| Midgard | Baroque | 1998 | |
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From the character select screen, Midgard already looks more progressive than Diablo, because you can select your character's class and gender separately. Armor changes are not shown on the character models, though, so you'd have to be content with running around in swimsuit armor all the time for half of the female classes. It's also possible to change the class (but not the gender) during the game, but that's about the only part where the game is one step ahead. The five classes all can use different equipment and have different attacks, but everyone who's not the fighter is rather pathetic. It's still worth to change the class for a few levels to build up some magic proficiency, because after you find the healing spell, you never have to die again. Not that it matters, though - there is no apparent penalty for dying, which means that it's simply the quickest way to get back into town. Just like Diablo, the hero starts in a small settlement, but this one is positively creepy, always surrounded by thick fog that makes it impossible to see past a few yards. There are a few blocky houses which all look the same, but only two can be entered - the shop to buy, sell and identify equipment, and the bar to change the character class. The town is surrounded by nothing but two-dimensional trees, and after a while, the floor just ends sharp. Once you get over the horror of being trapped inside this uncanny valley, all that's left is to head for the dungeon, which is accessed through the local church, because of course that's where all gateways to hell can be found. The inherent problem with Diablo-styled randomized dungeons is that you don't really get the advertised "infinite dungeons", but rather just one amorphous conglomerate of mostly featureless rooms haphazardly stuck together. | ||
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