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The best Diablo clones - How to spend your time waiting for Diablo III
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Fate is one of the best Diablo clones.
As soon as Diablo III was announced, I joined a legion of people across the world itching to enter into the world of clickfest hack-n-slash action RPGs again. So how do we get our fix? Well, there is always Diablo II. While the graphics are clunky, the game play stands the test of time.
But there are a number of Diablo clones and games with a similar style out there that can be a nice distraction while we all wait for the king of action RPGs to return. Here is a smattering of the best Diablo clones:
One of the newest Diablo clones, Titan Quest definitely has some of the best graphics on the list. It is also a surprisingly good and replayable game with a lot of different templates you can try out. It's no Diablo II -- that's abundantly apparent in the slightly-easy gameplay -- but it is a nice distraction.
Dungeon Siege/ Dungeon Siege II
As for gameplay, Dungeon Siege is probably one of the best Diablo clones. The simple skill system with only four main skills could create some neat combinations, and the ability to add multiple characters into the party was a RPG-twist on the action-RPG genre. Unfortunately, Dungeon Siege II went to a class-based system and seemed to lose some of the magic of the first. Not a horrible game, the sequel just wasn't as good as the original. I also wasn't too impressed with Space Siege, but you can check it out pretty cheaply on Steam.
Sadly, most Diablo clones miss on the Rogue-like randomness of Diablo and Diablo II. Sacred is no different in this respect, but it did provide a very open world rather than the linear quests of other Diablo clones, which really helps out in the replay department. I can't say much about the sequel given that I ran screaming away from it as soon as I heard the horrible voice acting, but the original Sacred is a worthy distraction.
An often overlooked game, Divine Divinity starts out a bit slow but really picks up after the beginning. The big drawback is the lack of variety in classes -- there are only three -- and the sequels weren't very good. But it does have some large overland maps with plenty hidden secrets to explore.
Neverwinter Nights/Neverwinter Nights II
Being more of a true RPG, the Neverwinter Nights series isn't a Diablo clone, but some of the user-submitted modules really crank up the hack-n-slash aspects of the game. And properly modded out, the game can offer the most replay of any on this list. My suggestion: Just skip the official campaigns. I always found them to be quite a bore. Head over the NWNVault and surf through some of the top-rated modules -- these games were built from the ground up to be community-driven.
Another game that is not exactly a Diablo clone, Guild Wars can still feed some of your isometric gameplay addiction. It's easy to confuse Guild Wars with an MMO, but don't let that fool you. Guild Wars is what I call a "hub game" -- which is to say that its MMO component is just there to let you find groups. Pretty much, it's that party-matching text screen we see in most multiplayer games given an graphical makeover. The emphasis of Guild Wars is on PvP, but there is plenty of good, clean hack-n-slash PvE fun as well.
Though I have to admit, you can get quite addicted to beating on other people in the arenas.
This one is pre-Diablo II by about six months, but it is still one of the best Diablo clones on the list if you can overlook the rather dated graphics. In addition to the single-player campaign mode, Nox has a number of multiplayer modes including deathmatch and capture the flag in addition to a cooperative mode.
If you like indy games, Fate is perhaps the best Diablo clone of this variety. The graphics are a little cartoonish, but it has a huge depth to gameplay. Furthermore, it lets you stop your hacking and slashing to fish for items. And who doesn't like fishing? (It's actually more addicting than it sounds.) Fate also has a nice community of modders adding more fun to the game.
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