Din's Curse

The Good
It wasn't the first time I came across the plain looking Soldak website. Each time I looked at the quaint site I examined their games with interest, but never really built up the motivation to even download the demo. It took a review by Tom Chick (now on www.quartertothree.com) to convince me to give their games a try, and boy was I glad that I did.

Din's Curse won't wow you with graphics, though if you can get into a circa-2000 mindset and if you keep the fact that this game is lovingly crafted by one or two developers, you CAN get in the groove of things. It won't wow you with a slick execution of the Diablo formula, which it borrows heavily. But it may just blow you away with the things that it does right.

The idea is simple. Take Diablo 2's gameplay of clicking, item seeking and skill trees, and combine them with a dungeon that is randomly generated and feels alive. As a champion of the god Din, you must attempt to rescue one town after another before they fall victim to the dungeon that lies beneath. Sounds a lot like Diablo, right? Except Diablo didn't have dungeon bosses that invaded the town when they got pissed. And it didn't have quests to rescue poor townsfolk where the hostage could actually die if you didn't get there fast enough. Nor did it have a dungeon that could cave in around certain parts if you use magic that's too powerful or hit support beams.

In other words, this is like Diablo, except randomized to the Nth degree, and packed with interwoven quests that really affect the game world. The favorite phrase on the Soldak forums is 'emergent gameplay' as fans tell stories of events they never imagined, all happening because the game follows rules that lead from one random event to another until the whole thing takes you by surprise. Leave a grouping of monsters in a dungeon for too long, and they'll fight until one becomes boss. The boss may challenge the town. He might build a machine that causes darkness everywhere, which will cause food prices to go up since food will be scarce, making it much harder for you to keep fighting. It's pretty awesome.

Speaking of forums, the developer may be one person, but he produces patches like... well I was going to say like a large game company but we all wish large companies were this prolific with their patches. He's extremely responsive and any issue is resolved promptly. If there's something you think should change in the game and you write about it in the forums (and it's a good idea), there's a good chance it'll change.

The Bad
I'm not crazy about Diablo :) And I don't deal well with the cognitive dissonance of not liking Diablo and yet loving this game.

Graphics may be an issue for you, but I have an old computer so I'm quite happy that the graphics aren't demanding.

The Bottom Line
This is a game you should really try, because there's a good chance you can't predict whether you'll like it until you try it. It's the classic indie underdog, but it's also something quite special that we should really be encouraging. A unique spin on an old formula that (IMHO) blows that old formula away.

The Good
- the combat is very fluent - the UI is nice and clean - the game is kept simple to play - a different take on the Diablo genre - vendors in dungeons - a lot of different class combos & skills - there's a real sense of urgency during the game - towns are random and can really be different - different vendors visit the town, letting you buy from different sources

The Bad
- the graphics aren't horrible but are still pretty dated - think 8 years or so old. - you may not enjoy the pressure the game puts on you + sometimes you'll get a quest that you can't do on time - some quests you'll fail through no fault of your own - mini-map doesn't properly keep track of the portals - you can't see what an item is until you picked it up meaning you waste quite a bit of time - it may end up being repetitive - there's no story at all

The Bottom Line
This game is basically Diablo in real time. If you're not fast enough to defeat certain monsters, you may find that the town you're defending, comes under attack. Some quests are time based as well, and you have to hurry ahead to do them or risk failure. Protecting people who are under attack, for example.

The game is randomised, with every town being different and having a different dungeon - the game is basically the same each time. You defend the town from the evil in the dungeon below and then move on to a different town. During this time, you collect XP, reputation and loot. You can play co-op with friends as well, for even more fun.

The game is quite fun although I honestly don't think it will keep me hooked for too long. There's no story, you see. Unlike Diablo I & II, where only the dungeon layout is random, here everything is randomised. The town, the people, the quests, the dungeon. This means there's no story at all which means there's nothing to really keep you playing beyond the combat itself. A shame, really, because it turns it into an arcade game. It's fun for a few days and for a quick bash here and there, but if you, like me, have already played Diablo II for hundreds of hours, this will get rather tired quickly. There's no weapon customisation, no runes, no gems, no Horadric's cube, less skills, etc. so it does have limited depth. In short: not bad, but the current retail price is a bit much for what you get.