Like Warcraft, Diablo is also made by Blizzard Entertainment. The player is a hero who has to face monsters, undead beings and demons from Hell, eventually facing the three Prime Evils from Hell (the end-bosses of the games): Mephisto, Baal and of course the Lord of Terror: Diablo.
Diablo I and II are among the most popular fantasy games ever made and Diablo III is expected to do just as well when it is released in 2011.
Theme & Setting
The Diablo games are real-time, action-RPGs with a lot of focus on fighting. The games are of the “hack and slash” type in a setting often described as “dungeon roaming” as the player travels through several levels that are situated in dungeons.
The type of fantasy to which Diablo belongs, clearly is dark fantasy as the games are set in a gritty world filled with demons and other unnatural, demonic beings.
Diablo I
Released in 1997, Diablo I has become one of the most popular and influential role-playing games ever made. It is considered to have had a large influence on many other games.
The player is either a warrior (sword fighter), a rogue (archer) or a sorcerer and can increase the abilities of their hero by collecting experience. After travelling through 16 dungeon levels the hero eventually battles Diablo, the Lord of Terror, and traps him in a soulstone.
Diablo II
Diablo II was released in 2000 and tell the story of what happened after Diablo I. The evil Diablo has not been imprissoned but has taken over the body of the hero of the first game. Once again, the player has to hunt down Diablo but now also has to face Mephisto and Baal.
Diablo II was also received positively, winning game of the year awards, and many millions of copies were sold.
Diablo III
Diablo III is under development and several trailers of the game have already been released. Anticipation is high but when this third installment will be released has not yet been made public. Most likely, it will be somewhere in 2011.
Watch trailers for Diablo III.
Tags: Diablo, Fantasy Games
