...although Planescape: Torment would certainly be in the running, if only for the unparalleled storyline that game offered.

Wizardry 8 has all the elements that make for good RPG: pure, old-school RPG system, good interface and game mechanics, tough battles, decent story, and great atmosphere. Mainly, though, it has the RPG gameplay formula down to both an art and a science: the tactical elements of combat, the contemplation required to properly outfit your party, and the many interesting "toys" with which to battle your enemies; these are what make Wizardry 8 so rich.

At first the interface may seem a bit confusing, but it's really exceptionally good. You never get to see your characters' actual presence in the game world; you will face the world from a first-person perspective, and from a first-person perspective only.

Characters are represented by their portraits (which can be hidden) along the screen edges, by their paper dolls, and by a formation map with which you can set the relative positions of your characters as they move together as a unit throughout the game. Using this formation tool, you can place your melee fighters in the front lines, and put your spellcasters with low hit points at the central rear, perhaps flanked by somewhat more robust ranged attackers. (Or not. If you're suicidal, by all means let your pixie wizard soak up the damage on the front lines while your mighty swordsmen play cribbage behind her. Whatever suits you.)

You get full control over all eight characters -- meaning that you can outfit them, assign which of them leads, and determine their actions during each and every combat round. And so forth. The ability to fully control a squad of diverse characters is one of the best facets of the RPG genre. Given the near legendary status of Baldur's Gate in the CRPG world, you would think this would be an essential feature for most RPGs. But it has been lacking in some notable, over-hyped titles, such as Neverwinter Nights (which is still very good, don't get me wrong -- just overhyped) and even Morrowind, which looked great but grew tedious rather quickly. Wizardry 8 lets you fully configure your starting party and, upon picking up a comrade or three along the way, you get full control over up to eight potentially very diverse characters. It's a party-building RPG in the fullest sense, and makes for some very deep and satisfying gameplay, with all the good aspects of character management that RPG'ers crave.

The graphics are adequate (for the date this was made) if not altogether stunning, but the game world is quite interesting, with many gadgets, weapons, monsters, and strange goings-on. The game's atmosphere, good storyline, classic RPG combat system, and rich array of controllable, customizable characters make this one of the great computer RPG's of all time.