I saw Anachronox at E3 almost two years ago and haven't seen anything of it since. Today, out of the blue, it turns up and I am hooked. It really is a next generation RPG, a step ahead of what we've been seeing. The only game I can really compare it to is Final Fantasy 7. However, instead of the static backdrops of Final Fantasy, we are talking full 3d rendering on the fly using a heavily modified Quake 2 engine. Quake 2? Hmmm... surly I mean Quake 3 engine! Nope, you heard right the first time, Quake 2 it is. The game has been in development for so long that it uses the older engine to run. This is no bad thing though, the game looks beautiful, incredible even. There are many inventive camera angles, which will be the first thing that makes you go WOW. Also a mention must be made to the character design, it's like nothing I've seen before. It's not Anime style or realistic looking, this is a world of it's own.

A few technical points I'd like to mention. You can choose either high resolution or low resolution, which sounds fine, but it really is both ends of the spectrum. High resolution is 1280x960 and low resolution is 640x480 there are no other choices. This was a very strange choice for the developers because I'm sure most graphics cards will struggle with the highest setting. Also, the sounds are a bit funny sometimes as though they get stuck in a loop. These little glitches are not enough to detract from the game.

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And so, on to the Gameplay. It's quite a game, I must say. Anachronox is a turn based, combat RPG. Now, you are all saying "turn based?" Oh man, that sucks! Honestly, that's what I thought, until I played. The combat plays out like FF, as in, you get a turn and then you wait for your meter to build up until you get another chance to unleash some form of pain on your opponent. There can be up to eight people in your party, so it makes for amazing battles.

The adventure is pure cyberpunk. You are a private eye who is down on his luck in a city of the future. You actually spend the opening scene being beaten to a pulp from a debt collector, who then tosses you out of your own office window and the game begins. I don't want to give the story away, it unfolds brilliantly as you go along. To get you started on  your journey, the tutorial section of the game is well done. You need to go to the fight club to brush up on your combat skills. Once you are through the brief tutorial, you are on your way.

One minor niggle (that's a complaint for you Yanks), is that the people in the game have no voices. They are silent, except for the cut scenes. So, as you scroll through endless conversations in text form, it can bring you out of the game a bit. But, to their credit,  the dialogues are well done, not too cheesy. There are a lot of one liners and more common language than you find in most games of this kind.

Don't be put off by the name Ion-Storm either. John Romero's name was not to be found in the credits. I know they have made a GOTY, the amazing Dues Ex. As is usually the case, the great games are not the ones developers get remembered for when they have dropped a dud on the scene. There was a little game last year by Ion-Storm, beginning with a D and ending in aikitania. Yeah, that one probably best forgotten. It's been a hard road for the Romero team lately, with rumors of a break up all over the web, this game can only do them good :)

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Overall, if you like RPG's or you don't like RPG's I can still see some appeal in this for all. It isn't an FPS, not by a long chalk. You can't jump or fall or frag till your hearts content. What you can do is get engrossed in a huge world and get lost for hours. Anachronox will be gracing this reviewer's pc hard drive for months to come, that's for sure.

A Firm Grasp. This product has received a very impressive score of 4.0 - 4.9 / 5. Typically these products are highly recommended because of their ability to satisfy our rigorous testing and expectations.

Review By: Paul Hayes ascully@ascully.com