Anachronox

Anachronox was developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive in 2001. The game was notably directed by Tom Hall, a legendary game designer who co-founded id Software. It was built on a heavily modified version of the Quake II engine.

Anachronox utilizes a real-time, tick-based combat system that is heavily reminiscent of the classic Final Fantasy franchise. Players control a party of characters who take turns executing actions once their action meter fills up. This represented a significant shift from the real-time action combat typical of Western PC RPGs of that era.

The game follows Sylvester "Sly Boots" Bucelli, a cynical and down-on-his-luck private investigator living on the planet Anachronox. He is hired for a seemingly simple job that eventually escalates into a universe-threatening mystery. Sly is joined by a highly diverse cast of party members, including a planet transformed into a cantankerous old man.

Despite the game's ending explicitly setting up a direct sequel, Anachronox 2 was never produced. Ion Storm was shut down shortly after the game's release, canceling plans for a follow-up. However, a dedicated group of fans released a series of cinematic machinima episodes years later using the game's engine to wrap up the story.