For those of you who like turn-based RPG’s in a style similar to the Final Fantasy’s, but with the writing and directional genius of Space Balls fan-fair, then you should probably consider Anachronox as a part of your collection. The game is one of the funniest I’ve uncovered in these old libraries of games long since put aside for more engrossing, if lesser quality, experiences.
The story sets you in the future with Sylvester “Sly” Boots, a down-on-his luck, wise-cracking, and if not so much ‘dim-witted’ detective, who owes a pretty penny to a famed and feared mob boss. At the start of the game, you’ll find yourself in the midst of something of a tutorial mode, which will play out through the beginning of the story as you make progress through the first section of game. The setting begins on a large, constantly shifting rock known as Anachronox, named so for the fact that the life forms that once lived their most likely died under unnatural causes, leaving behind a true seventh wonder-esque piece of technology. The game play in itself feels solid enough, based within the Quake 3 engine, with the main navigation worked with your mouse and keyboard. The fighting is the basic turn-based, stand-in-rows formation, yet allows for characters to move about certain spots on the arena for creating strategies. It can feel a bit cheap in an overall perspective, but works well enough that you won’t feel incapable of handling it.
Another Ion Storm product, you can bet the sound and musical design works well for this sometimes stark yet always interesting game, the atmosphere never ceases to be adequately portrayed both in sight and in sound. Anachronox was never realized as the PR for it never came forward enough to be enjoyed, but the game truly does shine if you give it a chance, and I’d recommend it as a title to add to your older library of games.
