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 fictional 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 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.

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 NPCs throughout the entire 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.

Music

The music of Diablo was composed by Matt Uelmen. The soundtrack consisted of six tracks, it was released after 15 years, in 2011. It is called the "Diablo 15th Anniversary Music" CD.

Awards

Diablo was awarded GameSpot's Game of the Year Award for 1996. As of January 7, 2013, Diablo has GameSpot's #1 spot of all PC games, with a score of 9.6 out of 10. In 2005 GameSpot chose the game as one of "The Greatest Games of All Time".