DESCRIPTION

The intricate town and many dungeon levels in Diablo are dark, cold and scary — you do not want to be here. Your instincts are screaming at you to turn and run but your courage is holding you firm. The two-handed broad sword you hold in your hands — just one of over 40 weapons — backs up your courage and demands that you to stay.

Sounds bounce off the dense stone walls making it next to impossible to judge the location of your enemies in this unforgiving dungeon. The magic spells you have learned in your travels are useless against these unseen enemies.

You listen closely — there's a scraping sound to the left and a thud to the right. The sound from the left closes in on you at an alarming rate and you leap backward to get out of the way of whatever is coming. A small, skinless, monkey-like creature stands before you — you've seen these things before — seen what this creature, one of over 20 different types you've encountered, can do to an unprepared man, mage or rogue.

You make a pledge to yourself — stay focused, never let your guard down — then quickly attack the surprised creature. The swiftness of your attack catches the scavenger off guard and you waste no time in planting your sword in its lower-intestinal tract. This small but important victory, just one of many, gives you some much-needed experience in your quest to become stronger — a strength you'll need as you track down the ultimate arch-demon, Diablo!

So goes the action in Diablo, a role-playing excursion into the depths of the underworld. Using guile, stealth, magic and raw power that you develop along the way, you'll find yourself up to your elbows, literally, in demons, zombies, gargoyles and much worse. Over 200 monsters await you in this dark, dreary and destructive domain, lorded over by the fiend Diablo, the embodiment of all evil.

Whichever character you choose — warrior, rogue or sorcerer — you'll have a variety of weapons and spells at your disposal for the ultimate journey to eradicate the evil scourge Diablo. Standard role-playing attributes such as strength, magic, dexterity, vitality, life and mana will improve, along with resistance ratings in magic, fire and lightning, as the quest heats up. A wide range of items and weaponry, gems and scrolls, spells and shields await discovery on your journey to the inevitable confrontation with mankind's worst enemy.

The interface in Diablo supports both mouse and keyboard shortcut commands. The game offers multi-player action through several modes: modem (2 players), IPX network (2-4 players) and Internet (2-4 players). The Diablo manual, in addition to a tutorial, contains two stories that provide background information on the history leading up to the action as well as a short treatise on Soulstones. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide