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不可控的胡言乱语是可行的攻击选项吗？一颗天体行星可以成为小队的成员吗？在 RPG 游戏中从事男性脱衣舞是可靠的收入来源吗？为什么一个西方游戏会是最优秀的日式 RPG 之一呢？玩了《源毒（Anachronox / 星际之门）》，上述的疑惑均会迎刃而解。
Ion Storm 工作室先后经历《大刀（Daikatana[1] ）》的惨败以及《杀出重围（Deus Ex）》的巨大成功后发行了《源毒》，尽管本作是该工作室唯二（也是最后一款）的佳作，但《源毒》并未得到其应有的关注。由 Tom Hall 设计并指导的《源毒》是一款带有些许搞笑元素，以故事和角色驱动，着重于探险的 RPG，其中战斗的部分总会让人想起主机上同类型的日式游戏。
本作使用了“雷神之锤 2”（Quake II[2] ）引擎进行开发，尽管该引擎在 2002 年早已过时，并且游戏的角色成长系统也没什么值得称道的地方，但不知为何，《源毒》却是我最为难忘的游戏体验之一。
你问为什么？因为与这款游戏中的世界与丰富多样的角色互动可是件乐事。
Is uncontrollable babbling a viable combat option? Can a planetary object be a viable party member? Is male exotic dancing a reliable way to earn money in RPGs? How come one of the best Japanese RPGs was developed in the West? Play Anachronox and all of the above will be answered.
Released by Ion Storm studios right after Daikatana's massive failure and Deus Ex's huge critical success, Anachronox never got the attention it deserved, despite the fact that it's the second (and, sadly, last) great game developed by the studio. Designed and directed by Tom Hall, Anachronox is a story- and character-driven Adventure/RPG with a lot of humour, emphasis on exploration, and combat reminiscent of Japanese console RPGs.
The game was built on the Quake II engine, which was already outdated by 2002 and the character progression system is nothing to write home about, yet somehow Anachronox is one of my most memorable experiences in gaming.
Why is that, you ask? Because interacting with the world and its various characters is nothing short of delightful.
《源毒》的叙事非常有吸引力，以至后来其电影导演 Jake Hughes 将游戏所有的过场动画编辑成一部两小时的电影，并命名为《源毒大电影（Anachronox: the movie）》
Anachronox has such striking storytelling that its cinematic director, Jake Hughes, later edited all the game's cutscenes into a two-hour machinima movie, named Anachronox: The Movie.
定制角色本质上是对配饰的应用，以及更重要的，通过装备“自我科技”（MysTech）来获得各种独特且强大的能力。
Customising your characters comes down to the use of accessories and, more importantly, equipping MysTech, which provides unique and powerful abilities.
当我一进入《源毒》的宇宙，我便身处于一个令人难忘的赛博朋克世界中，在那里危机、战斗与诙谐事接连不断。游戏的演出和美术指导都非常优秀，场景丰富多样并且氛围感十足，镜头视角尤为独特，并且在当时更是开创性的，而忧郁的电子乐缔造的部分曲目才是真的令人难以忘怀。
你将扮演西尔韦斯特“希尔博特斯”布切利（Sylvester “Sly Boots”Bucelli[3] ），曾经的他是名炙手可热的私家侦探，如今却是个欠了当地黑帮老大一屁股债的倒霉酒鬼。他仅剩的朋友是他已过世的秘书（已被数字化成飞行助手，并且也是用户界面的一部分）以及一个没了电池的机器人死党。
为了找到一份能与他推理能力相配的工作，也是为了证明他不只是把储藏室当办公室的流浪汉，机缘巧合中，他发现了某种古代外星种族遗留下来、难以表述的神秘科技。在此期间，希尔他将会邂逅暴脾气的老者、异端科学家、昔日的情人、酗酒的退休英雄以及一系列更加千奇百怪的角色。
游戏的文本非常精彩，其中大段的科幻小说论述激发了我对书中所提及理论的好奇心。更重要的是，《源毒》是有史以来最有趣的游戏之一，但它知道该怎样在恰当的时机用令人心碎的悲剧打破笑声。该作最大的成就在于它成功地在幽默、赛博朋克中的黑色阴谋以及戏剧性的太空歌剧中取得了卓越的平衡。
游戏一开始，你便会觉得自己正身处一场伟大的太空冒险中，在这里，即便是最不可思议的人和场景都变得真实。特别是对于一款每隔几分钟便会引你窃笑或是放声大笑的游戏来说，其对角色和传说的深度刻画尤为出色。
As soon as I entered the universe of Anachronox I was swept into an unforgettable cyberpunk world, where danger, action and humour go hand-in-hand. The presentation and art direction are excellent. Areas ooze with atmosphere and variety. The camera work is exceptional and certainly groundbreaking for the time, while the moody electronic music offers some really memorable tracks.
You play as Sylvester “Sly Boots” Bucelli, once a hotshot PI, now a down-on-his-luck drunkard, owing a big debt to the local crime lord. His only companions are his deceased secretary (digitised into a flying assistant, which also doubles as part of the UI) and a robotic sidekick without batteries.
Trying to find a job worthy of his deductive skills (and to prove that he's more than just a bum with a storage space for an office) he stumbles upon the elusive MysTech, a technology left behind by an ancient alien race. Along the way, Sly will meet a grumpy old man, a heretic scientist, an old flame, an alcoholic ex-hero and other, even more exotic characters.
The writing is brilliant, with enough science-fiction discussions to spur my curiosity about the theories mentioned. More importantly, Anachronox is one of the funniest games ever created, but it knows when to break the chuckles up with its fair share of heart-wrenching tragedy. The game's biggest accomplishment is that it manages to strike a sublime balance between humour, cyberpunk-noir intrigue, and dramatic space opera.
From the start you feel part of a grand space adventure, where even the most improbable people and places are believable. The depth of the characters and lore are remarkable, especially for a game that at the same time manages to make you chuckle or laugh out loud every two minutes or so.
__________
1 译者注：《大刀》（Daikatana），Ion Storm 于 2000 年在 PC、N64 平台上发售的第一人称动作射击游戏。
2 译者注：经典 FPS 游戏《雷神之锤 2》（Quake II）所使用的同名引擎。
3 译者注：Sylvester “Sly Boots” Bucelli，主角的名字，其中“Sly Boots”既是主角的中间名也是绰号，直译过来是“狡猾的靴子”也有爱耍滑头的意思，由于后文原作者以“Sly”来称呼主角，故而当中间名处理采用音译。
《电脑 RPG 游戏史（The CRPG Book Project）》原书信息
英文原版主编：Felipe Pepe
原项目网址：https://crpgbook.wordpress.com/
授权协议：知识共享 署名-非商业性使用 4.0 国际许可协议 (CC BY-NC 4.0)
这本书历时四年，由 119 名志愿者共同完成。
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