Giveaway of the Day - Arcanorum

Installation:
The game downloads to a 9.71Mb zip file that unpacks to a dual activation and set up module and a read me document that states the terms and conditions of the game giveaway.

The game installs to C:\Games by default, but you can change the installation path during the installation wizard. As with all Wheemplay games the executable installs directly to the games folder as opposed to installing via a folder. There are no shortcuts installed and no uninstaller. If you want to delete the game just delete the executable found at the above path.

Introduction:

This game looks like a direct rip off of Hammerfight, which was released a couple of years ago. I posted a demo link in the forums during it’s beta phase. You can check that game out via the following link (demo link available on the home page):

http://store.steampowered.com/app/41100/?snr=1_7_suggest__13

From the Call of the wind fate, from the Rules of you from Oberon, and here in the river that this vessel sail to the coast of Avalon’s Gate!

Arcanorum is one epic fighting game once you get the hang of its physics and the control of your upgradeable steam punk machine!
Control a flying contraption and swing the attached weapon around to destroy your adversaries. Earn cash and upgrade your ship as you complete missions, or battle waves of enemies in the survival mode.

Features:

•Awesome battle sound effects!
•More than 25 incredibly addictive levels
•Achievements and high scores
•Create and share your levels with friends! (Not sure about this one. It’s not found in the main menu. Possibly once you’ve finished all levels it will unlock???)

Reference http://wheemplay.com/games/arcanorum/ accessed 22nd april 2011

The Game:

We have things planned for the day so rather than write up a long winded review like I usually do I’m just going to list the main points about the game that I’ve found so far.
• You can upgrade your ship and weapons via the shop. There are 10 different ship and 26 eapons to purchase, though most are locked at the beginning of the game. As you progress through the levels you will unlock more ships and weapons.

• The first level is a tutorial which walks you through the various stages

• Each level is introduced by a short story with a title, for example Chapter I is called the Training Camp, chapter 2 Meeting the Verears.

• When an enemy is destroyed a bonus may fall from it, which you need to catch. These include shields that give you invulnerability health and luck, (the latter gives you a better chance of hitting your opponent or scoring more points)

• Points equate to cash which can then be spent in the shop to upgrade your ship and weapons

• You keep all points even if you lose and have to restart a level

• There are two modes – Campaign where you work through the available levels and Survival that sends a waves of enemy at you. Survival ends when you are destroyed

• Each survival level ends with a boss fight

• You can’t hit friendly forces – you can distinguish a friendly force from an opfor (opposing force) by the colour of the crystal that dangles from the base of their ship. Friendly forces are blue and enemies are red.

• The game auto saves in campaign mode but not in survival. Though if you end the game part way through a level it will only save to the beginning of the level

• You can replay previous levels unless you start a new game. However this will wipe any progress from previous games, including all the upgrades you’ve purchased.

• There is only one profile available – suggestion, if you want multiple profiles copy the installed executable and then rename , so that you can have multiple games one each for your family.

• Options are basic, with only sound and music sliders.

• You earn money by hitting your opponent

• To play on full screen click on the maximise button to the top right of the window.

• You can swap between purchased weapons, but you have to visit the shop to do this.

• Problems – Items in shop disappear when you play on full screen

Images:

You can check out a slide show of about 90 images via the following link. Images show the first few stages with all the story screens and a few screens from the survival mode. http://s571.photobucket.com/albums/ss160/Whiterabbit04/Arcanorum/?albumview=slideshow

Conclusion:

Overall Arcanium is a decent flash game, it just worries me that it’s a virtual rip off of Hammerfight. Even the physics are the same and the designs of the ships similar. Hammerfight has much better graphics, but then that isn’t a flash based game. That said Arcanium has reasonable graphics and game play that’ll keep you entertained for short periods. I don’t think it’s a game you’d spend hours playing, partly because of the repetitive nature of the combat, which is basically swinging various weapons that you have to purchase using the money you’ve earned from destroying ships in previous levels. The swinging action can feel rather sluggish at first, but power ups and rewards later in the game will help to improve the game play.

Overall (despite the copying) this game is worth a good 7 out of 10, that’s 7 for gameplay, graphics sound and re-playability.

dowloaded and installed easely on Windows Vista 32b, installs in C:\games one file named Arcanorum of 9537kb and no registrie entries.

Little tricky to get the swing with the mouse but fun game to destroy some time while playing.

Thanks for the fun game