Diablo Shareware CD (Blizzard North, 1996)
0Diablo is the first game in Blizzard's Diablo trilogy. Diablo plays like an action game, with battles that take place in real time (not turn based), and enemies are visible in the dungeon (no surprise attacks). RPG elements include character classes, hit points and mana (magic points), experience points and level promotion, gold, potions, and equippable weapons, armor, and spells. The three character classes are Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerer. Characters can equip weapons, armor, and magic spells if they meet the minimum attribute requirements: some weapons require a minimum strength level, and most spells require a minimum magic level. Characters start with different levels of the four attributes (strength, magic, dexterity, and vitality) appropriate for their character class, but players get a number of attribute points after gaining a level, which can be used to augment whichever attributes they want. The game takes place in the town of Tristam, demonic creatures have occupied the multi-level dungeon below the local church. The hero must fight his way into the depths of Hell to fight Diablo. Only the Warrior class is available in the shareware version. An expansion pack called Hellfire was released in 1997. There are 16 floors in this game, with only the first 2 floors playable in the shareware version.