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Why I had to stop playing the game...
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RPGDot Forums > Arx Fatalis

Author Thread
shadow9d9
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 17 Dec 2003
Posts: 5
Why I had to stop playing the game...
   

Well, after days of enthralling game playing, I had to stop playing and move on. The game gives absolutely no clue as to where you are supposed to go next. If that wasn't bad enough, once you get where you need to go, you are bombarded with mostly inane "puzzles".

Spoilers:

If you don't want to use magic, make sure you don't accidentally use up your "reveal" scroll, which somehow you are supposed to figure out will reveal a switch in the snake temple. Make sure to mindread that the developers force you to bring a pickaxe to the crypts! Mind read how you need to talk to the prisoner in the basement in order to find out where to find the hidden temple. This was the only game where I actually had to use a walkthrough( and I REFUSE to normally)...

Even with the walkthrough, the amount of ridiculous aiml;ess wandering and subsequent walkthrough uses were not enough...

Troll wants an Idol? Make sure to check under every pillow in the game to find a key!

In the crypt you need a pickaxe... I did not have one... I click on the gravestones and it says nothing.. How in the world was I supposed to know that I needed to break them open?

How bout getting down to Poxsellis just to need a scroll to get passed the spikes!? I spent an hour getting there just to be turned away because I am a fighter without the spell.

Way too many "puzzles" that continue to put a brick wall in front of game progress... way too many of them actually made sense...

If I wanted a lever pulling game, I would be playing Myst. I was looking for a dungeon crawl/exploration/quest game... instead I got Myst with a sword(3 easy kills in between game stopping puzzle). What's worse is that I just went back and read 15 reviews and not ONE of them thoroughly addresses this issue. I honestly do not believe they played past the first 10 hours of the game.
Post Wed Apr 27, 2005 7:30 pm
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ermac
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 19
   

I hear your pain shadow9d9.Yes.The game is a bit confusing.For example :
When you go to the crypt level where you have to solve the riddle the only clue for you is the line of Am Saegar "Maybe these symbols are the same i saw in the rooms i passed" or something like that.Which apparently did not help alot.But I think it's time for you to stop playing anyway cuz the game is old as my grandma
Post Tue May 31, 2005 7:43 pm
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RPG Frog
Blade Runner
Blade Runner




Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 748
Location: the Matrix
Re: Why I had to stop playing the game...
   

quote:
Originally posted by shadow9d9
This was the only game where I actually had to use a walkthrough( and I REFUSE to normally)...

This is one of the few games I had to resort to a FAQ. With that said, I still loved the game. I love the magic-system. It made the game strategic and fun during those portions, about 40% of the game, when you had nothing to fight. Since this is Arkane's first RPG, I'll forgive them. This game reminds me of Ultima Underworld and is a really rare experience into days gaming scene. I am sure they will address all the complaints about Arx Fatalis in the sequel. The devs are really cool and honest about any flaws with their game!

I hope to see...

-Dialogue trees
-Many more weapons
-A higher level-cap
-More than three tracks of dark/ambient music
-More Dragons.
-Dwarves. (The only Dwarf in Arx was dead)
-More enemies
-Even deeper item-creation system
-New spells. Keep current rune-system.
-Both open-environments, and subterranean-environments
_________________
Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities…there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars…Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand…to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. - Robert E. Howard
Post Wed Jun 01, 2005 3:54 pm
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ermac
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 25 Dec 2004
Posts: 19
   

Well, we can only hope.AND I DO(!!!!) HOPE !! ALOT !!
Post Wed Jun 01, 2005 5:12 pm
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Dez
King of the Realms
King of the Realms




Joined: 08 Jan 2003
Posts: 455
Location: Fortress of Tell Halaf
Re: Why I had to stop playing the game...
   

quote:
quote:
Originally posted by shadow9d9
Well, after days of enthralling game playing, I had to stop playing and move on. The game gives absolutely no clue as to where you are supposed to go next. If that wasn't bad enough, once you get where you need to go, you are bombarded with mostly inane "puzzles".


I also hear your pain

In many ways the puzles were quite insane.Still despite those irrational ones there were many clever riddles which made us players to use our brains.For example the crypt area in a whole was an excelent example of this sort of game design(apart from the annoying labyrint in level 5).

quote:
Spoilers:

If you don't want to use magic, make sure you don't accidentally use up your "reveal" scroll, which somehow you are supposed to figure out will reveal a switch in the snake temple. Make sure to mindread that the developers force you to bring a pickaxe to the crypts! Mind read how you need to talk to the prisoner in the basement in order to find out where to find the hidden temple. This was the only game where I actually had to use a walkthrough( and I REFUSE to normally)...


Yea the character develoment was truly flawed.When many puzzles can only be solved with the aid of magic, developers should have forced every player to develop his character this way. Actually arx is unfun if you try to play it other way(in other words without being a mage).

quote:
Even with the walkthrough, the amount of ridiculous aiml;ess wandering and subsequent walkthrough uses were not enough...

Troll wants an Idol? Make sure to check under every pillow in the game to find a key!

In the crypt you need a pickaxe... I did not have one... I click on the gravestones and it says nothing.. How in the world was I supposed to know that I needed to break them open?


Again this is what many people have muttered(including myself).Maybe the developers were just expecting a bit more own initiative and ingenuity from us players.In the old days games were like this. Games were difficult and made rarely any sense what comes to the pickaxe thing i somehow found using it quite obvious. if there is a pickaxe item in a game how could i use it?

quote:

How bout getting down to Poxsellis just to need a scroll to get passed the spikes!? I spent an hour getting there just to be turned away because I am a fighter without the spell.


Again flawed character balance. Fortunately i was playing a mage back then, but I've to sympathize you warriors.

quote:

Way too many "puzzles" that continue to put a brick wall in front of game progress... way too many of them actually made sense...

If I wanted a lever pulling game, I would be playing Myst. I was looking for a dungeon crawl/exploration/quest game... instead I got Myst with a sword(3 easy kills in between game stopping puzzle). What's worse is that I just went back and read 15 reviews and not ONE of them thoroughly addresses this issue. I honestly do not believe they played past the first 10 hours of the game.



Indeed Arx Fatalis is not a perfect game, far from it, I'd like to call it a rough edged diamond.It retains many flaws like the insane and unlogical puzzles or the character development that lacks balance.Also the numerious bugs in game make the game allmoust unplayable without the patchs.

Yet underneath all this horror there is an excellent and distinctive game. Atleast the magic system in arx is so good and fun, that i've not confronted a better one in any game.Also the way Arx lets us players to use our imagination is incredible.Game mechanics allow us to make food, mix items in various ways, solve problem with the violence or with the inteligence.Also you just gotta love those wonderfull goblins and trolls!
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Post Fri Jun 17, 2005 2:25 pm
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