2000 is officially the year of the RPG. I have claimed that to be so, therefore it is true (mark it on your calendar). June/July only saw the release of Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Deus Ex, Icewind Dale and some little thing called Diablo II. RPG fans' wallets are likely light right about now and if you had an underdog European RPG to release, this particular moment in history would probably be the worst time to do it. What do you know, Interplay has just released Gremlin Interactive's fantasy RPG, Soulbringer. Here's where I think I'm supposed to tell you that it's a pity this game is getting killed in the marketplace because it's, you know, so good and all that. Well it isn't so good; I just find the horrible timing really amusing.

Ok, so Soulbringer has a lot of competition weighing against it. At least Soulbringer is unique and refreshing right? It is, but only if you somehow missed Nox, Darkstone and Revenant, oh, and you happened to miss Diablo and its sequel too. It's an action RPG, with a focus on the action, with a three quarter perspective, a decent bestiary and a list of useful spells. Naturally, clicking is something you do a lot.

Welcome to the fantasy world of Rathenna. You portray a naïve naïf who begins weak as a babe and finishes the tale a mighty hero. At first you search for your uncle but soon you follow in the footsteps of two fallen heroes. Oh, an ancient evil has recently returned to the world as well. Did you see that coming? The story is clichéd but to the development team's credit, the gameworld and voice acting are compelling. Which is odd because the voice acting is fairly awful, it's just awful in an amusingly good way. Accents are outrageous and the writing is fairly sharp.