Its gameplay is focused on hack and slash combat and has significant similarities to Diablo, with features such as random equipment generation and a wide set of skills organized into archetypes.

[6] Two thousand years before the game begins, those who sat on the Council of Seven in the land of Rivellon sacrificed themselves in the fight against a group of treacherous magicians, who had passed over to the dark side of magic.

The player is invited to come to Castle Stormfist, home of Duke Janus, a young noble who claims to be the Divine, a messiah prophesied to protect Rivellon against the summoning of the demon Chaos.

As the new council members assemble to complete the ritual that will turn the player into the Divine, Duke Janus appears, revealing himself to be the Demon of Lies, in league with the Black Ring and seeking to summon Chaos.

[8] Soon after Attic Entertainment Software joined Larian and Unless was turned into The Lady, the Mage and the Knight, a game set in the universe of The Dark Eye.

Due to financial problems between the two development studios and its publisher, Infogrames, The Lady, the Mage and the Knight was canceled in July 1999.

It lacks anything memorable, like the party NPCs with minds and dialog of their own in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, but it has atmosphere, tons of quests, and a great deal of variety to offer.

Above all, it's plain fun to play, to develop your character and find ever-better weapons and armor, to face the foe around the next corner.

With BioWare's assets tied up in light sabers and Black Isle Studios working on a game that has no strategic pause mode, perhaps Larian will step forward to carry the CRPG banner in the near future.