Adventure games have a very special place in my heart, particularly those made by Sierra. Sure, the stuff from Lucasfilm Games might have wound up more popular in the end, but one of the first games to feature actual graphics that I ever played was King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne. I have a bit of a bias. Sue me.

It is that same bias that makes me extremely happy to mention that the long-awaited remake of Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire has been released. AGD Interactive, the group behind the highly awesome VGA re-imaginings of King's Quest I & II, have announced that the five-year project of updating yet another adventure classic has come to an end and that the game is now available for download.

The Quest for Glory series is really unique in the genre of adventure games, in that it maintains a delicate balance between the standard puzzle-solving challenges and an RPG-like stat system. These RPG elements were also reflected in your ability to merge a character from a previous game in the series to its sequel, effectively maintaining all your hard work across the entire five titles. Known as much for its complex and serious storylines as pun-filled frivolity, they are some of the best games of their kind that I've ever played.

Unlike the rest of the series, this second installment is the only one that was not given a graphical facelift and point-and-click interface by Sierra. These features are now available in the AGD Interactive release of the game, along with new music and some minor gameplay improvements. Best of all, it's free, so you really have no excuse not to pick it up.

I really hope this release introduces some new people to the games because they really are exceptional. They've even included the ability to transfer your character to Quest for Glory III after you've finished, so you can experience the entire series in the point-and-click style without sacraficing any progress. Seriously, go download this thing right now.