I've played all the Neverwinter games, and all the Baldur's Gate and Morrowinds and Icewind Dales, and even Diablos and Sacred and Planescape Torment, so I guess that makes me an RPG wacko.

I had low expectations for Storm of Zehir, given the middling reviews. While I have enjoyed every single Neverwinter adventure, I will admit being frustrated by Mask of the Betrayer's silly and annoying spirit-eating premise. I cheated out of Spirit Eating and ended up loving the game. But it is usually the characters standing at your side that reel you into a game. The emotional connection. A really good game creates that, even with NPCs.

Still, I love that in Zehir, you create your own base team of 4 characters. I like making my main character a rogue (half-drow), because you always need one character who can move out ahead of the team, stealthy, and find traps, open doors and pull the bad guys back to their deaths.

I created a standard team: Rogue, fighter, sorcerer, cleric. Along the way I picked up the NPC druid.

Since I created 4 out of the 5, I didn't think there would be much chance for an emotional connection. But when you are fighting side by side, saving each others butts, it starts to happen. I find during most battles I take control of the sorcerer and let my fighter and rogue battle up front, sometimes with the cleric. The sorcerer can just lob in huge damage from afar. Lovely.

The cleric heals and the druid buffs. The fighter tanks and the rogue pulls and scouts. Everyone has a role.

The game mechanics have issues ... why can't I rest? Why don't the buffs last longer than a single battle?

What the heck are these trading bars? I am having trouble with that, and the game also emphasizes crafting, which I consider a bore.

But there is a great flow and I always look forward to another game session. The team battles are great fun. You can really map out strategy, placing the team in one room, using the rogue to pull and then separate the bad guys. If you don't do it that way, you die.

So far, Zehir is an 8 out of 10 for me. And I am having a blast.