It's time to set off and though Arx is definitely a dungeon crawl, it's a foreboding and fascinating one as the graphics, aided by the first person viewpoint, really create that feeling of claustrophobia and dread as you wind your way through the murky world. Most are self-explanatory but you can read a short description of each and how they might affect each other. It's very simple with just 4 main attributes (strength, intelligence, dexterity and constitution) and 9 skills: stealth, technical skill, intuition, ethereal link, object knowledge, casting, close combat, projectile and defence. Swapping between modes is just a keystroke or a mouse click away and apart from movement, which is via keyboard, most of the functions have mouse or keyboard alternatives that can be remapped in the options menu.Īfter the brief introduction your first task is to create your character by allocating the available points. There are basically two modes: combat mode and interactive mode and you can tweak various settings to suit yourself. The interface has a short learning curve. It certainly does pay homage to Ultima Underworld and, although it has its hitches, it's a curiously engrossing game and should be judged on its own merits. It's a warren of underground passages and caverns much like the setting of Ultima Underworld and it did bring back fond memories with a single character, first person viewpoint a similar real time combat system and a similar (though mechanically different) magic system where you are in search of runes so you can build up your spell repertoire. The City of Arx is where the story is set.
And this is where I stop telling the story because you can learn plenty about it in the game, and soon enough you'll know who you are and why you are there! The basics In a 'flash' you find yourself, minus your memory, deep underground in a goblin prison. And now an even greater misfortune looms! Alas the peace didn't last, before long they split once more into their racial factions, dreaming of supremacy and treating each other with suspicion. The bitter cold set in, so many of the races that were previously involved in petty conflicts now joined together and cooperated as they moved below ground to the abandoned dwarven mines. Once it was a bright, sunny place but the death of the sun put an end to that. Review by Rosemary Young (February, 2003) The world of Arx Fatalis is a world of change. Publisher: JoWood/Red Ant Entertainment (Australia)
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