Anachronox is one of the better games from Ion Storm.
Ion Storm is known for very good games like Deus Ex, Thief: Deadly Shadows and this one, but also terrible games like the infamous Daikatana, which set back the melding of RPGs and FPSes for years. Thus, I had some reservations on getting this game, until a good friend of mine recommended it.
And I did not regret having played this.
The background story of the game is not exactly original, but its pace and the plot twists were very memorable. It is sad that this game did not do well enough to generate a sequel, as are all Ion Storm games are wont to.
Perhaps the most memorable part of this game is its odd brand of humor, which likely pioneered the theme of deeply flawed yet amusing characters who had to carve out paths - in equally hilarious manner - to redemption.
Unfortunately, I have little praises for the gameplay. There are many bugs, and the camera is a bother. Combat plays out very much like a Final Fantasy game (FF7 to be exact), and the inclusion of Materia-wannabe Mystech only reinforces this vibe. There are also awful-looking animations, if they happen to be not of an amusing nature - I still remember the jagged lips animations.
One can say that most of the effort that Ion Storm put into this game is fleshing out the hilarious scenes and text, but little more really. The use of the aging Quake-II engine was for the most part commendable, as this game showed it can still be used quite well for some hilarious graphics, though one would feel that it was a mistake upon seeing aforementioned odd animations.
I can't say I have any love for Ion Storm. Yet, I am sad that it broke up - that only means that some of the digital game industry's most creative yet most incapable "talent" has dispersed all over, much to the detriment of the companies that absorbed them.
However, I would say that Anachronox is a good game - one that deserves a sequel of far greater quality, gameplay- and graphics-wise.