Darkstone

"One of the best RPGs I've ever found"

I haven't played a proper game of good old ''Dungeons and Dragons'' since high school, when I was the reigning 'princess' of an otherwise all-male group of...well...geeks who spent our weekends at somebody's dining room table, rolling oddly-shaped dice and drinking way too much caffeinated soda. Even though my social life has improved somewhat since then, I miss it sometimes.

When I start feeling nostalgic for those days, however, I have something to make me feel better. That something is a gaming treat called Darkstone.

Gone is the need to carry around a bulky little velveteen sack of multicolored dice. Gone are the sheets of character information on which I attempted to record stats of my health, strength, and dexterity. Darkstone handles all of the detailing on things like that; all I have to do is run around and kill bad guys. (Did I mention this game is great when you're stressed? ''Die! Die! Die!'')

Okay, that's not exactly all the player has to do. As you learn pretty quickly when jumping headfirst into this mythical land of Uma, there's a rather vicious monk-turned-dragon called Draak who's been wreaking havoc over creation. He's made it his mission to destroy Kaliba, the goddess of life, and as time passes his strength only grows. That's because his vile creation, the Darkstone, is slowly draining the energy of life from the people of Uma, ultimately reducing them to stone statues.

Only one thing can stop him -- a magic object called the Time Orb. The orb lies in seven pieces now, which must be gathered and assembled in order to save the world. Only one of the Pure of Heart can accomplish this task -- and as luck would have it, you, the Darkstone gamer, are one of the Pure of Heart. You must choose your profession; will you be a warrior or a magician, an assassin or a priest? Learn to handle weapons, develop your skills as you take on Draak's minions, and find a way to save the people from the dragon...or perish in the attempt.

Sounds cool, right?

Graphics: 8/10. On the whole, the graphics are pretty well done. They lose points for realism since people are generally not as boxy as the characters in this game. The opening sequence and the initial explanation (when starting a new game) are very well done, however, and I haven't seen anything quite as amusing in a long time as a goblin's head flying through the air after I've removed it from its body. The bloody footprints left after you've walked through some of your carnage are also good for a chuckle.

Sound: 9/10. The sound quality of the game is excellent. The music is good, and the voices of the different characters add a sense of realism which almost makes up for their squared appearance (see above).

Story: 8/10 The whole story -- the dragon, the quest for pieces of a broken talisman -- is just a tiny bit trite. But certain elements, such as the beleaguered goddess and the Darkstone itself, are worthy of a good fantasy novel.

Replayability: 10/10. There are more than twenty different quests that you might encounter in the course of your search for the pieces of the Time Orb; in any given game, you'll play seven of them. And there are six different characters you can choose to play, either in solo mode or controlling two different people at once. All this means that you will never play exactly the same game twice, and that means more bang for your buck. As a bonus, you can go online and play head to head with other Darkstone gamers, and there's even software available that will allow you to create and play a quest of your own invention.

Final score: 9/10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/02, Updated 07/14/02