A game that's not played, but experienced.
To begin with, Working Designs definitely put a lot of effort into fleshing out the characters: the ambitious main character Alec, his seemingly incompetent partner Lutz, the tormented and misled Velhart... Even the "bad guys" are given this treatment so that their motives seem more rational than ruling the world. Working Designs knew that in order to pull gamers in to the plot, the characters must be fully formed and original.
The gameplay is thoroughly enjoyable. Upon joining the Hunter's Guild, the story unfolds through a series of about 100 jobs you must take, some which further the plot and some that merely provide experience and funds. Combat takes place via turn-based tactical battles on a grid, giving you time to strategize. Though I abhor games where I'm forced to make-my-own-everythings (weapons/armor/items); ATL3's synthesis system merely serves as a method to acquire rare items/weapons/armor alongside the tried and true shop system. There's also a Cardishing system which actually benefits the player by capturing all the monsters they can.
Graphics, as I've said before, should never be the main thing going for any true rpg. ATL3 was the first Arc that employed polygonal graphics, and the end result definitely works. While not exactly eye candy, the graphics do what they are meant to do without being distracting. I'd describe the graphics as "comfortable".
The story and method in which it progresses is ultimately what kept me playing for hours at a time: jobs which require you to solve puzzles, three dimensional NPCs and little to no meaningless fetch quests. There was always more to be uncovered, more of the plot to be revealed and always just one more job I could do.
It's a shame that this game is for the most part unknown to RPG gamers, because this is one game that will stay with you after you play it. After beating it, you'll want to play through it again; not for branching story lines or multiple endings, but for the sheer experience.