每当有人提到《地城英雄志》是《创世纪地下世界（Ultima Underworld）》的精神续作时，我们将会感到无比的荣幸，因为我们非常钦佩这种窥镜（Looking Glass）^[5] 精神，因此二者有联系也绝非偶然。

Extreme honour is definitely what we feel whenever Arx is mentioned as the successor to the [Ultima] Underworld series. We've always had a lot of admiration for the Looking Glass spirit, so the connection with Arx is not an accident at all.

Raphael Colantonio
《地城英雄志》项目总监以及 Arkane Studios 首席执行官

Raphael Colantonio,
Arx Fatalis project director
and Arkane Studios' CEO

悬浮（Levitation），心灵遥控（Telekinesis），隐身（Inivibility），点火/灭火（Ignite/Douse fire），媚惑（Confuse），召唤恶魔（Summon demon），创造食物以及用一只隐形的眼镜去勘探前方，这些都只是其中列出来的几个法术，实际上这样的魔法多到数不过来了，但其内容无法支持这些魔法“法尽其用”——游戏完全可以只使用火球术来通关。但是考虑到制作 40 多个咒语需要多大的工作量，这么草草通过也实在是太可惜了，特别是大多数咒语都是非战斗使用的。

环境操纵使得这些元素可以和谐地成为一体，而且这一要素也从多方面定义了《地城英雄志》这个游戏。你可以取一些面粉，加水，然后把它放到火堆旁，火会使得它膨胀，这样一个面包就做好了。这使我像个孩子一样被震惊，我无法用言语确切形容这一感觉。游戏界面像是冒险类游戏一样，这意味这大多数互动都是直接点击环境而并非是浏览抽象菜单来实现的。这就给玩家带来好像是切身实地的处在这个世界当中一样的体验。

Levitation, telekinesis, invisibility, ignite/douse fire, confuse, summon demon, create food and an invisible eye to scout ahead are just a few of the spells. In fact, there are so many such effects that the content can't match up to support their use – the game can be finished using only the fireball spell and that is a damn shame considering how much work must have gone into making the 40-something spells, especially since many of them are non-combat oriented.

What holds all these elements together is the environmental manipulation that in many ways defines Arx Fatalis. You can take flour, add water and then put it near a fire which will cause it to rise, thus making bread. Words cannot describe the child-like sense of wonder this inspired. The interface recalls adventure games, meaning that most interaction is done by directly clicking on the environment, not navigating abstract menus. This does wonders for making the world feel like something that the player must actually engage with.

如果你已经玩过了《地城英雄志》，可能你还会想再玩一遍装有 Arx Insanity mod 的版本，这个 mod 加入了一些新的视觉与玩法改动，包括一个新的结局。

If you already played Arx, you might want to replay it with the Arx Insanity mod, which adds several visual and gameplay changes, including a new ending.

我记得有个任务让我印象很深，你需要用很多步骤来制作一把剑，先开采矿石把它送到冶炼厂，然后还得操纵各种机器才能做出来。这种互动方式的重点并不是现实化，因为面团并不会在五分钟内变成面包，而是逼真化。玩家通过各种互动来了解其所在的世界。

《地城英雄志》^[6] 是一封给透镜工作室和《创世纪地下世界》的情书。Arkane 将其精神透过实际行动体现了出来。一开始冒着财务风险以及从零开始成立一家工作室的 Conlanonio 先生则更是值得称赞。

只不过，不知道是《地城英雄志》作为 PC 游戏最辉煌的岁月中最后一个以设计为中心的代表之一更令人惋惜，还是在其发售以来的 10 年仍旧没有一款游戏能在游戏深度上超过它更让人觉得可悲。无论怎样，它都是隐藏在岁月长河中的一块稀世珍宝。

One particular quest remains memorable to me due, where you have to go through a multi-step process to make a sword, from mining the ore, getting it to the smelter and then having to operate all sorts of machinery to get the job done. The important aspect of this type of interaction is not realism, since dough doesn't turn into bread in five seconds, but verisimilitude. Players understand the world by interacting with it.

Arx Fatalis is a love letter to Looking Glass and Ultima Underworld, with Arkane wearing their influence on their sleeves. The financial risks and challenges of starting a studio from the ground up makes Mr. Conlanonio's journey to create this game all the more commendable.

It is hard to say what is sadder: that Arx Fatalis is one of the last design-focused representatives from arguably the best period of PC gaming, or that more that, a decade since its release, it remains unmatched in certain depths. Regardless, it remains a must-play hidden gem.

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⁵ 译者注：窥镜工作室的精神乃是“0451”的精神，旨在贯彻《华氏 451（Fahrenheit 451）》的独立思考精神，不断的做出创新，不被大众的思想潮流局限，做出不同凡响的游戏。
⁶ 《地城英雄志-日之殇（Arx-End Of Sun）》是一款粉丝制作的免费游戏，是《地城英雄志》的前传，目前正处于开发中。