Hellgate London

Talk about a fun game Hellgate London does it all and more for the die hard Diablo fans. Being a hardcore Diablo and Diablo 2 player I was looking forward to Hellgate London for a very long time. I was worried it would not run on my computer, but after testing out the game in beta, it seemed to run fine. In the end I was able to get a new computer so running the game would not be a problem. This turned into a problem as Directx10 was not quite 100% compatible with the game, so in the end I had to run the game in DX9.

The game is basically a first person shooter but with elements of an role-playing game like Diablo. The game is in full 3d and runs beautifully even at the highest settings. There is a single player and multi-player aspect to the game and I mainly focused on the multi-player aspect. You obviously need an internet connection to run the multi-player aspect. The game also tries to mimic the mmo type genre by adding in a pay per month feature, where you pay 10 dollars a month and get extra features.

Graphics:
The graphics in the game look incredible. Each creature has very unique features and really look like something that came out of hell. The details in each of the levels is also pretty incredible. This is supposed to be very post apocalyptic and it really looks it. You have the burned out buildings, the cars that have been burned to a crisp and even the weather effects give it the whole end of the world feeling. I am not going to say these are the best graphics out there, but they certainly are impressive for this type of game.

Sound:
The sound in the game is not one of the features that jump out at you at being the best, but for what is in the game the sound is decent. Its the voice acting by some of the NPC's in the game that really do give it that real life feeling. The sound from most of the creatures are unique, but it did not seem like anything that would really make you remember it.

Gameplay:
This is the meat and potatoes of the game. This is really where the game shines. You start out in a starting area and soon find your way to the first "town". This is where you will get quests and start on the main storyline. This is also where you can meet other people. The actual action is in a "instance" type area. Where it is unique to you and you wont see other players there unless you are grouped with them.

I played mainly as a summoner and it was the most fun I have had since a Necromancer in Diablo 2 You basically summon various types of elementals and have them do most of the killing for you. Something that I found annoying though you get used to it quickly is that you cannot use the mouse to click on your various skills. You have to use the numbers to use a variety of skills.

The basic idea of the game is you find various items and either wear em, sell em, trade em or disassemble them. The game can move pretty quickly even as you are soloing most of the content, but it can stop suddenly if you get to a particularly hard quest or area that you must get passed. The game also has some unique quests that have you doing things outside the traditional. As an example, late in the game you have a quest that has you taking control of a squad of men and completing a mission with them. The game basically transforms into an real-time strategy game.

With all these good things there are some drawbacks to the game. For example your normal inventory is way too small and you will be emptying it out quite often. Also the variety of levels that you go through gets old pretty quick and it ends up being the same old same old. Some of the characters I found to be way too weak and getting passed certain quests, became more annoying than fun.

I recommend this game to any true Diablo fan and even to those people that want a good new online game that is not World of Warcraft.

My Verdict: Playworthy!