It's happened. Those of you who grew up playing the DnD and Roguelike games of the late 80s and early 90s will remember a series called Wizardry for the PC. It laid the foundation for RPGs with graphics and defined the system that later became a fully immersive 3d world, utilizing an engine that was later expanded upon by Ultima's Underworld and Underworld II. Bane of the Cosmic Forge was one of my first PC games that didn't involve cards, and it's been 12 years since the last title was released, what with their last title (Wizardry 8) in 2001 and Sir-Tech of Canada finally going belly-up in 2003. But now, Wizardry has developed into a fledgeling MMO which was released in North America and Europe yesterday.

They've had a rough start; server issues have made login times INSANE and there are occasional serverwide crashes. A lot of people are complaining but this is a fledgling free to play game. I believe our patience will be rewarded.

Wizardry Online promises a return to the stats and basics of the older games, but with full 3D graphics and the terrifying aspect of permadeath and open Player Killing and looting. Needless to say, this game doesn't feel like it's for the casual or faint of heart, but the true Wizardry, MMO and PVP veterans out there may be given a run for their money when it comes to skills. In many ways, this game almost feels like a hybrid of Wizardry and Dark Souls.

Anyone who'd like to join me can find my characters on the US server under the following names...

cedwards Vagisil (Priest. It soothes and refreshes! XD)
cedwards Ambrose (Mage)
cedwards Belus (Fighter)

Here's the promotional video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ci8KJ9tSw

And here's a link to the site! https://www.wizardrythegame.com/

I really like to think that this game is going to have some staying power.