There was a really cool cheat at the starts of Arx iirc, you had to hit a certain chair so many times and I think it burst like a pinata, great game,.

Can't stand Baldur's Gate... I don't really like Isometric games. Divine Divinity being an exception (and exceptions are incredibly rare) because I like the way it is laid out graphically. And trust me, graphics do NOT matter to me one bit when it comes to games.

Dragon Age Origins + DLC
Morrowind / Arx Fatalis / Enclave

Dragon Age Origins is just... Epic Medieval Role Playing at it's purest... I love it. I only got it about a week ago.

Morrowind, Arx Fatalis, and Enclave are basically tied. I think it comes down to Arx, then Morrowind, then Enclave though.

Well, everyone is different I guess, I personally only like isometric RPG's because the top-down view gives me a feeling of control (same reason I like Turn-based strategies), to be honest I couldn't even get used to Neverwinter Nights because it was "3D-ish", I mean you could choose a top-down view but it didn't feel like one, and it switched back whenever you talked to an NPC. The combat felt frenetic, like I was just button-mashing (and this is a game based on D&D rules!).

I am not sure whether I can play Arx in windowed mode. I'll check the settings again later.

Well, I played for several hours yesterday, so at least for Arx Fatalis I think I am cured :-)

Now, regarding the game itself, about what I like and do not quite like so far... oh, and please be aware that the following may contain SPOILERS. You have been WARNED!

What I like so far:
(*). Pretty atmospheric so far. The settings might be tired and overused, but I quite like it. Darkness everywhere, making it believable that it is really underground.
(*). Alchemy and food preparation. At times these may seem unnecessary, tedious and only serve to lengthen the game, but again I find them quite interesting and fun.
(*). Music may not be existent but the sound effects are good. You can hear your footsteps, drippings, etc. Nice touch!

What I do not quite like so far:
(*). Limited inventory, at least in the beginning, until I got my own room and backpack.
(*). Spell casting. Either it has something to do with white screen, or my mouse sucks, or I suck at making gestures, but this has been a frustrating element in gameplay. True that I can memorize up to 3 spells in slots, but I still need to make those gestures to memorize them. It would have been nicer if there are shortcuts right from the spell book instead.
(*). Locked chests and doors. Alright, so maybe it is my fault I do not build my character as a thief, but it would be nice if I can just open them? :-)

Also, for a guardian, Am-Shaegar sure is wimpy and feel insignificant :-(

Maybe I am just taking it slow, but certainly the game feels rather long? I thought fellow GOGers here describe the game as being short.

Too bad I will be going for a work-assignment trip in the next three days, so I may not be able to continue playing until maybe about March 30 night.

Found these two "articles" and had a few laughs :-D

http://it-he.org/arx_diry.htm
http://digitalhippos.com/gaming/editorial/game-diary-arx-fatalis-the-secret-origins-of-am-shaegar

I stopped playing this game when I couldn't ID my loot. Where's Deckard Cain when you need him?

Aw darn! Either I really suck or there is a really serious game balance here. Those Ylsides are cutting my wimpy guardian to pieces in a matter of seconds even when I use poisoned sword and three casting of HARM spells... *sigh*

What's worse, if I quick save the game in the middle of a battle, the spell effects are gone once I quick load it :-(

My guardian found them pretty tough too. He was too fragile to melee them and they took 3 fireballs to the face. Every encounter was exciting.

I am gulping down life potions fast to win the encounters. I am afraid I will run out of life potions I can buy and/or create myself for later in the game because stores do not seem to restock :-(

the problem is the game's FOV (Field of View), actually it's not just this game; it's just about all games.

esp. console games .... and old games like this from way back when, before they got wide screen monitors and people figured out that having a natural FOV solves most of the problems.

not sure if you can modify the game's settings but if you can, and can figure out the settings for the game's FOV, set it to at least 90 (if not 105) and your problems should go away.

lots of games, esp. games designed for full screen monitors, give you a 60 degree FOV since that mathematically should be the correct settings. but when you are sitting less than three feet from this 60 degree image it's like you have got blinders on (or some crappy ski goggles) and it gives you eye strain from the tunnel vision effect.

if the game wont let you adjust the FOv you can also try sitting way back from your monitor so that your eyes are not so dominated by the 60 visual arc. (this is why console games are more tolerable than improperly set PC games, like dead space; on the console it's no problem, but on the PC it makes me want to vomit into my trash can.)

Finally finished the darn game yesterday :-)

I am about to post some SPOILERS here, so stop reading if you do not want to. You have been WARNED! Actually I am just about to post some random thoughts here that may or may not be important, but I guess spoilers can be inevitable if you decide to read.

(*). Why can I only use three backpacks while I can actually carry four (including the default), especially since encumbrance is not a stat/an issue here?

(*). It turns out that Akbaa is even much more wimpy than my guardian. Heck, those Ylsides are way much more scary than Akbaa himself.

(*). Sometimes collision detection is way too good here, it ruins the game. I cannot access the Rebel's camp store simply because a guard refuse to move from the open door. I do not see how I can get him to move away unless I kill him. Also, I can't remember how many times I get stuck with a guard in a narrow corridor in the palace. Quite annoying, really.

(*). Why does Lord Inut explode if I talk to him more than once? Is there any explanation somewhere?

(*). Teleports... as a lazy gamer I wish there were at least twice as many as teleports in the game. My feet are sore from too much walking...

(*). Unless you are a thief, you are missing rather much from this game with all those locked chests and closed doors. Not every door is breakable with a swing of your saber/axe either.

(*). Is it just me or is the murdered queen crypt is the place where you get hungry very frequently?

(*). I feel that food baking and potion brewing are quite fun in the first few hours, but for the rest of the game they simply just serve to lengthen it (and to eat up your inventory space).

(*). Annoying spellcasting gets a bit more tolerable once you get used to it (and once you realize there is no other way than to get used to it, unless you want to spend tons of gold on scrolls).

I actually badly wrote a free-from haiku about Arx Fatalis for this competition, but since the OP requested it to be sent by PM I guess I'll post it here for your amusement and ridicule once the competition is closed :-)