Darkstone

"A whole lotta game for $10"

First, my score of an 8 is directly tied into the price of the game - $10. If the game was in the $40 - $50 range, my score would be a 6.

Story: its up to you to save the world. Pick one of 8 characters and hack and slash your way across the lands, and through numerous dungeons, to reach the big bad sorcerer Drakk. What do you want? Its a hack and slash. If you really want plot, pick up Xenogears.

Gameplay: Yes, its a Diablo clone. But that's not a bad thing if, like me, you like Diablo. Hack and slash, level up, distribute experience points, hope the blacksmith has better equipment. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Control: First, the Good. The camera angles are more than passable- the right analog stick lets you rotate/zoom in and out while the triangle button gives you three different perspectives. You can use the d-pad or the left stick for movement, and its nice being able to use the stick, since my thumb still hates me from having to use the d-pad for hundreds of hours of Diablo.

If you've played Diablo, you know exactly what to expect. Tap X a bunch of times to swing your weapon, heal when needed, use magic if you've got it. To this end, the button layout works well. L1/R1 are used for Magic/Skills and R2/L2 control your belt (mana, healing potions, antidotes,scrolls etc...). Square pulls up the inventory screen. O is used for talking and grabbing items. Pause pulls up a map, while Start has several available options, including reviewing NPC dialog (for when you've forgoten what you've been told, a great feature).

The Bad. Its a PC port. See all those buttons on your keyboard that can be used as Hot Buttons for Magic? Well, your Dual Shock ain't got that many buttons. So you have R1 and L1 competing for over 40 Skills and Magic Spells. Even if you only find 5 - 10 of the Skills and Spells to be worth using, you're still going to be in the inventory screen a lot. This isn't a problem for Warriors/ Amazons or Theives/Assasins, as they're the pure fighters. But it is a pain if you plan on playing with Monks/Priestesses or Wizards/ Sorceresses.

The Ugly. Lack of an on-screen transparent auto-map. I would have paid an extra $5 if they had included one. Pausing the game every time you need to reorient yourself is a pain. And I tend to get lost a lot, since the dungeon rotates around your character as you move.

Graphics: Better than Diablo on PS, but not exactly pushing the boundaries of the PS. One word? Adequate. But for $10, that's pretty good.

Sound: Grunts, goans, and swords hitting sheilds. I can't really say much about the sound as I turn it down and throw on a CD.

Replayability: 4 charachter classes (well 8 b/c they have male and female versions), several difficulty levels, 20 + quests from which 8 (I think) are randomly chosen each time you play. Tons of weapons/armor/spells to find/buy. In other words, you can spend a lot of time in this game, and all for $10.

Pros:
Price.
Same addictive gameplay as Diablo.
High replay value

Cons:
Lack of a transparent auto-map.
Not enough buttons for the Magic users.
Paying $1500 gold to have an item identified then only getting 1/3 that when you sell it. (Sorry, pet-peeve of mine.)

Rent or Buy?
Come on, its $10, you probably have that much in change sitting in your drawer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/19/01, Updated 02/19/01