The Drunken Lizard Pub

If you like a lot of action in your crpgs you might try Avencast http://www.avencast.com It's a hybrid game. It has riddles and puzzles along with fast paced battles where you can play a melee mage (blood magic) or ranged mage (soul magic). The story is linear but you could play through twice, once for each archetype. The graphics are much better than most shareware games, but so is the price. It retails for $40 and it's supposed to be sold in stores. I haven't seen it yet and I live in a large city in the US. It is available as a digital download too, but there's no discount for acquiring it this way.

i saw this game advertised on Amazon, and a couple user reviews said that it was one of those hidden gems that oft get overlooked.

Im thinking of getting it for xmas.

Is it like Diablo 2 but in 3d? (titan quest ish??)

Hmmm, maybe a mixture of Prince of Persia and Titan Quest? I've only played a bit, but it seems like the combat is very actiony. Lots of dives, strafing, and combos.