Now Updated to Version 2

Vicky: What's that? It looks like Final Fantasy.

Me: No, it's a game called Aveyond.

Vicky (after watching for several minutes): It looks fun. Can I play?

Vicky's right; Aveyond does play a lot like Final Fantasy--maybe about V, since the graphics are 2D sprites in an oblique overhead view. It's a game you wouldn't be surprised to find on your SNES or Genesis.

If you yearn for the days of Ultima (round about VII or VIII) or the King's Quest games--or if you've plowed all the way through Oblivion and aren't willing to wait for years until the next great, big-budget fantasy RPG gets released--you've just stumbled on a game you will like a great deal. In fact, stop reading now and go play the demo. Maybe I need to insert a rotating spiral GIF here and a deep hypnotic voice intoning "You Will Like It," but it hardly seems necessary. No mental coercion needed--the game speaks for itself.

Morning's Wrath is an isometic "2-and-a-half-D" fantasy RPG, a sassy (if tragic) female protagonist, a story that not only makes sense but you will actually care about, excellent music, and a great deal of fast-paced combat, along with an original and well conceived spell system.

For a small indie team, Ethereal Darkness has produced a surprisingly polished little gem of a game in Morning's Wrath--and yes, the graphics are a little retro, but for that we make no apologies. Gameplay over glitz, remember?

And for a mere $10 bucks. Hard to beat that.

Kult Heretic Kingdom (released at retail in the US as "Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition") is a big, deep, involving fantasy RPG with some innovative features and dozens of hours of gameplay. Combat is somewhat Diabloesque, though it's still basically a character-skill rather than player-skill game, and the world is rich and well-realized.

In the US, Kult got limited distribution--its theme might have something to do with that. Kult takes place in a world in which a religious theocracy has recently been overthrown, and you play an Inquisitor, your job to root out and destroy the last remnants of religious superstition. You can imagine what, say, Wal-Mart's reaction would be to being pitched this game.