A debate
May 22, 2002
I completed Fallout Tactics not too long ago, and am now nearing completion of Arcanum. I was planning to do a quick comparison of these two games, but then I decided I should simply let the games speak for themselves. What follows is a dialog between the characters I played in each game. First, some introductions:
Representing the world Arcanum is Jane, a half-orc bandit. Jane joins us courtesy of a short holiday following the successful conclusion of the case of the Whytechurch murderer. Jane enjoys firearms of all kinds, politics, and garden parties. She spends her free time constructing Molotov cocktails. She despises scheming gnomes.
Our hero from Fallout Tactics is Spector, a Paladin General in the Brotherhood of Steel. He earned his position after defeating the rampaging Menace from the West. Spector enjoys traps and mines of all kinds, electromagnetic pulse grenades, and power armor. He is especially fond of his pet Deathclaw. Spector would like to take this opportunity to thank his strike team, without whom he would have been brahmin food long ago.
We’ll let Spector begin the debate.
SPECTOR: Don’t get me wrong. Arcanum is a charming game. I especially enjoyed the subtle nods to the Fallout universe, such as the two headed brahmin in H.T. Parnell’s freak exhibition. However, Arcanum’s combat system is extremely flawed, especially when compared to a well-developed system such as FT. Is it even possible to stealthily line a long corridor with mines and then have your sniper lure the enemy straight into your trap? Hell, are there mines at all in that game? I don’t recall ever coming across one.
JANE: My dear Mr. Spector, you are quite right about the inferiority of the Arcanum combat system. However, as the name implies, Fallout Tactics is a game primarily centered around tactical combat, whereas combat is only a small part of life in Arcanum. A wide range of tactical options is only necessary if, like a feeble-minded half-ogre, you solve all your problems through brute force. A civilized individual, such as myself, may choose from a wide range of solutions. In fact, it is rarely necessary to involve myself in such loathsome activities as combat at all.
SPECTOR: Bah! The only solutions I need are a Neostead Combat Shotgun and 100 rounds of EMP shells. Why waste time chatting when you can just run in with guns blazing and take care of the problem?
JANE: Let me give you an example. The other day I was looking for a the Blade of Xerces which I desperately needed in order to slay a certain demon. Were I to use my conventional weapons, he would only become more powerful. Unfortunately, this blade is kept in the Pit of Fire, which is inhabited by vicious fire elementals. Needless to say, facing them in combat would have been disastrous for my brand new suit of elven armor. Luckily, I came across a nice adventuring gentleman right outside the cave. It turns out he was looking for the very same blade in order to claim some sort of monetary reward. Well, I had to embellish my story a little bit, but in the end he agreed to help me and retrieved the blade without any effort on my part! So you see my dear, thanks to my powers of persuasion, I was able to complete my quest without risking the scorching fire elementals. Chances are, my rifle would have had little effect on them if I had gone in with “guns blazing” as you suggest.
SPECTOR: No offense missy, but with the help of my crack strike team, I could have easily dispatched those fiendish beasts and retrieved that blade without resorting to asking some adventurer for help. I would have simply equipped my team with some Insulating Armor Mark II, put my two biggest guns on the front line, and unleashed hell. The amount of firepower available in Fallout Tactics is enough to handle any Arcanum-sized monster, elemental of not. In fact, I’ve found firearms in general to be horribly underpowered in Arcanum. It seems as if a large sword is somehow more effective. That is simply obscene.
JANE: Again, I’d like to stress the subtle differences in the land of Arcanum which keep such strategies from being effective. In the land of Arcanum, magic and technology are opposing forces. Thus, powerful technology, such as your “Insulating Armor Mark II” would have little effect on a powerful magical creature such as a fire elemental. In fact, the mere presence of such a potent magical force might cause your weapons to malfunction and cause injury to your team. Living in Arcanum not only allows you to be more resourceful, but also requires it. An Arcanum citizen must be multi-dimensional and cultivate a wide range of talents in order to be successful. The Brotherhood of Steel requires only one thing: combat prowess. I find such a system to be too restrictive for my needs.
SPECTOR: That is where you are mistaken. While the Brotherhood does place a strong emphasis on completing your mission objectives, it does not restrict your ability to be resourceful in any way. On the contrary, my missions tax the limits of my resources time and again. It takes a long bout of strategic thinking to devise the destruction of a pack of deathclaws when all you have is 20 rounds of fletchettes and a vial of Mutie. That’s resourcefulness. That’s adaptability. Those are the skills which one should develop to achieve success in life, not “persuasion” or other such nonsense.
MODERATOR: Our time’s almost up. Jane, you may have the last word.
JANE: Thank you. I’d just like to point out that in order to be truly adaptable, one should accept solutions that do not require undue force. As Sun Tzu (someone I’m sure Mr. Spector will appreciate) once wrote “supreme excellence consists in breaking the
enemy's resistance without fighting.” It is this principle which governs conflicts in Arcanum, and towards this goal one must devote all their training.