Old Ass Games Review no. 1
Diablo (1996)
Chances are that, even if you haven't played Diablo, you've heard of it. It more or less created its own sub-genre, and is a timeless classic.
Well, maybe not so timeless.
Diablo is point-and-click hack-and-slash at it's core. There's a town full of merchants with a monster problem, you fight the monsters, they give you experience and items, you level up your stats and abilities, and you buy or pick up better equipment along the way. The classes are your basic three: rogue, warrior and mage. All you need to know to start playing is that you click on monsters to make them dead and you drink the red potions to avoid becoming dead.
On the strength of its gameplay alone, I can't say I'd really recommend Diablo to modern day audiences or non-fans. Movement is restricted to eight axis and feels very stiff, the action is, ironically, quite slow (due largely to your character's movement speed,) and, while admittedly not a gameplay gripe, the voice acting is pretty dreadful. Unlike in it's successor, you can't really circle around groups of enemies or try to get them to break off so that you can fight them individually. Rather, whenever you see a bunch of foes slowly wadling towards you your best bet is to find a doorway, get on the other side and fight them one by one as they try to get through. I may be making it sound worse than it is, for it is quite playable, but it can feel dull and chore-like at times.
But what it lacks in substance, it makes up for in replayability and atmosphere. Everytime you play Diablo, you play a different game. The dungeons, items and monsters are all randomized each playthrough, as is the list of available side-quests. And while Diablo's story is sparse, what's there is surprisingly solid.
[sub]"The sanctity of this place has been fouled."[/sub]
The player character returns to his/her old home of Tristram after a time away, only to find it ravaged and many of the townsfolk either slaughtered or dragged off to become slaves in the wake of King Leoric's disastrous war with the kingdom of Westmarch. The king himself is dead after his own men were forced to kill him and end his madness over the mysterious disappearance of his son. What's more, inhuman noises echo up from the halls of the cathedral near the edge of town, and horrible creatures lurk within its depths. Whatever the source of all this suffering and evil is, you must descend into the darkness and put an end to it.
The story is told mainly through exposition and tomes scattered around the dungeons under Tristram, and parts of the plot require you to actively seek them out, so some may find it hard to get invested. But Diablo's depressing tale is worth it, I find. Combined with the grimy, dark graphics and excellent music, [gGTUz4OnzdM] an overhanging sense of dread is created that differentiates the game from it's 2000/2001 sequel.
Today, Diablo is sort of like an old car: not great for getting around, but with an undeniable charm to it. Even if said charm is by way of a dark atmosphere and depressing story, and I've somewhat forgotten where I was going with this. More modern gamers will likely find it hard to get into, but underneath the dated mechanics there's a decent experience to be had.
Then: 4/5
Now: 3.5/5
Trivia: Spoiler Warning: Of the three playable characters, all three eventually get corrupted and show up in Diablo 2 as enemies. The rogue becomes Blood Raven, the sorcerer becomes... well, The Sorcerer, and the warrior becomes the Dark Wanderer, who eventually transforms into Diablo himself.
Diablo (1996)
Chances are that, even if you haven't played Diablo, you've heard of it. It more or less created its own sub-genre, and is a timeless classic.
Well, maybe not so timeless.
Diablo is point-and-click hack-and-slash at it's core. There's a town full of merchants with a monster problem, you fight the monsters, they give you experience and items, you level up your stats and abilities, and you buy or pick up better equipment along the way. The classes are your basic three: rogue, warrior and mage. All you need to know to start playing is that you click on monsters to make them dead and you drink the red potions to avoid becoming dead.
On the strength of its gameplay alone, I can't say I'd really recommend Diablo to modern day audiences or non-fans. Movement is restricted to eight axis and feels very stiff, the action is, ironically, quite slow (due largely to your character's movement speed,) and, while admittedly not a gameplay gripe, the voice acting is pretty dreadful. Unlike in it's successor, you can't really circle around groups of enemies or try to get them to break off so that you can fight them individually. Rather, whenever you see a bunch of foes slowly wadling towards you your best bet is to find a doorway, get on the other side and fight them one by one as they try to get through. I may be making it sound worse than it is, for it is quite playable, but it can feel dull and chore-like at times.
But what it lacks in substance, it makes up for in replayability and atmosphere. Everytime you play Diablo, you play a different game. The dungeons, items and monsters are all randomized each playthrough, as is the list of available side-quests. And while Diablo's story is sparse, what's there is surprisingly solid.
[sub]"The sanctity of this place has been fouled."[/sub]
The player character returns to his/her old home of Tristram after a time away, only to find it ravaged and many of the townsfolk either slaughtered or dragged off to become slaves in the wake of King Leoric's disastrous war with the kingdom of Westmarch. The king himself is dead after his own men were forced to kill him and end his madness over the mysterious disappearance of his son. What's more, inhuman noises echo up from the halls of the cathedral near the edge of town, and horrible creatures lurk within its depths. Whatever the source of all this suffering and evil is, you must descend into the darkness and put an end to it.
The story is told mainly through exposition and tomes scattered around the dungeons under Tristram, and parts of the plot require you to actively seek them out, so some may find it hard to get invested. But Diablo's depressing tale is worth it, I find. Combined with the grimy, dark graphics and excellent music, [gGTUz4OnzdM] an overhanging sense of dread is created that differentiates the game from it's 2000/2001 sequel.
Today, Diablo is sort of like an old car: not great for getting around, but with an undeniable charm to it. Even if said charm is by way of a dark atmosphere and depressing story, and I've somewhat forgotten where I was going with this. More modern gamers will likely find it hard to get into, but underneath the dated mechanics there's a decent experience to be had.
Then: 4/5
Now: 3.5/5
Trivia: Spoiler Warning: Of the three playable characters, all three eventually get corrupted and show up in Diablo 2 as enemies. The rogue becomes Blood Raven, the sorcerer becomes... well, The Sorcerer, and the warrior becomes the Dark Wanderer, who eventually transforms into Diablo himself.
