Diablo

Diablo is a point and click hack and slash RPG, and is created by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment in 1996. The game came out on Windows, Mac OS and Playstation. The game also got an expansion pack, Diablo: Hellfire, which was created by Sierra online. Most Diablo fans thought this expansion pack was a complete failure because of the graphics, which are worse than Diablo, and the fact that players aren't able to play this game online, whilst players were able to play online with the original game.

The story of Diablo is based on the premise of a war between Heaven and Hell. The town of Tristram is under attack by demons, and you must save the town. As the player delves into the underworld, he discovers more about the demon Diablo, through large tomes that are found throughout the levels. Eventually, you'll reach the lair of Diablo and must kill him.

Diablo, an incredibly powerful demon, is the Lord of Terror and one of the Three Prime Evils of Hell, who had been imprisoned in a Soulstone and buried in caverns deep beneath the town of Tristram. Though his imprisonment was meant to be eternal, the power of the Soulstone weakened over centuries, eventually allowing Diablo to awaken from his forced slumber. He telepathically turns a nearby human, the Archbishop Lazarus, into his loyal puppet. In order for Diablo to actually leave the Soulstone, Diablo needs the stone to be shattered. He possesses Lazarus, and has him break the stone. Diablo then tries to gain control of King Leoric, the local ruler, but Diablo, in his weakened state, is unable to overpower Leoric. Since Diablo is too weak to possess the king, he abandons the idea. This leaves the monarch's mind numb and his soul corrupted. He then gets Lazarus to kidnap King Leoric's son, Prince Albrecht, so that Diablo can possess and warp him, thereby attaining material form and strength. At the moment of the boy's possession, his terror is so great that the boundaries between the realms are broken and parts of Hell seep into the mortal world and take root in the subterranean labyrinth beneath Tristram.

Diablo may have a body now, but he is far from his full power, so he bides his time and summons countless hordes of demons and infests the whole underground complex, claiming the new region of Hell as his own personal lair. Soon afterwards the maddened Leoric is slain by his own lieutenants. Demons appear in the countryside as the Lord of Terror regains his strength in the heart of the labyrinth and prepares for the time when he would once again emerge to seek his brothers - Baal and Mephisto - and free them as well. It seemed to be a matter of time until the Prime Evils gained dominion over the entire mortal realm. This is where you come in. As you fight your way through sixteen levels to face Diablo, you'll encounter various monsters, quests, tomes, scrolls, weapons, and other miscellaneous items.

In the beginning of the game you can choose from three combat classes: Warrior, Archer and Sorcerer. After you've chosen your class you'll begin your adventure in Tristram, a little town with a few inhabitants. They tell you that most of the townsfolk had been kidnapped and then slaughtered in the old church. In this church lies the labyrinth of 16 levels filled with enemies. At first your enemies are zombies and skeletons, but the closer you get to level 16, the more they'll look like demons. At first you don't know anything of your enemies, but as you kill more and more of them you will get more information about that specific enemy. They also drop weapons, potions and scrolls which aid you in your quests. The stronger your armor is, the more you'll look like a knight in shining armor. However, almost all weapons have a durability rate, and when the durability rate drops to zero your weapon will break and then you can't use it anymore. So make sure you repair it at the Blacksmith before it drops to zero.

Each time you level up you get five points which you can spend on your attributes: Strength, Magic, Dexterity and Vitality. Most weapons can only be worn when you have a certain amount of Strength and Dexterity. All spells need a certain amount of magic points, mana. Throughout the game you'll find Magic Books, which you can read in order to learn a new spell or upgrade an spell that you've already learned.

The graphics of this game are great for a game from 1996. At least the graphics look better than Fallout and that game is from 1997. The sound is nice too, it really improves the horror aspect.
The most remarkable thing is that all the levels of the labyrinth are random generated levels, so when you completed the game for the first time you can't memorize it for the second play-through, and you have to complete the game at least two times in order to complete all the quests.

Diablo is a fine game, I really liked playing this game. It is a classic RPG and a difficult one too. Everyone that is an RPG-fan should have played this game.