

Yep.  So was the interface.  The decision to even bother with a real time option is one of the reasons Troika failed in the end.

[LaCroix]

The problem with Arcanum is despite what should be a fascinating setting and concept magic is simply better than technology so you sorta end up with swords and spells, and despite a great backstory fighting generic enemies by the bucket load.  I mean there is a ton of fighting in that game, which is odd since it uses a system similar to fallout which was designed to enable you to build a character that can win without killing anybody.

while the harm-harm-harm-harm--ad infinitum--tactic does work nicely with almost every encounter in the game, i used to make technologically inclined characters and had great success there. plus, at least in the world it's acknowledged that technology trumps magic. just consider the decayed kingdom that refuses technology because of tradition, or the elven nation that faces destruction from loggers. there are a lot of enemies to fight, but i guess it never bothered me much

[Valmy]

there are a lot of enemies to fight, but i guess it never bothered me much

And not only are they numerous they are rather boring.  Very few wizards or soldiers with modern weapons or the sorts of encounters you would have expected.  Rather you get lots of giant spiders and the like.

[LaCroix]

sometimes there were innocent zombie dwarves and the populations of tarant and stillwater to murder 

[Sheilbh]

I remember loving Arcanum.  If I saw it on sale for that price I'd pick it up again

[Razgovory]

there are a lot of enemies to fight, but i guess it never bothered me much

And not only are they numerous they are rather boring.  Very few wizards or soldiers with modern weapons or the sorts of encounters you would have expected.  Rather you get lots of giant spiders and the like.

Yeah, I can only think of two fights where you take on guys with guns.  Guns are mostly useless (though grenades are handy).  It's rather annoying the way the character system works as well since you have to spread quite a few points around to make anything decent (especially on the tech side).  Also your allies aren't very handy, even ones with spells or tech only spend a few points on that.  The fan made stuff helps alot, but still it's no wonder that the Troika went under.

[Pedrito]

Thanks for the info 

I think I'll get it (again), I discovered it's packed with the latest patch and the Blacktooth's unfinished content patch 

L.

[Galrion]

Thanks for the info 

I think I'll get it (again), I discovered it's packed with the latest patch and the Blacktooth's unfinished content patch 

L.

Really?  That's a bit surprising.

[Queequeg]

I played Arcanum quite a bit but never did beat it.  I remember liking it, but I think I got some other game that distracted me and then I never went back to it.

Pity the surprise ending was one of the best parts.  Totally blew me away.

I'll never play it again, so do you mind sharing (in spoiler white text, plz)?

The Elven mage who you thought was the cause of everything has repented for his sins in the Mage equivalent of hell, and some evil human Necromancer from the same period is the evil Red mage, and has trapped the Elf.  However, he isn't traditionally evil, like all villains in Troika/Black Isle games; he just wants to end all life.  To him, life is just an absurd shadow of an existence when compared with the Nirvana-like state of true death.  The final FMV fucking rules, though it appears a tiny bit dated.

Truly awesome ending, really reminds me of Fallout. In the best possible way.

I remember loving Arcanum.  If I saw it on sale for that price I'd pick it up again

Insert Quote
The problem with Arcanum is despite what should be a fascinating setting and concept magic is simply better than technology so you sorta end up with swords and spells, and despite a great backstory fighting generic enemies by the bucket load.  I mean there is a ton of fighting in that game, which is odd since it uses a system similar to fallout which was designed to enable you to build a character that can win without killing anybody.

Tech could get you a lot more money, and the tesla gun, elephant gun and machine gun could all do a ton of damage, and tech armor at the end was generally a lot better than magical equivalents.  Tech was harder, but often more rewarding, and once you got to repeater rifles the difference in difficulty starts leveling out, especially if you get some good tech armor.   

[The Brain]

It was a good game and I finished it. Wouldn't play it now though. I rarely play old games.

[LaCroix]

what about playing veterinarian?