Diablo + Hellfire

For me this is going back to my secondary school times. God knows how I played this for 6-10 years, even after D2 came out, just to hit that maximum of lvl 50. I still remember how happy I was when that Dragon's ring of zodiac dropped. Those of you who played the game know the feeling. But if you haven't played the game then you need to be prepared for a few issues. Graphics is archaic by today's standards: there's no 3d, just isometric view. Character movement and attacking is limited to 8 directions. Save for one character-specific abiity, all other abilities are spells that all classes can learn and utilise. Character development is determined by set maximum values of Strength Dexterity Magic and Vitality. However, you do get to choose when and where to spend atrribute points. Make no mistake: this is not D3 where you can hit all 70 character levels in one evening. Here you have to grind, grind, grind to level up to maximum - after lvl 40 it gets way more difficult to gain new levels. Good loot doesn't drop like crazy, contrary to D3. In D1 there are no set items, no legendary items, just gamic items and uniques. Game is limitted to just one town and a total of 20 levels (16 main levels plus Tomb of King Leoric, Chamber of Bone Poisoned Water Supply, Unholy Altar. Still, despite limited technology Blizzard created a heavy gothic-like atmosphere thanks to memorable bosses and side-quest locations. And of course then there's Battlenet and other multiplayer options. Classic hack 'n'slaning foes with a party of 3 friends online? Definately yes, please.

Back in 1996, I saw this game pop up on a tech show and thought it looked amazing. How could anyone create something like that? So I went and purchased it and I've been completely and utterly hooked on games ever since. It's one of the first co-ops that garnered thousands of guilds and player loyalists. It shook the game world to its core. The only rival it had at the time was Ultima Online. What drove it? Arguably, it had to be the random loot generator, the ease of use and believe it or not, the sound and music. Few games have ever combined music and character vocals so hypnotically than Diablo. The strumming guitar and the village character voices never grow tiring. Still to this day I catch myself saying to someone "What kin I do fer ya!" It really was that influential to millions.

I recently booted it up with the newest version of Devilution X, and there is somethig to be said about how addicting and fun this game still is even after all these years. Truly a timeless classic.

The most common and reminiscent line of any game: "Stay a while and listen" As uttered by Deckard Cain. Even to this day, no one can escape those words. If there is an older game that amazed us and still beats Diablo II & III, it has to be the original game. Unlike the other ones, this one has spirit, mystery, charm and a great cast in Cain and the others. As for the voiceovers, they were potentially the best of that era. There is something about Diablo that makes me get my CD out again (although I will buy the GOG soon as I have a newer PC without a drive). Sure, for younger gamers, this game is clunky with a low resolution. Still, for those of us who knew Diablo, Messiah, Dune 2 and other games of our time, Diablo was just magical. Diablo 3 is a joke in comparison. Graphics mean nothing if the gameplay is terrible and unappealing. Diablo had good graphics for the time, had cinematics (sort of), as well as a great story and amazing characters.

The smell of death surrounds me....