Diablo

Diablo is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996.

Set in the Kingdom of Khanduras, located in the world of Sanctuary, Diablo has the player take control of a lone hero battling to rid the world of Diablo, the titular Lord of Terror. Beneath the town of Tristram, the player journeys through sixteen randomly generated dungeon levels, ultimately entering Hell itself in order to face Diablo.

An expansion pack, entitled Diablo: Hellfire, was released in 1997 by Sierra Entertainment. In 1998 Blizzard released Diablo for the PlayStation. This version featured direct control of the main character using the PlayStation controller and was developed by Climax Studios. The game's success led to two sequels, Diablo II in 2000, and Diablo III in 2012. To celebrate Diablo's 20th anniversary, the original game will be recreated in Diablo III in late 2016.

Plot
The setting of Diablo includes the world of Sanctuary, as well as Heaven and Hell. After eons of war between angels and demons, the ascension of man prompted the three Lords of Hell (including Diablo himself) to seek victory through influence, prompting their exile into the mortal realm. There, they sowed chaos, distrust, and hatred among the humans of Sanctuary until a group of magi, called the Horadrim, trapped them in enchanted crystals called "Soulstones". Diablo's soulstone was buried deep in the earth and a monastery was built over the site.

Generations passed and the purpose of the monastery was forgotten. A small town named Tristram sprang up next to the monastery's ruins. When King Leoric rebuilt the monastery as a cathedral, Diablo manipulated its archbishop, Lazarus, to destroy his soulstone prison. Diablo subsequently possessed the king, sending out his knights and priests to battle against peaceful kingdoms, and then possessed the king's son, Prince Albrecht, filling the caves and catacombs beneath the cathedral with creatures formed from the young boy's nightmares.

Tristram became a town of fear and horror, where people were abducted in the night. With no king, no law, and no army left to defend them, many villagers fled.

The game starts when the player's character arrives in Tristram. Several of the remaining townsfolk assist the player, notably Cain the Elder (Deckard Cain in the sequels) who reveals more of the events. The labyrinth under the Cathedral descends from the dungeon/church, to the catacombs, followed by the caves, and finally Hell itself, each with a mixture of the undead, animals, and demons. Leoric has been re-animated as the Skeleton King, and the hero must kill him so he can be released from his curse.

Late in the game, the hero must fight Archbishop Lazarus, and eventually Diablo himself. At the end of the game the hero kills Diablo's mortal form, leaving Diablo trapped in a soulstone once again, leaving behind the lifeless form of Prince Albrecht. The hero then drives the soulstone into his/her own forehead in an attempt to contain the Lord of Terror. However this results in Diablo possessing the Hero.

Gameplay
Diablo is an action role-playing hack and slash video game. The player moves and interacts with the environment primarily by way of a mouse. Other actions, such as casting a spell, are performed in response to keyboard inputs. The player can acquire items, learn spells, defeat enemies, and interact with non-player characters (NPC)s throughout the game.

The dungeon levels are randomly generated, although they follow parameters according to their type; for instance the catacombs tend to have long corridors and closed rooms, while the caves are more non-linear. The players are assigned a random number of quests from several tiers; these quests are optional but help to level up the character and/or reveal more of the backstory. The final two quests, however, are mandatory in order to finish the game.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) There are few hero characters with unique abilities to choose from.
 * 2) *Warrior: The most physically able of the three classes. The Warrior is a close-quarters fighter and can generally take the most physical punishment. The Warrior's primary character attribute is Strength. The Warrior starts with the skill to repair objects in his possession at the cost of overall durability.
 * 3) *Rogue: A master of ranged weapons. While not as strong as the Warrior, the rogue is very effective at attacking enemies from a distance with the bow. The Rogue's primary character attribute is Dexterity. The Rogue's unique starting skill is the ability to disarm traps.
 * 4) *Sorcerer: A spellcaster being the least physically able of the three classes, but can learn the most spells at the highest levels. The Sorcerer's primary character attribute is Magic. The Sorcerer's unique starting skill is the ability to recharge spell staves at the cost of lowering the maximum number of spell charges that the staff can hold.
 * 5) *Monk: Exclusively in Diablo: Hellfire expansion pack. The Monk was meant to be proficient at melee combat with the staff, and is not related to the Monk class in Diablo III.
 * 6) *Two other classes, the Bard and Barbarian, were unfinished but remained hidden characters in Diablo: Hellfire, and could be enabled using a hack. Using the in-game sprites of the Rogue and Warrior, respectively, the Bard is capable of dual-wielding weapons while the Barbarian was a two-handed ax specialist.
 * 7) Over 16 dungeon levels beneath the Tristram Cathedral.
 * 8) You can interact the other NPCs to tell something or buy something.
 * 9) More armors, weapons and items to choose from.
 * 10) Tons of quests to complete, with weapons, rings, armor and even stat increases and the skill tree points as rewards.
 * 11) First entry that adds to the lore of the Diablo franchise.
 * 12) Cool boss battles.
 * 13) Great soundtrack.
 * 14) The Tristram music is so good, it is now considered as the unofficial theme for the series.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Some rather unfair difficulty spikes here and there, wherein you'll fight hordes of pretty ridiculously overpowered enemies on some levels. Also, considering the finite amount of enemies on each floor, you can only level up to a specific level for the most part, which makes it extra challenging.

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