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[0gh3r]

It was in early 1997 when RPG gamers everywhere picked up the newly released Diablo 1. It was an outstanding and unprecedented hit for the PC and the RPG genre. The sales sky-rocketed, and within 10 years it hit the platinum mark at a million copies sold. Incredible.

When it first came out, there wasn't a game, on the market, like it. Sure, there were roguelikes that you could buy but nothing like Diablo. And, none of them boasted the same multiplayer experience that is keeping the game running hot to this very day. Thousands of people still play this game and for good reason; it's a classic.

So what exactly makes this game a classic? Why is it so good and for what reason? Well, let us look at the game-play itself.

You start out by picking your character class. You have the choice between a warrrior; a sorcerer, and a rogue. All of these classes have their strengths and weakness and you're given the freedom to develop these strengths or weaknesses any way you please. You can play a rogue who fights with the blade or even a warrior who fights with sorcery. The choice is up to you.

The character creation is fairly direct and also limiting. It's not extensive by any means and while you're given a lot of leeway in how to create your character; you're still stuck with three simple ways of creating your character and it can make replaying the game monotonous at times.

The quests that you're given are generally fun, and it's incredibly addicting to charge through enemy hordes or watch your enemies tumble by the flick of the finger. This game just doesn't let up! This can be a good or bad thing, but if you're into these sort of games, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The storyline is actually quite good and the back-story is fairly expansive if you read the manual which IS canon. I and a few others often say that it's storyline is one of the best. The entire concept is pretty original. Yes, it utilizes the same old "good vs evil" plot but it does so in a very good and refreshing way.

I adore, like many of you, the music. It's fabulous and really conveys the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the game. I don't know anyone who doesn't like it except those who've played the game so many times that they have to turn off the music. But even so, it's great nonetheless. The dungeon tracks are equally great; they don't distract from the setting what-so-ever.

On a final note, I will always and forever call this game more of a Horror/Action-RPG than just plain Action-RPG. People tend to agree with me on this as well. It's not quite as scary as games in the Survival-Horror genre, but it's pretty darn creepy sometimes to safely add that to the beginning of the title. You have impaled bodies, echoing screams, blood all over the place, and all of this is being contrasted against a very dark and gray background. Even Tristram, which is outside, is pretty gloomy.

So overall I would give it an 85%