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[Wicky]

For me, a roleplaying game must have certain stats which don't change, give your hero a shape. A RPG warrior can be very strong, or especially agile, or have good charisma etc. which defines his characteristic.

So Diablo is not an RPG, you can increase your stats every level and guess what, all sorcerors for example end up looking like each other with 255 in magic. That means, they aren't anything special anymore.
Baldur's Gate for example is an RPG, because you will remember that thief, who was especially strong but dumb even after finishing the game, because he was unique. And that's what defines an RPG.

[Pex]

I would never dare compare Diablo to Baldur's Gate series

What you (correctly) pointed out is that diablo characters lack personallity. There are many other games for which most of us would agree are true RPGs that suffer the same problem. But that doesn't mean that other RPG elements don't exist in Diablo. Not that many to call it a classic RPG, but definitely enough to call it an Action RPG.

[Borodin]

It isn't an RPG. It's a dungeon hack with some numbers.

[Ironlion]

Originally Posted by Simoneer

Not that I'm a Diablo fan (haven't played much of it), but I want something similair to play. An RPG with loads of action.... Preferably something that's available on this site.
Is there anything similair at all?

Rogue, and anything in those veins.

Also, the oft-forgotten sister site to Abandonia, Abandonia Reloaded has Nethack, and also Lost Labyrinth, Doom the Roguelike, any one of these might be up your alley.

As far as the Diablo-style gameplay goes, well, Diablo was inspired by the Rogue, and the old games aficionados consider it to be a Rogue-like in spirit.

As to anything newer or on a technological par with Diablo, I don't think so.. Then you're moving into the territory of the proper RPG.

And no, I don't consider it to be an RPG...Diablo. and its computer game predecessors like Nethack and Rogue, are adventure games. They are adventure games with RPG style elements, in that your character can improve and get stronger as the game goes on, as well as collect new goodies and loot. But it is an adventure game.

In turn, the games like nethack and rogue are written in the spirit of Old Dungeons&Dragons. We're talking the early editions that came in boxes and let you play as an battling adventurer in a fantasy setting, which was in turn inspired by Tolkein and the folklore that inspired him, etc. Interestingly, the DND developers started out as war gamers. You might be familiar with Battletech, or at least know what it is; it is one of those myriad war games which emerged from war games designed in the 18th century to help officers in training to learn about strategy and tactics. So in a way, RPGs developed from wargames.

D&D and similar games were not role-playing games, in the beginning. That happened because players added role-playing to the game on their own because it enriched the experience and added to the fun. Eventually, it became an integral part of the Pen & Paper RPG, to build a real essence to your character, to give it as much life as possible via the make-believe.

But the original game was about going into dungeons, fighting monsters, getting treasure, and saving the princess (and perhaps the world) from the evil wizard/demon/dragon/night/king/etc. It was about the adventure.

So no, these games are not RPGs, but rather represent a different evolutionary branch growing from the same tree trunk as RPGs.

[arete]

Please add a third option for this poll.

"Do I care?"

My answer would be no, not at all. LOL

[AlumiuN]

Originally Posted by arete

Please add a third option for this poll.

"Do I care?"

My answer would be no, not at all. LOL

+1

[Simoneer]

I just thought of something. Some people are saying the defining attribute of an RPG is to be able to take your own direction with your character and so...


Let me take Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in for an example.

In this game, you can spend your time as a drug dealer, earning money and getting to the top through just doing that if you want to, hours upon hours - or you could do missions for someone. You can choose to betray your uncle by doing missions for other people that's against him. Hell, you can even choose to do firefighter missions to earn your cash to buy new things, or bust people as a police, or even help people as a medic, picking them up and driving them to the hospital.

Does that mean GTA: Chinatown Wars is more of an RPG than Diablo to you?


I will always consider building characters (through leveling, getting better equipment, etc.) the RPGs' defining attribute.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Does that mean GTA: Chinatown Wars is more of an RPG than Diablo to you?

Yes.

[cjk1995]

I think that Diablo is a RPG game. But it is not important. Just enjoy !!

[Simoneer]

Originally Posted by The Fifth Horseman

Yes.