Wow, why didn't anyone come out with this game sooner, Ever since the DOS days, it's the best RPG ever...
Graphics
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Okay, lets just get this out of the way. DOS was not the best OS for using Graphics greatly, so of course the graphics are gonna look a bit yucky. Plus, keep in mind this was made over 10 years ago, so that should tell you what kind of graphics to expect. But, don't count this game out just yet, it's only graphics.
Gameplay
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Very nicely done. Not too many commands to remember and some of the things you need to do are done by use of the mouse. The controls were easy to use and put to good use by way of the arrow keys. If ever there was a good reason to use the arrow keys, this was one game that used them well.
The only real difficulty was how you attacked. You attacked by pointing your mouse at your weapon, once you were in attack mode, and you Right-Click and drag the mouse across the screen in a Right To Left motion, as if to give the impression that is how you wanted to attack your opponent. You could also do a Down To Up motion to stab your opponents as well.
You also could travel to distant areas of the world where you could do missions for people, talk to people, do several jobs of your choice (Such as become a merchant, although that's not the overall idea of the game) walk around dungeons and caves to loot them for gold, items, artifacts, etc. And regardless of the size of the game, the maps are very big and had a lot of ground to cover, even for a DOS game.
It's also interesting to see this game actually simulate Day & Night. What's even more interesting is that you will get attacked by more creatures at night than in the day time, even when you are in a town.
And lets not forget the fact that it's a RPG. Although not much different from other RPG's where you gain experience and you will gain a level after so many experience points, this game also allows you to choose which stats to raise above others, regardless of your character type.
And need I explain the amount of items and stuff to find and/or buy. There is a nice selection of weapons, armour, items, etc. to choose from as well as find.
One more thing to offer, this game also has the function of a map viewer. But the real kicker is that you can add text information to the map so you can mark specific areas to help you find that area again, like where shops and inns are in a city or town, where to go when you want missions, and areas that you might want to mark just to help you find monsters to attack that are easy for you to find.
Overall
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This game has become an instant classic, not just for the reason of being a DOS game, but also because it was a fantastic RPG that was ever made for a PC game. Not too many games could come close the playability or overall style of the game. This is a very rare game that not only offers a sense of realism, but also gives you a lot of control over your character creation and what you want to do with your character. Most RPG's can't really offer that. Arena is in a class of RPG on it's own. Not too many other RPG's come close. Just get the game and you will see what I mean.