Somehow, despite all this, Wizardry 8 is amazing. You start by creating a party of six characters, using an upgraded version of Wizardry VII's already excellent system. With 11 races, 15 classes, 40 skills and over 100 spells, it allows for countless party builds. It also removed the need for dice-rolls – you just pick a race, a class and then assign stats and skill points.

But what really sets character creation apart is the personality system. RPGs like Baldur's Gate allow you to pick voices for your characters, but Wizardry 8 offers 36 personalities to choose from – such as Loner, Kind, Burly, Chaotic, etc. You can, for example, make an Eccentric Samurai Elf that talks in third-person, as if he was the narrator of the story. And he'll act that way during the entire game, reacting to battles, events, areas, deaths, etc. – all fully voiced! It's an amazing solution to allow custom yet memorable characters.

Once the game starts, you'll see that Wizardry 8's transition to 3D was similar to Might and Magic VI's: the party now moves freely across a large 3D world and enemies are visible in the distance, yet the game still plays like a “blobber”, with the party moving as a single unit. However, there's now a formation system, which greatly affects combat – if you place all your fighters at the front, the party's casters will be open to attacks from the sides or the rear. And that will happen often; true to its heritage, Wizardry 8 is unapologetically hard.

The first few hours, where you create your party and explore the initial dungeon, are easily among the best starting hours in any RPG. The atmosphere is great, party banter is amusing, battles are challenging and the dungeon is filled with traps and secrets that feel natural in this new 3D presentation.

Sadly, as soon as you step out of the dungeon into the infamous Arnika Road, the game's biggest flaw will hit you right in the face: the filler combat.