Arx Fatalis Retrospective
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The weekend brings us a retrospective piece for Arkane Studios' Arx Fatalis on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, in which the author talks about how the ambitious first-person title "blended RPG eras" and the more unique/interesting features it presented us with while we ventured through its subterranean caverns. A snip:
Preparation is even more important for magic users, as Arx has one of the most interesting magic systems I've ever seen. Magic consists of runes, and casting spells means drawing the proper runes in the air. Get the shapes and combinations right and your spell will work. It's genuinely difficult, and frustrating at first, but then it should be, right? We're talking about exploding people with a touch, conjuring fire from your hands. Casting spells demands the proper points on your character's sheet, sure, but that just makes it possible. The act of performing is dependent on your skill as a player, just as your fighting character needs you to guide his swings, and a sneaky type will be hopeless if you don't direct him through the proper paths.
As absurd as it is to describe magic as (authentic), it feels more so than clicking to fire off spells like they're glorified bullets, or swearing as random numbers decide that you've fizzled. It rewards forethought, as in a compromise between instant magic and the D&D approach of preparing spells overnight, you can spell and save three spells in advance, to be cast later without the pressure. Excellently, even NPC casters can be seen writing runes in the air.
Combat, too, feels lively and involving. It's simple by modern standards, and mostly means charging up power strikes (holding the attack button) and trying to catch enemies with them while dodging their own swings. An embryonic form of the combat from Arkane's later Dark Messiah, it feels more natural than the combat of its contemporaries because you have direct control in a way that's frankly still too scarce. You swing an axe, and if you see your weapon hit them, your weapon has hit them. No dice, no tricks, no fault but your own. Hey, you could have run away, dead boy.
