The backstory features the ubiquitous, barely intelligible fantasy trappings: The players dwell in the Land of Uma, a place created from the mists of time by Life itself. A land of life without death, however, challenged the very balance of the universe, and thus Death was introduced. The harmony between the two, however, has quickly soured, and now it's up to the player -- as one of the Pure of Heart -- to find and smite evil in its many forms.

More specifically, and more relevant to the gamer, is the goal of besting Drakk -- a dragon who, in addition to exercising his other draconian habits, has been turning innocent folk to stone. In order to conquer this scaly menace, the player will have to seek out seven ancient magic crystals. Once recovered, these artifacts can be used to invoke the power of the Time Orb, the only weapon with a chance of defeating Drakk. Of course, that's just the bigger picture -- there are plenty of smaller menaces (in the form of skeletons, wasps and ogres) to smite and wrongs to right before taking on the boss.

The player starts off by choosing one of eight playable characters: male or female incarnations of four castes -- the warrior, thief, magician and monk. Naturally, each of these will have different powers and attributes, and finding one whose style suits the player will be crucial to success. Over the course of the game, 30+ weapons and an equal number of spells will become available -- true to the RPG genre, many of these can be modified for optimal effect.

The game will feature fully 3D characters and backdrops, while complete camera control will allow the player to zoom and rotate a full 360 degrees about the action. Adventures will take place across both closed environments and vast plains -- in addition to trolling through villages for information and supplies, the player will be able to visit castles, forests, caves and dungeons. There are more than 200 enemies and interactive characters, while 100 monsters based on 30 character types should keep the quest both interesting and profitable.

Obviously, the game looks to borrow heavily from Diablo, which shouldn't garner any complaints from those gamers already familiar with that hit's seamless blend of action and RPG elements. The game includes 32 levels, although each one is randomly generated each time around. Every time the game is played, dungeons are rearranged and items and creatures are repositioned -- again, it resembles Diablo, but should ensure that replayability isn't a problem.