There is nothing we like more than being consumed by a role-playing game ... or a first person shooter ... or the flames of Hell. Give us one game that does all three, and we surrender.

Melding the genres of RPG and FPS, Hellgate places you into a nightmarish future in which the flame-scarred surface of Earth has been overrun by demons. You play one of the last human survivors, the Templar. And guess whose job it is to venture from the safety of the underground sanctuary to see how many demons can be blasted back to Hell with a potent mix of hi-tech and sorcerous weaponry?

Think of those weapons as "spell delivery systems," essentially guns that shoot bizarre magic effects ranging from demonic toxins to arcing lightning bolts. Hellgate's unique arsenal of monster-pulping firearms can be customized to the user's liking by adding on various parts and boosters to improve their performance.

Many of the key creators of the classic PC RPG Diablo now work for Hellgate developer Flagship Studios and some of their signature gameplay elements are apparent. Randomized levels, items, and events means the game can offer fresh challenges each time it's played, and Diablo's system of granting players the ability to customize their character's abilities makes a welcome return. But, of course, this will all be applied to a first-person shooter context; will the RPG stuff work?