Good RPGs are hard to find and good RPGs with a solid, engrossing storyline are even harder to find. Oftentimes the promises made by such games to provide many hours of entertainment and a 'deep, absorbing narrative' fall along the wayside, leaving so many empty husks of potential. So it was with some cynicism that I approached Hard to be a God, a game that, on the surface, appears to be like any one of the hundreds of RPGs available at the moment. But, like the adage says, you should never judge a book by its cover, or a game, for that matter; pretty quickly I realised that Hard to be a God had much more in store than most of its ilk.

As this is an early preview version of the game, there isn't much in the way of an introduction, so I had to work out a lot of the plot from the press sheet that came bundled with it. Earth and Arkanar were once closely linked and friendly (Welcome to Earth - twinned with Arkanar!) However, something has caused the once allied planets to become hostile and distant to each other. Whilst Earth flourished and grew technologically, Arkanar remained stagnant and archaic, and now the higher-ups on Earth are trying to find out why. Playing as a Special Agent, you have been sent to discover just what caused the rift between the two worlds and, I'm presuming, to return Arkanar to prosperity. Or wipe it out; not everything is that clear at this stage.

The differences in the two worlds' time zones means that eventually you can bring futuristic weaponry from Earth over to Arkanar - laser guns, space suits and Nike tracksuits can be found (alright, maybe not Nike tracksuits!) - but there's a problem. Using these new fangled technologies only serves to deify you in the eyes of the local populace (hence the title), meaning that they come to depend on you all the time, so a careful balance needs to be struck between ultimate power and having to help all and sundry with their problems.

As the undercover special agent, I assumed the role of some kind of newly recruited mercenary about to take my final exam and become a man. Or at least a better paid mercenary. The first part of my graduation required me to kill some bandits that had been terrorising the local area. So off I went, trusty sword in hand, and tracked them down to an encampment not far from the outpost. My first plan of attack - to enter the camp in disguise - failed, so I was left with little option but to launch an all-out attack. Me, a lowly level one mercenary, storming a camp of maybe three or four heavily armed bandits? Madness, sheer madness. Within seconds they had kicked the proverbial out of me and left me for dead in the gutter. Clearly a different approach was required. Gathering the group of bandits together with great courage, I turned tail and fled heroically towards the road a ways back, confident in the knowledge that I had seen a patrol of friendly army types pass by not long ago.

Sure enough, the two opposing fronts met in an uncouth tidal wave of blood and metal, wiping out all combatants and leaving me with the lion's share of the loot and the glory! Interestingly, by equipping the thieves' armour I had liberated from the corpses, I assumed the identity of a thief, allowing me to travel back to the outpost unhindered by the numerous ruffians littering the highways. Collecting the numerous different armour types allows you to assume a multitude of different guises, blending into the roles of Imperial Guardsman, Bandit, Don and Monarchy in a way that would impress even the recently famous Altair. Indeed, so many of the quests require donning these masquerades that the standard accumulation of clothing actually has a purpose, other than as something to sell off.

Even this small example serves to highlight the many different ways that challenges can be overcome in Hard to be a God. Combat and diplomacy are meted out in equal measure - can't kill an enemy? Bribe him for the information you need. Gang proving too tough to handle? Take out the leader and the rest will be more willing to cooperate. Every mission usually has at least two possible methods of completion and it's nice to see that care has been taken to provide options for those who prefer an alternative to hacking their way through every living thing out there. Although the game comes across as a standard hack 'n' slash affair (albeit quite a challenging one), there's much more depth on offer than is first apparent.

The combat feels smooth and easy; left-click to attack normally and right-click to perform a power move that's dependent on your current proficiency with your equipped weapon type, while a middle mouse-click delivers a fatal attack on a downed opponent and the space bar blocks attacks. It does get tricky at times, especially when fighting on horseback or against multiple foes, because of your stamina bar's tendency to run out at the worst times, leaving you unable to move whilst blows are rained down against your head and body. In general though, it suffices to get the quests done, but it's by no means the epitome of finesse. Mounted combat makes things a little easier, as attackers need first to remove you from your mount before being able to attack you, and I spent many rounds of combat gleefully running rings around them as they futilely tried to hack my legs off. It has its flaws though; it's too easy to get stuck behind objects when fighting, health potions don't always work and neither do the power moves, but these negatives are small and forgivable.

Obviously an RPG wouldn't be much cop without quests and Hard to be a God doesn't disappoint in this department either. Running parallel to the main storyline (more on that later) are literally hundreds of side quests, ranging from the obligatory 'kill me some bandits' to finding lost children. But unlike many of the hundreds of RPGs I've played, not one of these quests seems trivial or boring - each gives information about the people and places found in the game, making them worthwhile and genuinely entertaining. Whether I was attempting to recover lost charity money or end a village feud, it always seemed as though I had accomplished something.

However, despite these engaging side quests it's the main storyline that truly excels. After graduation I was sent off to Arkanar, a distant city, to assassinate a couple of fellows who had done something they shouldn't have done. Along the way I was set upon by Monks believing they should purify the land, had to break out of prison and ended a rivalry between two nasty sorts just so I could get the city gates open. Oh, and I also had some rather enlightening conversations with myself. This is how much of the plot is filtered through: from time-to-time I was transported 'somewhere' and told snippets of events obviously far larger than anything happening in Coronation Street this week. Hints of a new messiah, betrayal in the monarchy, some trouble with the timelines and some other pretty dark stuff all presented themselves and every time I was confronted with my alter ego, a new twist on the plot set me thinking about my own motives for fulfilling this mission. Just what was going on and why was I here?

Tantalising morsels of plot fell onto the plate of understanding, only to be snatched away by the hungry dog of deceit however - and boy does that dog have an appetite! New twists and turns in the labyrinthine narrative were replaced by half-truths and rumour as quickly as I had tracked down their origins. By the time I had finished only half of my original quest line I had acquired a journal literally bursting at the bindings with allegations, secret meetings and clandestine plans. Not that it ever became confusing or obscure; I could still follow what was going on easily - and that's no mean feat, incorporating the type of deep, absorbing narrative usually found in best-selling novels, without completely baffling the player. I kept on going just to try and find out what was actually going on and it is a rare game indeed that draws attention from its plot alone, especially when that game is billed as a hack 'n' slash. Hard to be a God offers inspired intrigue of the highest calibre.

Besides the epic narrative, another major point of note is the character customisation. Despite not being able to pick a race, gender or initial appearance, I soon discovered that the different types of clothing make it possible to create any style of character you desire, be it a rogue, pirate, bandit or monk, and the talent tree (although limited) mean you can fine tune your combat style to any one of three weapon types - light, medium or heavy - as well as increase your strength, diplomacy and crossbow skill to suit your own needs. I mentioned earlier in the review that Hard to be a God constantly feels as though something is being accomplished and this shows through expertly in the character customisation. Each new armour or weapon upgrade - be it a shiny new cuirass or a huge two-handed broadsword - serves to give the impression that the character has grown and evolved. By the time I finally had to stop playing to write this preview, my (character's) appearance had drastically altered - no longer was he the fresh-faced boy I was first introduced to; now he had become a grizzled stalwart of combat, with a taste for battle and the skills to back it up. They grow up so fast *sniff*!

However, for something so engaging and genuinely playable, Hard to be a God isn't the best looking game ever made. It could be compared to Dungeon Siege in terms of its visuals; it's nice but it's never going to compete with recent RPGs. The characters are basic and the textures somewhat sub-par, buildings are sparsely furnished and lack any true sense of believability. The outdoor areas add shine however, providing some verdant forests and sparkling lakes that really draw the eye, while little touches like rural settlements, indigenous wildlife, wandering peasants and more add that subtle touch that seems to personify Hard to be a God and give it much of its charm.

The sound is also clearly lacking in both quality and quantity - fights are quiet affairs, to say the least! The dialogue seems natural at first, but soon begins to grate a little when you realise that many of the characters have the same voice set and mannerisms, but this a small matter that is easily overlooked. Ambient sounds are lacking a lot of the time and I must admit that I preferred to listen to my own music whilst playing! But as I mentioned earlier, this is a preview, so there's plenty of time to add extra detail to the graphics and fill in the gaps in the audio - if the presentation can be refined to create beautiful visuals and sounds to back up the brilliant plot then this could very well be the best RPG of the decade.

The little things have not been overlooked either. Inventory management isn't a chore as it is with so many other RPGs - items are automatically compared with each other so you can quickly tell if what you've just wrenched from a corpse is better than what you're currently wearing or using. The inventory is split into separate screens too, making it simple to manage quest items, potions, food and armour. There is only really one flaw with the HUD in general and it's that the text is often hard to read, and very often badly translated. Characters are often referred to by up to three different variations of their name (one peasant was called 'Muga', 'Mooga', 'Moog' and 'Mugo' at different points) and obviously this causes a small amount of confusion - hopefully these issues will be polished up before the final release too.

What I've seen of this newcomer so far is all good; the narrative alone beats the heck out of any Hollywood blockbuster since - well, forever. Hard to be a God is perhaps the single most fun game I've ever played - I love it for the little touches of humour, the real feeling of progression, the sense of achievement, the way I had to keep playing just to discover more about the world and its inhabitants, the fact that I can disguise myself as a member of any faction - I love it for the combination of all these elements and more. It's been a long time since I've played a game that kept me awake for so long, and longer still since the reason it kept me up was curiosity.

Hard to be a God is a shining example of how to make a hack 'n' slash RPG - it's a magnificent tour de force that serves to show just how RPGs should be made. Veterans of the genre are guaranteed to find something that will, at the very least, make them change their views of what makes a good RPG and if you're not a fan then this might just sway your opinion. Either way, when Hard to be a God is released, the competition will have to work hard to match it.

Previewed by John Barnes for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).