Gamespy's Editor-in-Chief, Dan Stapleton, announces that the Gamespy site is to be shut down.   He gives this reason:

Why is this closure happening, then? It's a business thing, and like most business things it's not easy to explain or understand unless you spend all day crunching numbers and paying bills. Which I don't. So here's the simple version that even I can comprehend: Ziff Davis wants to run an efficient, focused company, and managing several different sites that all cover videogames isn't exactly the model of efficiency. Even though GameSpy had its own unique voice that was separate and distinct from those of our sister sites, and there has always been value in that, it's hard to argue with that logic. Even if it does totally suck. The silver lining is that the value of all of the voices and opinions of our staff and writers won't just go away. We'll still be out there talking and writing about the great things happening in the world of PC gaming, both at IGN and other places around the internet, because it's what we love to do. It's why we wanted to work at GameSpy in the first place. We hope you'll keep reading and watching and talking about PC games with us.

Updated

According to Joystiq, the 1UP and UGO sites will also be closed:

GN was hit with editorial layoffs today, with sites 1UP, UGO and Gamespy expected to be shut down. "We are focusing on our two flagship brands, IGN and AskMen. Unfortunately, as a result, we have made the decision to close sites and restructure our teams accordingly," a company spokesperson confirmed to Joystiq.

GameSpy looks at what they consider the 10 Best Action RPGs Between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. It's not a terrible list as far as these things go; here's the first entry:

Divine Divinity - 2002

Divine Divinity managed to splice Diablo's hack 'n' slash DNA with the more complex aspects of RPGs like Baldur's Gate and a refreshing dab of humor -- something most fantasy worlds fail to invent while constantly fretting about Ends of Days and Chosen Ones. Skill trees, for instance, are shared among all character types, so hybrids of all shapes and sizes are viable if you know what you're doing. (And if you don't, well, you probably made the mistake of playing a Summoner.) The world, meanwhile, is impressively non-linear, and most NPCs react realistically when faced with a blade to the face. That is to say, by dying. Unfortunately, however, there is NPC clone of the person who decided to call the game Divine Divinity. 

While we're at it, sister site IGN explains Why Diablo II Still Rules:

Unmodded and running at 800 x 600 resolution, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is still my favorite action role-playing game. I've tried many other Diablo-style games since, from Titan Quest to Dungeon Siege to Torchlight (made by several of Diablo's creators) to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, some of which improved on Blizzard's design with less restrictive skill systems, better interfaces, more advanced visuals and added conveniences for travel, item storage and looting. But I've never played one and thought, without a doubt, that as a whole it established a higher standard than what Blizzard North achieved in the very early 2000s. 

An interesting piece at GameSpy titled The Dungeons and Dragons Effect discusses the early influence of D&D on video gaming - and how the tables have turned.  Developers like Brenda Braithwaite and Tony Evans weigh in with some comments:

Consider Ultima, Wizardry, Might & Magic, and The Bard's Tale. These great RPG series of yesteryear -- especially the earlier games in these series -- are basically stripped-down D&D campaigns in pixelated coats. It's easy to explain why, notes one of the industry's legendary RPG designers.

"Back when CRPGs were just getting started, I don't know a developer who didn't play D&D," says Brenda Brathwaite, a lead designer for the Wizardry series. "Its influence is obvious."

But as the genre grew into one of the most popular varieties of PC games, D&D's influence in the industry shifted. "Ten years in, though, we were influencing each other and were likewise influenced tremendously by the potential that technology afforded us," Brathwaite says.

Hat tip to Lucky Day.

This humour from GameSpy is as tired as the tropes they poke fun at.  A sample from How to Build and Market an RPG:

The main selling point of western RPGs is freedom, so be sure to completely overwhelm the player with side quests right after the requisite hour-long tutorial tells them what their real goal should be.

In Fallout 3 the main mission is to find the avatar's father James, but the second the player emerges from Vault 101 they can kill raiders at a nearby school, go shopping at a supermarket, get lost in the labyrinthine DC subway system, help an annoying woman write a book full of questionable information, kill mutants... basically, you want to give the player every reason not to keep up with the main quest since, if you're doing a western RPG, that aspect should be the weakest.

In a line-up that focuses heavily on action and FPS titles, Gamespy presents a list of projected Fall releases which includes a short summary of each game. The only RPGs covered are Hellgate:London and The Witcher, but there is a handy list of upcoming releases on the last page.

GameSpy has kicked up their 2006 PC Game of the Year Awards, with several games of interest.  There's no prize for guessing the RPG category winner but here's the overall Top 10:

PC Top 10 Games of the Year
  1. Company of Heroes
  2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  3. Half-Life 2: Episode One
  4. Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators
  5. Neverwinter Nights 2
  6. Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords
  7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War -- Dark Crusade
  8. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
  9. GTR 2
10. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

Meanwhile, Obsidian is calling for fans to vote for NWN2 in GameSpot's awards (Best PC game, Best RPG) and Bethsoft is rallying the faithful for Oblivion in 1Up's awards.