Blizzard's "Diablo"

A devilishly good time

The makers of "WarCraft II," the most fun we've had gaming on our PC's in a long time, have unleashed a new title to excite you.

Diablo (Windows 95), is a dark, gothic story populated with demons, monsters, and ordinary folk living in the shadow of evil. The bad guys have taken up residence in the bowels of the now-wrecked Cathedral and your character (you can choose from warrior, rogue, or sorcerer - each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses) has to go in and root 'em out so the real world can be saved.

You'll begin your adventure by walking around the village and listening to the other characters there. You can also outfit yourself and have your wounds healed here.

The creatures you encounter in the dungeons below the Cathedral are varied and horrific - and they die quite convincingly when you hack 'em or shoot 'em with your arrows. Naturally, some die more easily than others - and some are so difficult to kill that we still don't know how it can be done!

As with other games, you can pick up new weaponry etc. as you explore - and you'll want to keep you wits about you to find your way in and out of the labyrinth.

Your character learns from experience, so your dexterity, magical ability, strenght, and health can be improved as you go along - assuming you live long enough. Starting a new game shuffles the dungeons, so you should never find yourself playing exactly the same game twice, unless it's a game you saved.

Graphics and sound are first rate and the user's manual is also well written and laid out.

Diablo also has a multiplayer mode, including one that lets you play others via Blizzard's Web site in which you can join up with three other players. You can also shut out strangers by invoking password protection. Don't put your complete trust in your partners, though, no matter how well you know them - they may be after your gold.

We enjoyed Diablo a lot and can understand its popularity. But we must admit we still preferred Blizzard's other popular title - WarCraft II - more. That's not to put down Diablo - it's a terrific game that's well worth playing - it's more an homage to what we think is one of the all-time classic computer games - WarCraft II.

Maybe you should try both...

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