Depths of Peril

I was looking for a Diablo like when I first tried this game, and I was pleased with what it had to offer. Old school, fun and quite satisfying combat. But the whole diplomacy part of the game is quite hard to grasp and you can easily miss a big part of the depth of that game. Which sort of plays in its favor, since there is still tons of stuff to do and fun to be had, even if you just play it like a traditional Hack and Slash. Recommended!

I like Depths of Peril. It's a nice ARPG. The quests are pretty good. the world is dynamic, you can adventure with an AI partner and can build up a retinue of followers, who hang out at your clubhouse waiting for you to choose them as your adventure partner. There's plenty of monsters and items and potions and stats. But then, the overall goal is to become the dominant clan, sorry "covenant," in town. This involves either negotiating with, or raiding rival covenants. The thing is, negotiating is a PITA. The other covenants simply refuse to deal with you unless it's at an exorbitant advantage for them, so raiding ends up as the standard course of action. The only real trick is to wait until the right moment to raid. Disappointingly, when you "win" by becoming the best club in town, you simply start over again in an identical looking town, but everything in this "new" town is just higher level than the last. I like Depths of Peril, overall. I just think the diplomacy part could have been way better, especially as it's a central focus of the win-condition.

As a translator of this game, I know it by heart and I can tell you it is an extremely rich game, mixing two genres: hack'n slash and diplomacy. The world is really living and something is always happening when you expect it the less. Don't let the old fashioned graphics deter you from giving it a chance. You will be surprised how entertaining it can be and you will think "five more minutes" and end up playing thirty minutes.

One of my favorite RPGs ever. You choose to play either a warrior, priest or wizard in a world of Barbarians. You then solve quests for your town, all of which are randomized. The really cool part is that if you don't solve those quests, there will be consequences: A boss who isn't 'taken out' sends minions to raid your town. A spy may freeze or kidnap one of your quest-givers. There are so many possibilities, and the beautiful thing is, this is only one layer of the game. Another layer is the strategic aspect of your covenants, which vie for control of the town. Every moment that you're out adventuring, the other covenants are busy adventuring as well. They find artifacts, trade them, fight, and conspire to destroy you. So not only are you fighting the bad guys -- the good guys are your enemies (or tentative allies) as well. To win, you'll need to destroy/ally with the other covenants, or at least keep them off your back. At the same time, this game has a surprising amount of narrative. Short scrolls describing the world can be found via exploration. The game pauses as you read these stories, giving you the time to immerse yourself in the lore. Additionally, a main quest-line exists (though it's not very hard to complete).