[color:"orange"]Still, that sounds kinda absurd: unable to see the target that attacked you.[/color]

You could look up or down with the mouse, I just didn't know the centred view would miss a dog right in front of the character (at some point I had to have been facing it when I turned around completely).


[color:"orange"]Lack of realistic surround sound? Hmmm... that I didn't know.[/color]

Well, it probably doesn't help that I only have a 2.1 speaker set. There are games that use positional sound, but AFAIK not enough to replace peripheral vision. You can hear where shots or monsters are coming from, but I don't think more subtle sounds or echos are reproduced.
Even after I upgrade to a 180 degree view screen and 27.5 speaker system, though, that still leaves out smell and touch. While smell can be a useful sense for detecting animals or tracking, etc I think I could pass on an authentic middle ages city smell (not to mention the poisonous chemicals used in perfumes). Force feedback is good for crude tactile response (steering wheels, etc), but I think it will be awhile before it could simulate a light breeze of something moving past, or vibrations in the ground of something moving. Depending on where you are, even a person or dog walking behind you can make detectable vibrations. In games today, if your character is standing on a rope bridge, they couldn't detect a gorilla charging at them from behind.
I think I'll wait for a direct neural interface before playing many first person real time combat games. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />


[color:"orange"]I've never played Wizardry series: is it fun and interesting?[/color]

The Wizardry 8 demo was fun and interesting enough for me to track down someone who still had the game for sale (that was a couple years ago, though).

There is an RPG Chat forum topic for Wizardry 8. (long)

Wikipedia's Wizardry page. (short)

A quick search on eBay only got one hit, a used (mint) version for C$100. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ouch.gif" alt="" /> DVD Box Office has it listed at $70, though it is not in stock (and may never be). Half.com has some of the earlier ones listed, but I didn't see any for Wizardry 8 that were in stock.

I'd suggest checking out the demo, and if you like the game, keep an eye out for it on eBay, or check for it whenever you are ordering other games. I've had a couple older or rare games eventually show up on eBay at a reasonable price.