![]() ![]() How the Xbox 360 version got certified as releasable at all is a a small wonder. RPG fans will certainly get something out of Arcania's story and its varied locales, but all in all this game is more of the same.Īrguably the RPG genre is full-to-bursting with this type of story and set-up, but the fact that this decidedly average RPG is imbued with awkward controls, offensively-bad voice acting and an embarrassingly low frame-rate put this game in a lesser league. The adventure is massive and the scope is impressive, though there really isn't anything altogether new here. The mission framework does open up after the initial few hours, but, again, there isn't much to see that RPG veterans haven't seen before. The inventory system, though bland, does a decent job of conveying what items you have and their traits, though the text is a little on the small side. Ultimately, the RPG pieces are all here and in-place. Here is a video of Lyrca, at the height of her considerable vocal talents: Her forced falsetto pitch, pantomime cackles and horrendous script-reading combines in such a way as to make the entire conversation both unfathomably funny and depressingly unbearable. Perhaps the most criminal is a witch called Lyrca. When someone shouts at you to go away, but intones it as a question, what does that mean? In many cases a line would be delivered with the incorrect inflection, changing the meaning of the line altogether. All of the lines are delivered in ridiculously over-the-top ways. The accents are utterly unconvincing and devoid of actual emotional weight. The sensation of people in recording booths, reading lines they don't understand and have no motivation for is palpable whenever a dialog sequence is triggered. The voice acting, however, is beyond terrible. The sound affects are also competent, though not particularly note-worthy. Its suitably epic sweeps, swells and horn blasts imbue all the fantastical qualities you would expect in a fantasy musical score. ![]() The music is actually very good, however. This game very often feels like unfinished code. During one particular section at an inn during the game's early stages, the framerate slows to a nausea-inducing crawl.Ī quick check on Youtube confirms that the PC version fares much better in this aspect, but the Xbox 360 version has clearly not been optimized for the hardware. The framerate never once rises above 25 fps, and for the most part, I'd say it averages out at closer to 20 fps. Unfortunately, all of this fidelity comes at a price. Graphically, Arcania looks fantastic when motionless. Though meaty, the story is rote and is the very definition of generic. Though the story is told very well, it isn't particularly new or inventive. Now he must make peace with his true destiny and take up arms against the one true evil of the land. He pursues them in the name of vengeance, only to discover that everything he thought was just unfortunate happenstance had been his fate all along. After the first few tedious hours, our hero suffers an unimaginable tragedy at the hands of a mysterious fleet of ships. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |