For a long time now, I've been anxious to get my hands on Requiem of Hell. I played it for a few scant moments at E3, but that really doesn't count. Recently, I busted out a preview version of the game, and even though it's coming out in a few weeks, felt it appropriate to fill you in on my early impressions. That's what caring and sharing are all about, boys and girls.

Your main character -- which you choose between a man and a woman -- starts the game about as down as they can be. As a matter of fact, they're dead. Resurrected by a fairy, they're charged with the task of storming into Hell and setting right the balance of the universe. See, there are things worse than death.

She looks sweet, but this fairy has horns.
Your allies are a strange lot. The fairy that brings you back to life is far from a Tinkerbellian little angel. She's got a bad attitude and a mouth to match. More often than not, she's cheering for bloodshed of any kind -- even if it's yours. She'll mercifully heal you every now and then, but at most, you can count on her for some verbal abuse. Her mentor is a blind old man with mysterious magical powers. He's not too fond of you, either.

Saying the gameplay is like Baldur's Gate or Diablo is half right -- which also means it's pretty wrong. Yes, it's isometric and you tackle hordes of monstrous entities. You have magic, various weapons show up, and you level-up. However, the way you play is quite different. The difficulty, at least at this stage, is tweaked to make enemies fairly tough. You'll also be constantly ganged up on. Thankfully, you can get into a defensive stance to deflect attacks. Unfortunately, the angles of your swings are a little suspect, so you're often missing your target.

Level layouts are also quite unique. You can travel all over the place, but many areas will equal certain death (again) if you go into them unprepared. There is a set way to go about playing the game; it's just up to you to figure out that path. It's fortunate that you can save at any time, or you'd be in for a world of hurt.

The preview version was pretty sloppy, but that's why it was a preview version. There are several tweaks that need to be made, from balancing to the broken English to the inventory system, but I won't dwell on them. Suffice to say I hope they're fixed by the time the game ships. If they are, Requiem of Hell could find a nice little corner of its very own in the N-Gage library.