Touch the Darkstone

Darkstone

****

Delphine Software

PC

$99.95, 13+ (US rating)

Review: Peter Eley

Diablo was a great game, up there with Command and Conquer and Age of Empires.

While those two have had sequels, we are still waiting for the much-delayed Diablo 2.

The good news for frustrated role-players is that Darkstone is almost identical to Diablo, but with 3D graphics and enough new stuff to make it worth playing as a defacto sequel.

The resemblance to Diablo is uncanny, and Delphine must surely have been inspired by Blizzard's award-winning game.

The similarities are seemingly endless: you choose to play either as a warrior, sorcerer, priest or thief; you start in a demon-plagued town; the action takes place in an underground dungeon, and so on.

But Darkstone is a bigger, better game - as it should be. Processor power, graphics card capabilities and storage space have taken quantum leaps since Diablo came out almost three years ago.

While Diablo was essentially 2D, Darkstone is full 3D, with rotating view angles, great lighting and plenty of detail.

One of the few disappointments of Diablo was the final scene, when your hero came face to face with the Lord of Darkness. It was a bit of a laugh and he wasn't that hard to beat.

But Darkstone's ultimate baddie is a tougher proposition. He's an evil monk called Draak and can transform himself into an almost invincible dragon at will.

The only way to win is with a powerful artefact called the time orb, and to do this you have to collect seven crystals at various points throughout the game's 32 dungeon levels.

Another flaw in Diablo was limited replayability. Although you could play again as a different character, it was essentially the same game.

Darkstone has a sort of random game generator which creates a different set of crystals and quests for each new game.

And you can control two characters - a skill that takes some acquiring but is probably essential if you are to clock it.

Required: Pentium 233, 32MB Ram, 170MB disk space, 3D video card.

Fighting Steel HHHH The Learning Company

PC

$99.95, all ages (US rating)

Hot on the heels of Jane's Fleet Command comes another heavyweight naval simulation.

But Fighting Steel is a frigate compared to Jane's battleship - a lighter, nimbler product that is easier to play, better visually, but perhaps lacking in powerful realism.

While Fleet Command was set around modern-day scenarios, Fighting Steel is placed in the Second World War arena and features historical events such as the Battle of the River Plate, the sinking of the Bismarck and the United States Navy's battle for Guadalcanal.

Great stuff, if like me, you've been brought up on black-and-white war movies.

Like Fleet Command, Fighting Steel is best suited to serious war-gamers, although casual players may well find the wealth of historical detail absorbing.

Required: Pentium 200, 64MB Ram, 3-D video card.

* Send your comments e-mail to peter_eley@herald. co.nz