Nearly a year after making its debut on PC, the sleeper hit Arx Fatalis is making the trek to the Xbox console. Given the capabilities of the Xbox, Arx Fatalis will be able to preserve its incredible look while giving gamers that console feel. Arx Fatalis is a first-person RPG, which plunges players into an amazingly complex fantasy-world of trolls, goblins, snake-women and other mythic creatures. Boasting a unique magic casting system with over 50 different spells, gamers will experience the full RPG adventure as they create weapons, solve puzzles, and complete amazing quests as they navigate through massive labyrinths in an evil subterranean world.
As the story begins we learn that the population of the world has moved underground as a result of the Sun burning out and turning everything into a frozen wasteland. With the aid of the Dwarves as well as the Sisterhood of Endurneum, entire cities were transported underground to spare their populations from the global holocaust. After completing the big move, the underworld was divided into levels for each of the surviving races (Humans, Dwarves, Trolls, Goblins, Ratmen, and the Sisterhood of Endurneum) to live and build their futures. As any mythological story will tell you, when you get a bunch people like this together in one place, war is almost inevitable.
Upon awakening unclothed and unarmed in a locked dungeon cell, Am Shegar (your character) is suffering from a horrible case of amnesia. As you look around you notice there is a fellow prisoner locked up in an adjacent cell as well as a goblin standing guard outside. After breaking out of jail with the help of your fellow inmate, you must set out on a quest to regain your lost memories and save the world from the wrath of an evil god.
To aid you in your quest, you have a number of stats and methods for combat. Each of these stats are broken up into categories which affect how you play through the game. The four primary stats are mental, dexterity, constitution, and strength. There are also about 9 secondary stats such as stealth or intuition which also have their significant roles during play. Just like most dungeon crawlers, your stats must be built up through combat and successful completion of missions and side quests.
Of course no dungeon crawler is complete without combat. Make no mistake, Arkane Studios is here to please. Combat is executed in real-time fights with dungeon creatures taking full advantage of melee and ranged weapons. But the bread and butter for Arx Fatalis is the spellcasting system. Magic is executed by drawing runic symbols which form magical phrases. In the PC version, this was done by using the mouse. With the Xbox port, all of this is taken care of by your D-pad. You are also able to program spells to your Y-button which can be used for casting spells on the fly. With over 50 in all, there are plenty of exciting spells to keep the gamer busy.
Other than the spellcasting system, I would have to say that the most unique feature to this adventure would have to be the interactive environment. Almost everything you see in the game can be manipulated to serve a purpose. You can move stones, plates, chairs, pick plants to create herbal remedies, and even raid the corpses of your enemies for goodies. One of the most interesting things I found also leads to one of the most annoying but true to life aspect that no true RPG should be without. You have to eat! It seems every 10 minutes or so (I swear sometimes it was even shorter then that), Am Shegar drops a line saying it's time to get some grub. So throughout the adventure, you'll find yourself stopping to prepare food. But hey, they even take it one step further by allowing you to get fires going so you can cook it.
Arx Fatalis looks like a nice addition to the Xbox catalog. Especially with the lack of RPGs on the console, this is sure to satisfy those tastes for even the most repressed dungeon crawler fans. Any gamer who loves detailed environments, uniquely crafted dungeon environments, and loads of stats and spells will definitely be entertained. Keep an eye out for Arx Fatalis this October.
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