Now I’m going to take you back in time –  12 years to be exact — to the year 1997. The company in focus is Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard at this point in time was fairly new to the game creation scene, and I’m sure many of you may remember such titles as The Lost Vikings, Rock and Roll Racing, or the PC strategy game Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. To say the least, they were still in the infancy stages.

When Blizzard went to make Diablo, they had hired Condor Games in 1995 (give or take) to do the job for them. Eventually in 1996 they had acquired them, and Condor games became known as Blizzard North; all the while they kept toiling away, creating a game that would be a great hit. Let’s fast forward to the game; I’ll save the Blizzard Entertainment History Lesson for later.

Released on January 2nd, 1997, Diablo was an action RPG with a dark fantasy setting. Diablo is set in the fictional world of Sanctuary, in the kingdom of Khanduras. In the Town of Tristram, something sinister is definitely afoot. The opening sequence is bleak and very grim, instilling a feeling of hopelessness. When that finishes, you are kicked to the splash screen preceding Diablo’s terrifying laugh.

When you begin to play you are given the choice of three separate character classes to play. I won’t go too far here, but one focus on direct combat and taking hits, one specializes in magical ability, and the other is a ranged bow wielder. Though that’s what they should be, you can often twist the way you develop your character so you can have ridiculous archetypes like the melee fighter that can chain cast fireballs with ease, or the wizard that goes into combat with a sword and board.

Character customization comes in the form of equipment. There are multiple types of equipment to be found, and the best drops in a lustrous goldenrod color, signifying  a “Unique” item level. All this aids you in your main quest: Go below the town of Tristram, traverse 16 levels of Hell (Dante would be overwhelmed), and restore peace and tranquility to the troubled Kingdom.

Easy wasn’t part of the job description.

When you begin your travel, you may encounter a wounded man outside of the Cathedral who heralds the quest “The Butcher.” If you didn’t, you are lucky. If you did, you are in trouble. Having to fight something like that at the infant levels in this game is very, very difficult. Not to mention you may almost urinate when you hear his battle cry, and then proceed to book it out the door and demolish you.

Minor complaints aside, they handled the quests real well. The quests you get are randomly chosen, but in the end, it all brings you to Diablo.

Once you finished up the main game, you can opt to go through higher difficulties like Nightmare and Hell, or you can test the ropes online with random strangers or friends. Online is where this game shines since it offers a ton of replay value if you have friends to play with. Making friends out of strangers, though, is a possibility as well.

If you crave the short part of the review, here it is: Diablo is a unique type of RPG that offers vast replayability and a ton of fun. It’s a really inexpensive game, so if you want a distraction from life, pick it up.

Overall:8 1/2 stars out of 10.