GamePUB, one of the biggest Polish gaming portals, has made a series of articles with their subjective opinions on which games of 2003 they liked the most, and which games of 2004 they look forward to the most. Here are the winners of the cRPG part (due to some delays in Poland, some games from 2003 are in the 2004 list (like ToEE), and one game from 2002 (Grandia 2) is in the 2003 one):

2003:

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  More info on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - More info on BioWare
  The end of the year, instead of summarizing it, totally contradicted it. The year of titles published in the West long ago being published in Poland, the year of disappointing titles ended with a true, tasty hit. BioWare, the D&D specialists, added a package from LucasArts titled "KOTOR" to their resume. Such combination would seem crazy. Yet, this mix gave us a brilliant, epic cRPG, which by some was called a successor to Fallout, and one of the best titles in the SW series. The SW universe itself, being one of the most complex space SF systems transformed into a computer role playing game is a success, just like great gameplay and multiple paths, Troika style. Some even think, that KotOR might remain the best cRPG even in 2004.

Yes, we all know it was indeed a true successor to Fallout and Troika's games.
The follow-ups were Gothic 2 and Pirates of the Carribean.

2004:

• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
  More info on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - More info on Troika Games
  Leonard Boyarsky, after being exiled from Vault City, and then leaving Black Isle, founded Troika Games with Tim Cain. Arcanum and ToEE were mde. Now a new game based on White Wolf's Masquerade is in production, being published by Activision. Unlike Redemptum, the game's engine is modified Valve's Half-Life 2. Troika Games treats its games seriously, so we should do it as well. If in ToEE we had 9 different beginnings, why shouldn't our clan choice in Bloodlines have big consequences to the plot? Troika Games makes better and better cRPGs, and this title is something definitely worth waiting for. Maybe the dream of thousands of pale children of the night will at last come true, and the cRPG market will make a true adaptation of their world.

The follow-ups are Spellforce and Beyond Divinity.

Another part of the article is about cancelled games:

• Crimes Unmade
  More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Black Isle Studios
  Fallout 3 is one big static noise, full of contradictory information. Once Black Isle is being dismissed, and its employees fired, and then it's not. Once FO3 is in production, and then we hear it was cancelled. Once something seems the long awaited game, and then turns out to be another console shooter. This chaos is tiring, but has its economic sense. Interplay has noticed, that this subject is a great way of making money. If Interplay releases new games with the Fallout logo and license, which have as much in common with cRPG, as Noriega with democratic election, then they should be advertised. By heating the atmosphere with new information, new moves, even drastic ones, Interplay is in the center of attention, and wins. Maybe it's better to forget the "Fallout 3 or Death!" cathword, and calmly await its release. And even if it doesn't come? The world doesn't end with apocalypse, as funny as it sounds. An interesting Deadlands project was cancelled, Static is probably also dead. Not to mention lots of indie games, which were born and died in the same moment.

Those of you who can speak Polish can read the rest of the article <A target=_blank href=http://www.gamepub.org/art.php?id=189>here[/url]. The others can just look at the top tens.