Wizardry 8
Wizardry 8 is perhaps my favorite CRPG to date. The storyline is good (mostly *), yet it does not lock you into a linear plotline progression where you have to go here and do this, and then do that, ad nauseum. While attempting to give away the storyline, the game does a great job of introducing your main quest very early in the game (as early as the second stage!), and if you are new to the game you will be saying at that point, "Whoa. And how will I be accomplishing that?" Sure, after investigating quite a bit, the plot begins to make sense and you piece together what to do, but my point stands that you are not forced to go to Rapax Castle now because the rules say so. IMHO, non-linear games like this have an edge in fun because it puts some of the storytelling into the hands of the player.
Character development is another of the game's strong suits. Wizardry 8 gives you 15 character classes, 11 races (16 if you count NPC only races, as well!), and a whole slew of skills with which you can customize your character. To increase your skills, your characters need to practice. Your priest won't get any better at healing party members as long as they aren't busy casting spells in the Divine and Water realms, for instance.
And speaking of character development, the personalities that you can give your characters is more than worth the price of the game. Many of them are simply hilarious and really add to the fun of the game. No other game that I have played have executed this aspect of gameplay to this degree of excellence. I nearly rolled out of my chair laughing when my wife left Wizardry 8 to go to the kitchen and her buff level 20 Valkyrie declared in her thick Swedish accent, "It's awful hot in here. Right now I want to take off my clothes and go swimming in a nice cool fjord." 
Disclaimer: While I have tried to avoid giving spoilers away, spoilers may be in the Atlas section. If you are worried about having the game spoiled by having the plotline revealed or by knowing where to go next, don't look at the Atlas! Disclaimer is finis 
New mod available for Wizardry 8!
It has been a long standing belief of mine (since the days of the old 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System) that customization is what makes the truly great games stand out. When talking video game customization, there is nothing better (outside of releasing source code) than providing a way for others to modify the the actual data that powers the game. This is what modding is all about. Thanks to madgod, there is a powerful tool for modifying Wizardry 8's item system, monsters, spells, etc. called the "Cosmic Forge".
I have developed my own "mod" and playtesting it for a few weeks. Get more information here. It is available for download, for all y'all to play! Come one, come all!
Links
I surely am not the first one with a Wizardry 8 page on the block (the game being released in late 2001, and all), and I likely won't be the last. These are a few of the folk who not only have enhanced my enjoyment of the game, but in many cases have offered their constructive comments to help the information I convey to be better. Thank you.
- The late
Flamestryke's Wizardry 8 page - Wolfie's Wizardry 8 Info Site
- TK421's Wizardry
- Tawmis' Wizardry 8 FAQ Page
- Avenstar's Wizardry 8 page
Notes and errata
*- Except for the little issue of one of your main character's uniting with the demoness in Rapax Castle. And the mess that ensues. From a Christian perspective, you can see how that might be problematic 
Copyright notice
The content in this portion of the website pertains to "software" known as "Wizardry 8", which was copyrighted 2001 by Sir-tech Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. All content represents original research by myself, except when credits are given on the respective pages where unoriginal content is placed.