As many of you know, I'm a CRPG nerd. I am in love with isometric role-play, and Black Isle/Bioware has always been my favorite game company. I've also been a fan of Troika's Arcanum for some time, and was disappointed when they disbanded. On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of generic Diablo-clones out there, so it can be tough finding a truly unique role-playing game. Wading through the dreck can be a disheartening experience. I'm posting this because I've had this game lying around for nearly 2 years, but just never got around to trying it out. I installed it, and the first thing I noticed was that it utilizes the 3.5 edition D&D rules. Then I thought, "Well, this will probably not run on my computer." Ever diligent, I pressed on, and came to the all-too familiar character creation process. Good lord, the options. There are so many options to making a character in this game, that it might seem overwhelming to some. I selected the traditional Fighter, Thief, Wizard, Cleric, Ranger party, and was on my way. Things were seeming familiar to this point, and I didn't want to get my hopes up. Then I was transported to Hommelet, the game's starting town. I was struck by the music immediately. It is one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard, and even better, the game uses an active soundtrack. This means that when you enter a battle, the background song shifts seamlessly into the area's battle music. The next thing I noticed is that the battles are turn-based. I was all ready to be turned off by this, until I dove in and saw that the controls are very user-friendly. Every action your characters can perform can be accessed by a rotary menu that appears when you right click on them. Everything from skills to magic to inventory can all be acted on by simply choosing them from the menu. The spell-casting, (which is usually generic in most CRPGs) is a wonderful and refreshing alternative. Cast a "Detect Evil" spell, and a conical indicator is shown extending from your Cleric, allowing you to actually see the area of the spell's effect. You can travel the area, and the cone will actively follow your every move until the magic effect wears off.
I don't really know what else to say. If you are interested in CRPGs, or are just looking for something entertaining to kill a few hours, I highly recommend this game. It's something refreshing in a sometimes stale arena. I'll post a few screenshots, but honestly, they don't do the game justice. You just have to see and hear it for yourself.
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