Below the Cut: Arcus Odyssey (Genesis)

(Source: World 1-1 Blog)

Arcus Odyssey- Rating(7 RPP)
1) 2 - Character Advancement: practice/experience based advancement, stat or level increases, multiple classes or characters, customize characters
2) 2 - Combat: character stats used for combat, additional combat options, turn based
3) 1 - Items and Equipment: store to buy and sell, equipment decisions, item decisions
4) 2 - Story: main story at the forefront; world full of hints and lore; descriptions for objects, people, and places
5) 0 - Exploration: open world from the beginning, visited locations remain open
6) 0 - Quests and Puzzles: side quests not related to the main quest, puzzles and riddles to solve

Many games try to mimic the Gauntlet series, and some of those go far enough to breach the line towards RPG dungeon crawlers. Dungeon Explorer was an example of this, and even I was fooled into thinking that game would prove to have enough in common with an engaging and interactive RPG. I hope to avoid that in the future, and it seems I'll pass on Arcus Odyssey . It actually has more in common with Dungeon Explorer than Gauntlet, and I wonder what inspired the game in the first place.

I considered playing, but I don't think it would offer enough in the end. I'm certain we're going to get to the tipping point eventually, just look at Diablo. I think I may have had this on my original list (before I decided to keep everything and rate it as an RPG), but cut it because it didn't quite fit. This is the same reason I didn't have BattleMaster and other games added based on lists composed by SeedyGamer. BattleMaster is one I plan on playing as it seems to offer enough while still in the same genre (I could be wrong).

In any case, we're removing Arcus Odysser from the playlist because once again there's no leveling of the characters, no stores, little NPC interaction, a single quest, and a very linear world with separate levels. The combat is action oriented, with what seems like items and equipment, possibly puzzles to solve later on, and upgrades for the character after each boss. There's a choice of four characters, and it seems like a fun game. David Izat seems to think so at any rate.