Review by Dale Wilks

Name:         Diablo
Publisher:    Blizzard Entertainment
Format:       CD
Available:    Out now

Requires:

O/S:          Windows 95
Processor:    P60+
RAM:          8Mb+  (16Mb for multiplayer)
Graphics:     SVGA  (direct draw support required)
CD-Rom:       X2
Soundcard:    All major cards supported

Tested on:

O/S:          Windows 95
Processor:    P120
RAM:          32Mb
Graphics:     2Mb SVGA - Matrox Millennium
CD-ROM:       X8
Soundcard:    SoundBlaster AWE32 & Yamaha DB50XG
Controls:     Mouse, Keyboard

Diablo

I REMEMBER the time when I used to play role playing (board) games frequently. A group of 13 year-olds, we used to go round a mates after school, and assume the likely sounding moniker of Zudrac the warlock, Speffin the warrior, or even Carstairs the mild-mannered chauffeur. OK maybe not the last one, but what fun we had! Armed with little more than a few cardboard pieces and a collection of oddly shaped die, we would battle imaginary demons, cast imaginary spells and generally put the imaginary world to rights. Hmmm, sounds a bit on the sad side, doesn't it?

Well, yeah I suppose it was, but we were only 13. I've seen long-haired 20-somethings playing these games though, and they're the people to really be worried for.

Diablo may be an RPG, but you don't need to be a greasy, spotty little oik to enjoy it though. (I'm not saying that all those that play RPGs are said social degenerates; on the contrary, I was a dear little boy when I was that age. No, really.) It was written by the very people who produced the brilliant Warcraft series of games, so it has a lot to live up to.

Diablo requires the latest version of Microsoft's DirectX drivers, DirectX 3.0. I know some people claim that DirectX causes no end of problems; well I've never had any, and it has been included on the installation menu, giving the choice to install it or not. You can also install a 'spawned' game - this is basically the shareware version, and doesn't need the CD to be present afterwards. Of course, there are more files installed onto your hard disk (about 50Mb, compared to a suspiciously lightweight 3Mb when playing the full game) but the major plus point is that spawned installations can join multiplayer games, meaning that up to four players can play over a network or modem, all from the one CD! Nice one Blizzard!

Before starting a new game, you have to choose a character from the three available, Warrior, Rogue or Sorcerer. Each character has several attributes which correspond to their abilities in the game, these being strength, dexterity, magic, mana, vitality and life. The Warrior is a bit of a hardcase and excels at close combat, so of course he has great strength and vitality, but his spellcasting skills aren't up to much. The Rogue is quite the all-rounder, and she is quite an expert with the bow too, so her dexterity is particularly high. The Sorcerer can manipulate firebolts and lightning with ease (and pulls a mean rabbit out of a hat) but couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag, so his magic and mana levels are way above everyone else's. (Mana is the energy used to cast spells with.) Your characters abilities will be increased as you gain experience during the game, meaning that later on you can have a Sorcerer who can do a thing or two with an axe, too. Once this done, you can chose a suitably silly name for your character. I chose a Warrior, and I named him 'Bob'.

Your character begins their heroic career in the village of Tristram, where you can chat with the locals and buy things from them, as well as sell items you no longer need. The village is a place you'll return to often, if only to have your life replenished by Pepin the healer. Griswold the blacksmith does a fine trade in assorted weapons, whereas Adria the witch has quite a stock of scrolls and magic books. Most of the screen is taken up by the hi-res playing area, viewed isometrically. It looks lovely too, with lots of detail. Chatting to people reveals some very enthusiastic sounding voice-overs, but they all sound great, particularly Fernahnd the local drunk. He's fab, he is. As you walk around, some nice Spanish-guitar sounding music lulls you into a false sense of security. On the outskirts of the village is a menacing looking church, and outside it lies a man in a pool of blood. Between dying breaths he manages to warn you of the dangers that lurk inside, and tells of a particularly unsavoury character known as the Butcher. With that, he snuffs it, and so swearing to avenge his death you step inside.

The dungeons are again viewed in isometric 3D, with the lower portion of the screen displaying several handy things. Firstly, your life and mana levels are depicted as liquid in bottles - when these get dangerously empty, it's time for a refill! Also shown are the items carried in your belt, usually small things such as scrolls (once-only spells) and potion bottles. These are all assigned a hotkey, so in the heat of battle you can loose off a quick fireball or quickly top up your life. There is also an icon to show which skill or spell you currently have in use, as well as a status display for displaying information about an object. Unlike the village, there is little ambient light down in the dungeons, the only respite being the odd torch, and the mystical glow which accompanies your player. (This can be extended with certain magical items later on.) Firing a spell off usually creates some light too, which looks great. After wandering around a little and opening a few discarded chests, it won't be long before your attacked. Wielding a weapon, a skeleton comes rushing out of the darkness - fortunately, a few chops from your sword are enough to dispatch it leaving you to pick up anything it was carrying, be it gold, a weapon, or a potion.

It's at about this point, once you've killed a few nasties and done a little exploration, that you begin to appreciate the incredible amount of detail in Diablo. When you kill a skeleton, it falls to the floor and shatters in a flurry of pelvis and tibia. Kill a goatlike denizen, and they fall to their knees gasping, as blood pours from their open throat. (In fact, I tend to wonder whether Diablo should carry an age rating, as things can get very violent at times.) Axes and swords clank as they are thrown and used, whereas a club makes a dull thud as it hits the ground. It's not just aesthetic touches either. As you progress, your character gains experience, and when enough experience is gained the character goes up a level, acquiring 5 points which are distributed amongst their attributes. Exactly where these points are distributed is up to you, which means that you can particularly build up say, a characters life or magic, or you could decide to make them a complete all-rounder. (At the moment, Bob is wearing armour, two magical rings and is equipped with a battle axe and a staff of healing. He's strong as an Ox, and he can con jour up a nifty wall of fire.) Early on in the game, killing anything earns some experience, but later on, as you become dead hard, a lone skeleton may earn hardly any at all. Take on an army of skeletons however, (and believe me it happens!) and your experience will go up a bit.

This number juggling takes something of a back seat though, allowing you to get on with the job of exploring, slaying and collecting. Suits me fine, but for those that like to keep an eye on their statistics, they can be called up at the press of a button, as can your inventory. It's worth noting that the game doesn't stop as you do this, so you really need to find a quiet corner, or you may suddenly find that you're being hacked to death and can't see what's going on! Sometimes it's best to sneak a quick look, as some objects require an attribute to be at a certain level before it can be used, and you may want to decide where to distribute those 5 points. Boy, are there a lot of objects too! In fact, there's a lot of different monsters, a spellbook full of different spells (many of which are undocumented, so it's up to you to find out what they do), and a rack full of weapons, axes, swords, bows and staves.

Diablo is an absolute stonker, pure and simple. It's huge, it's very varied, there is real progression, it's got fabulous graphics and sound, and three mates can team up with you! (Or against you!) It will appeal to the RPG fan, as well as those who thirst for out-and-out bloodlust. It's my favourite game in ages, and, well...I'd give it a nine, but that doesn't seem good enough somehow, soooo - look! There seems to be no stopping Blizzard - their next game, Starcraft, looks a corker too!

I'm off now to another role-playing game now, this one's called 'doctors and nurses'. Ah, but that's another story...

Dale Wilks for Game Over!