For the first time we publish the main reviews from the very first gambling rooms on the site-in the Retro-review section. We transfer all articles from the magazine in its original form, without bills and corrections (except that screenshots in old numbers are painfully bad quality-they had to change in some places).
Review of Arcanum: of SteamWorks and Magick Obscura was published in number 8 for 2001 . Pleasant reading!
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Similarity:
Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
When my trembling with impatience, but tenacious hands were covered by the treasured two compacts with Arcanum , A little wiped in my head immediately woke up, but festive (like the sun in childhood) memories of Fallout. All the time, while the developers of Arkanuma worked in the sweat of their faces, managing to hang out in many game forums, the main part of a small number of rpgshnikov burned to the brain bone slowly wondered how much it (Arcanum) would be similar to Hero (Fallout). First of all, whether Arkanum will be as well and beautifully made as Fallout, whether he will be the same breakthrough in the RPG genre.
After the trembling will be depressed with a powerful effort of will, and the unrest from the clearly overstated system requirements subsided, I started a thorough inspection.
The birth of the hero
After a brief, for a few minutes, the introductory cartoon began to master the game. An unusual interface immediately caught my eye, some kind of painful and at the same time new. The usual “special characteristics” (they are “traits”) are replaced by the origin (“background”) – there are more of them than Traits, but you can only choose one of the many. Highly beloved rerk’i are absent completely, but instead of them specializations are introduced to skills; The chip is taken from the series Might & Magic.
Creating an elf, a technology fan. Playing such an unusual character will be difficult: the elves are too bad in the technique
It is advisable to pump to the call of the usual creatures, but he should not forget about the need for witchcraft causing direct damage
You added points for development to such and such a skill. Wanted to become a master in it? Well, now try to find an experienced specialist so that he, if you manage to break him, agree to train you if you manage to complete his task. And you thought – you got into a fairy tale, you will get everything at once on a saucer with a blue bucket?! It is necessary to develop a character here wisely, overcoming difficulties, thinking over the possibilities and options.
It was upset that when creating a hero, one cannot change the characteristics. And this is already a restriction of the opportunity to configure the hero created for himself and the forced need to limit his daring fantasies to the character that turned out. Omission.
But pleasantly surprised the variety of ways to develop a hero. Firstly, the selection of races will affect the essence of the resulting hero: elves are better conjuring, gnomes produce better technique and the like. From whether the character will be a hero or heroine, he will be added a unit in strength or endurance, respectively.
Elves, it turns out, live on trees
And these are already dark elves. Feel the difference with ordinary
After choosing the floor and race, you can raise skills, they are skill. These are divided into combat, social, technological and thieves. All skills are essentially similar to the Follautian. Continuing, the magician can choose a spell that he has attracted, and the technologist – a drawing with which you can implement a new invention. Naturally, at the very beginning the coolest drawings and spells will not be given to you, you will have to reach a certain level, and only then ..
Together with obtaining the next level, the hero is given a unit for development, that is, to raise abilities and basic characteristics. Plus one additional unit is presented at every fifth level.
The rules of the battle
Knight, in a convoy pulling his hand to the gun. We haven't seen this yet. At the end of the Middle Ages, they also refused heavy armor because they could not stop the bullet
So the world. Ordinary Middle Ages with magic and primitive weapons. There are few wizards, since witchcraft is a long process, it is advisable to have a talent for it, a lot of patience is required, and not everyone will agree to sit in dark towers, studying ancient manuscripts for years. In general, most people and other characters are engaged in peaceful labor, envious of magicians and dreaming of getting their power and influence, but at the same time so as not to hit a finger on a finger. Normal phenomenon very characteristic of modern Russia.
But here, contrary to the usual, https://lucky-mister-casino.co.uk/ the common people have the opportunity to join high forces, nothing, so to speak, without striking. Everything is simple: elitist magic gains competition in the form of a public technology. What turns out? Oil and cheese picture.
Old swords and bows are adjacent to electric lighting.
Rich estates of the Middle Ages guard mechanical spiders.
Witchcraft potions and cunning technical gonads rest in one chest.
Very reminiscent of the world of "thief" in its original embodiment.
Three orcs, and everyone is ready to die for their master, t.e. my elf. Creating "green -skinned" is simple, and they are fighting normally. It's a pity, you can’t call on more – there is not enough intelligence
There is, for example, a spell that allows you to throw a cobblestone at the enemy. It is only necessary to create this cobblestone from the air, then by force of will to direct it into the enemy and only then be satisfied with the damage inflicted. It takes time to study the spell, and in order to apply it, you will have to get a little harness, because the process of changing reality requires great mental strength and the presence of willpower. Spells, unlike weapons, never smear, but! – the enemy has a chance to “overcome” the spell, if it: a) bother with the technique a lot, b) has a certain resistance to magic.
Now technology. Instead of an inaccessible spell of a cobblestone throw, you can just as successfully throw an iron bullet into the enemy. With the help of a pistol. Everyone can shoot from it, even seeing him a third and a half times. No talents for the use of devices and technical assules of murder are required for an ordinary person. However, unlike magic (which, if you learn it, always at hand), the gun must be found, and not an endless supply of cartridges is attached to it. Moreover, firearms can break, it also takes some place in the backpack, and also can be smeared if you are asking to shoot obliquely.
Virgil, my faithful friend and ally. Always ready to cure any wounds-only he would have enough mana
Features of the battle
Thus, magic and technology are almost balanced. Almost – because the technology is available to everyone and everyone, it can be quickly learned, while magic is available only to the chosen ones.
Another advantage of the technology: it can be sold. Everything that is done with the hands of a fan of equipment can be saved in a store or exchange but something useful. It is difficult to transfer spells into money, only a magician is able to get full benefit from them and no one else.
And these … did not want to let me on the bridge!
Further – more. The magic that destroys the existing reality comes into conflict with technology, which, on the contrary, streamlines reality, as it uses its laws. The stronger the action of magic in some kind of subject, in a person or even in a whole area, the worse and more unpredictably technical inventions work. All sorts of dietaries break, contacts burn out, interruptions with power arise and so on in the same spirit. This rule also acts in the opposite direction: the stronger the technology, the weaker the magic affects it.
Thus, the conflict between magicians and technologists is inevitable. It is around it that the game world is located and the plot of Arcanum is spinning.
The gods, the rulers of Arkanum
Appearance
The appearance of a person is largely determined by the opinion that about him is formed by others. The same with the game. And, alas, it is at this stage that the first griefs and losses in the points of the general ranking appear. The graphic component is very reminiscent of a slightly worsened version of the "Follaut" (yes, see how our friend runs in a cloak! Just the nostalgia takes!). Let the old role-players grumble that graphics are not the main thing, but we know the truth. It's a shame, but even in the old “Fallout” there was a very cool graphic engine, which now looks stronger and more stylishly than the engine of Arkanum just appeared.
Building of the Zoological Society in Taranta
It is known, of course, that the development of Arcanum went on for three years and during this time the graphics could be obsolete (although Fallout was developed no less), but for some reason it was not possible to get rid of the feeling that from the very beginning of the work on the schedule was done at that level … Not higher.
Naturally, the fact that more attention was paid not to the schedule, but to the plot and dialogues, but we do not require a sophisticated three -dimensionality of the picture, we are enough for us “ordinary” flat graphics! If only she pleased her eyes and created the atmosphere!
And yet. Why, it’s interesting for me to know, so much space is occupied by a panel with menus and buttons?.. Why is it not only from below, but also from above?.. As a result, we see, God forbid, only two -thirds of the screen, if not less. Unpleasant.
STILLWATER symbol
There is a double impression. Everything is new, but there is nothing new. With all that, high requirements for the car with a short schedule. And the question is why the more beautiful and in some ways the more perfect “Fallut” was much less demanding on the iron, remains open.
The semifinals
In the conflict of magic with technology and the plot, the echoes of the “thief” are strongly felt, which Thief. There, if you remember, the hero also allowed difficulties arising from the very same conflict. The magic was represented by forest pagans, Woodsy, and their gods-fools, and the technology was actively studied by the city "holy brothers" Hammerites, which can be seen from the mechanics that have broken off from them. In the first part, the Hero of the Thief in the plot was obliged to support technologists, in the second – magicians. So Arkanum said nothing new here.
Altar Shakar’a. Very nice
That I haven't liked it yet … It’s hard to manage in real time. And the battle in the liability is strange: without firm rules that could help to navigate. Battles, so to speak, sharp and very vague. Yes, in life it happens. You can miss five times and lose the battle. But you can take the enemy from one blow. But the game should not always be realistic! In addition, excessive realism in one in a logical absence of one in the other, as it takes place in Arcanum, does not lead to anything good, except for the loss of orientation in the game world and nervousness, does not lead.
Bottom line: you have to often sink and recover. By loading the previous preservation, you can completely change the result of the upcoming battle or, say, a responsible hacking of the bank building. To some extent, such an omission was traced in Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games And it was radically eliminated in the second part of this gaming epic (naturally: what kind of nonsense, when, constantly rebooting, one character can be put a hefty detachment of thugs, which must be taken out without reboots with three or five mercenaries!). Arcanum developers, apparently, for the progress of Jagged Alliance, like many other similar games, did not follow. And in vain.
At the reception of the king Praetor’a
Next. The development of the hero-mag is somewhat one-sided in nature due to the inability to restore fatigue-man during the battle. Why study the powerful spell of the call of fiery elemental, if you already have a magic of calling the demon? Call both at the same time – there is not enough mana. And even if it is enough, then maybe it is better to call two demons? Why do we need knowledge of the spells duplicate, if a free point for development can be invested in something else? However, the unbalanced magic is the total trouble of most role -playing games and desktop systems like AD & D.
The spirit of the robber appears about revenge
Final
Arcanum, along with the shortcomings that have been disconnected above, have a lot of advantages, obvious at the first acquaintance: great freedom in the study of the world and in communication with the NPC, a logical and carefully built atmosphere, a large degree of detail and complexity (the simplification of the “diablae” here did not run past, This is understandable). I will not go into details, because I do not see the need: to anyone who is familiar with the genre of computer RPG, the mentioned several phrases are enough to make a clear impression.
Summing up, I will say: Arcanum is a game for those who in RPG more appreciate not fights, but communication, decision of quests, solving plot secrets and study of unknown areas. If this is about you, then buy a game without hesitation. You will not be disappointed, I can guarantee. And the rest – at your discretion.
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 6
Sound and music: 8
Interface and management: 5
Novelty: 6
Excellent
8.0
Grade Gambling
Waited?
With love made, but a slightly flawed masterpiece. Only fans of social RPG.
Retro review. No One Lives Forever (2000)
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