Arx Fatalis is sort of a failed version of
Morrowind. At the beginning of the game you get to create the features of your character, including the looks (the options from which you have to choose are very limited) and the stats. After that you are thrown into the game as a prisoner in a cell, who has no memory of his past at all, yet he can wield weapons efficiently and use magic like it was second nature. Unfortunately, this clich is probably going to be used in video games until the end of time.
The story involves a subterranean world that is home to those that used to live on the surface of a now devastated land. Chalk up another clich. Only members of the Travelers Guild can traverse the dangerous surface, but things don't seem to be any better underground either. Orcs and goblins have made an alliance against the humans and are terrorizing the hell out of them.
OK, enough with the clichs. The basics of the gameplay are sound, but the ways in which they are implemented are poor. As you roam around the underground caverns, you will invariably meet people who can either harm or help you, or sometimes both. The quests you pursue are mostly part of the linear plot, meaning you will have to complete them in order to advance. There are very few side branches to the game, so you're stuck with what they give you, which isn't all that great. Nothing really clever has been done here, as most objectives involve finding an object or killing someone, and then you get to move on to another area where you do it all over again.