It might be too early to tell, but methinks the developers and production team at Grinding Gear Games really have "got it." After playing the beta version of Path of Exile for the past few days, I am stunned at how good this ActionRPG already is. With five years in development, Grinding Gears has introduced an online RPG that is truly friendly for the solo player, is very challenging, has the most innovative skills system in years, breaks new ground in the idea that "free" really can mean "free," and is absolutely addictive in its entertainment value. My mage (a witch in PoE terms) must have died a half dozen times trying to solo the boss at the end of Act I, but I could not give up until I worked out a strategy to defeat it.
To make sure my own bias is clearly identified, I tried the PoE closed beta out of curiosity, but was so blown away by a game far beyond my expectations that I quickly became a donor at the Silver level. Twenty play hours later I was so impressed, and was having so much fun, I upgraded to Gold. Things like PoE, or sites like RPGWatch, are too rare to let go without becoming a donor to help support them. Apparently I was far from alone in this. As of June they had already received more than $700,000 (USD) in donations for a free game! However, I also must make clear that I have nothing to do with the firm, and my only knowledge of them other than playing the game is a series of emails to their producer with questions I had writing this review.
