With rumours of Diablo's long awaited return still refusing to die down, now is as good as time as any to fill the void of the 'carnage' RPG, the less civilised counterparts to those role playing games that require diplomacy and talking in order to advance in whatever fantasy land you are adventuring through, where instead of this your sword arm does all the talking you'll need.

Dawn of Magic is typical of this genre - it's a Diablo-inspired slash 'em up in which you, the self styled hero of the game, are out to rid the world of a particularly nasty ancient immortal named Modo whose banishment to Earth from a magical realm has left him without his powers, his immortality or his morals. Modo doesn't much care for the situation he's been forced into, so he's on a quest to reclaim his lost powers in a journey that may very well end in the destruction of Earth.

So far it sounds like your typical clichéd tale of the epic struggle between good and evil, as you attempt to save the world from a force of such evil only you can stop it. The twist in the tale however is that you don't have to help the Earth overcome Modo and his hordes of demonic hell spawn - you can, if you choose, help assist Modo in his endeavour and be guilty of committing the same acts of cruelty you where charged with stopping. This isn't Fable, but it's a nice unique twist on the traditional good vs. evil approach that should make journeying through Dawn of Magic's fantasy world a little more interesting.

This is not the only thing that the game does a little differently to its action-orientated counterparts either - it relies heavily on magical abilities and you'll get to use a great number of them throughout. There are twelve schools of magic to choose from, each with their own set of spells that can range from devastating fireballs to some pretty useful summoning spells that'll call forth a demonic minion to help aid you in your continuous fighting. Normal weapons do still play their part in the unrelenting slaughtering of the various beasts that obstruct your path though, so the game doesn't break too far from convention and you have plenty of options for how you choose to fight your way through.

What's particularly noteworthy about the spells and their use is that as you continue to rely on their powers, your character's appearance gradually changes to fit with whatever school of magic you've come to rely upon. Your appearance also changes with regards to how you've aligned yourself to Modo's cause, with armour and weapons all reflecting how good, or how evil, you've become. This is a small thing perhaps, but sometimes it's often these small touches that count the most. Another one of these it the developers' reluctance to play on the usual traditions as far as enemy creatures go. Although set sometime during the Middle Ages (or thereabouts), Dawn of Magic shuns any attempts to send the usual assortment of orcs, trolls and elves your way; instead the bad guys are a selection of some truly nasty looking beasts that range from giant winged serpents to creature who defy description. Given that it's these creatures you'll be spending the majority of the game killing, it's nice to see some variety in their appearance and their methods of attack.

Elsewhere it's business as usual - a top down camera is used to view the action and despite this game being a year old now, having already been released in its native homeland of Russia under the guise of Blood Magic, already Dawn of Magic's visuals are miles ahead of the likes of last year's Titan Quest. Beyond this, progression is handled in the usual manner; in between your slaughtering in the great outdoors you occasionally come across towns and settlements, where you can buy and sell items and typically accept side quests from friendly NPCs. These never range much beyond the usual mix of quests involving you killing things, but they do offer substantial rewards upon completion.

The full game will also boast quite an extensive multiplayer mode that'll include a variety of different game modes for up to sixteen players, which will offer both co-operative and competitive methods of play. What the game modes will entail exactly remains a mystery for now, but something similar to Diablo's co-op mode that allows players to fight alongside each other through the single player game is surely a dead cert.

So far, Dawn of Magic is a familiar experience with its roots firmly embedded in the classic tradition of action RPG. It doesn't take any great strides ahead for the genre, but it does offer up new variations on old themes that should elevate it high above its peers - Diablo 3 can wait.

Previewed by Kieron Giacopazzi for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).