So we have all the ingredients of a stirring, if admittedly linear, RPG. We have magic, artifacts to recover and the threat of impending doom. All Joseph needs next is a few allies and Volition has come up with some very interesting ones for you to control. First we have Jekhar, a mighty warrior whose family was killed when a young Summoner summoned a demon to defend his town... Jekhar will travel with you reluctantly to say the least. Flece is in it for the money, she's a svelte thief in a beautiful black cloak who can hide in shadows and backstab with the best of them. Last we have Rosalind, a powerful magic-user/priest whose father devoted her childhood to training... you. She's very jealous of your powers but committed to your cause nonetheless.

Together they will visit a sunken Atlantis style empire, lost civilizations and other odd locales on their search for the Summoner's rings. It's a gigantic world populated by strange creatures, monsters and non-player characters you can interact with at will. Monje showed me a level that featured Flece sneaking through a sinister prison, so we can assume that certain levels will take advantage of each character's special abilities.

You'll control these three characters, and as Joseph gathers rings he can summon a fourth. A powerful golem, demon or Minotaur creature based on one of the four elements, are the creatures available. The summoned beast takes a chunk out of Joseph's hit points and if slain, he doesn't get those points back. So it's very important to keep your summoned monster alive. He can un-summon the monster to get those points back of course. Now, if Joseph dies in combat, this is bad for the rest of his party. The monster runs amok in their midst. Basically, until un-summoned or killed, the monster is part of the group.

Combat allows you to chain attacks one after the other, so things don't degenerate into a mindless click fest like Diablo and you can pause the action to issue orders at any time. Many may have noticed the somewhat lackluster reviews that the PS2 version, released last fall, garnered but bear this in mind: The over-riding complaint about the PS2 version in most reviews was in regard to the graphics. The PC version, with its superior 3D tech, doesn't feature the annoying pop-up found on the PS2. The other complaint seemed to be that the tale was too linear, but the PC will offer co-op multiplayer through short scenarios not relating to the main story. How's that for replay value? Summoner should be in stores in early to mid March.

Andrew Bub
Contributing Editor & Beatdown Scribe