Those looking for some old-school RPG fun will find Arkane Studios' latest release worth its weight in gold.

Arx Fatalis, the latest release from Arkane Studios, takes place in a world where the sun has burned out. This unfortunate turn of events forces the various human, goblin, dwarf, and troll inhabitants of a medieval world to seek shelter underground. Here they have built an elaborate system of tunnels and fortifications from which to battle each other for supremacy of their dungeon world.

You play a character that awakens inside a jail cell, surrounded by goblins. With little memory of who you are or where you come from, your task is to escape your bondage and seek out your true identity and purpose through a dangerous quest in the underground world.

Arx Fatalis harkens back to an earlier day in its style and form, taking cues from games like the Ultima series and the classic D&D. Unlike many in the recent crop of RPGs this year, Arx Fatalis is played strictly through a first person perspective.

You will find its world one of endless possibilities. There are twisting and turning corridors with a myriad of objects to pick up, examine, and use to increase health, magic powers, etc. In fact, you can pick up just about everything that isn’t nailed down.

Your character’s attributes are increased via a skill point system that increases character aspects from spell casting and combat efficiency, to object affinity stealth. Skills can be increased individually in each area of your character’s ability, but it is best to update them evenly, as no one aspect is more important than another.

One learns almost immediately that this game is very non-linear in its methodology. Don’t be surprised to find your path leading you through endless corridors and cavernous pits straight into a dead end.

To find your way out of this game’s little puzzles you’re going to have to keep a sharp eye and an open mind. Often, the secret of escape is very subtle and will take a while to uncover from the most unlikely of places.

You will find yourself pitted against a good array of enemies in Arx Fatalis. Thankfully, there is also a good array of weapons available for defense along the way. Combat is a bit awkward at times. Wielding a sword or axe takes a great deal of effort, meaning it takes a while to deliver an attack.

Holding your left mouse button a few seconds before releasing it will increase your swing and deliver a deadlier attack, but this may cost you time and life. You may want to take some time early on in the game to familiarize yourself with different battle techniques.

Magic is enabled by finding magical runes scattered throughout the game that empower you with spells for everything from lighting fires to summoning forces to battle enemies.

These spells are delivered by drawing a series of rune symbols in the air using your mouse. This is a very cool effect, but does take a while, especially when in battle. Thankfully there are hotkeys available for quick spell casting in a pinch.

Graphically, the game is very well done. It looks and feels very intricate. Throughout the game you will find seemingly endless new and unique rooms and chambers, one right after another. Foes and friends are detailed and vary greatly from person to person. You can even look down and see your own feet and legs move as you walk from place to place.

While not the most advanced game, graphics wise, Arx Fatalis’ environments are exceptionally designed and manage to overcome any shortcomings. The temptation to make this game an endless stretch of darkened dungeon tunnels and dank, featureless rooms is avoided by the inclusion of areas of great beauty, complete with vaulting ceilings and sparkling waterfalls. This determined avoidance of monotony, coupled with a consistent attention to detail, presents a world that is not undone by its enclosed environment.

One of Arx Fatalis’ best features is its sound. The game’s dungeon world is made real by the subtle drip of water on a stone floor, the clang of distant metal doors, the creaking of old wood planks across an unsteady floor, or screams from unidentified and far away creatures. Sounds will echo through dungeon walls. Your own footsteps will change according to the surface you walk on or the footwear you don. Like the rest of the game, sounds are complex and vary from room to room, placing you even deeper into this already engaging world.

One downside are some rather annoying bugs that shipp with the game. It does have a tendency to crash at inopportune moments. It also has some compatibility issues with certain hardware configurations. However, there are patches already released that will take care of most of these problems.

On the whole, Arx Fatalis proclaims its quality and professionalism over and over throughout the course of the game. Taking the best of past RPG’s and adding its own clever and unique attributes, this game manages to hold its own against the best of its genre and will delight any RPG fan out there.

Reviewed by Kevin Blanchard, PC Gameworld.