The Diablo clone that lets you rule the world! (Or a town, at least.)

User Rating: 8.5 | Depths of Peril PC
I don't usually enjoy RPGs like Depths of Peril. These Diablo-esque action RPGs, with their endless supply of random dungeons, random monsters, and random loot just don't appeal to me. Scouring dungeons for slightly better gear and then trying to fit it all into your inventory after a battle can certainly be addictive - and fun, in a way - but after playing a game like this for a while I start feeling that I should be doing something more meaningful with my time. There will always be more enemies and more treasure around the next bend, but other than sating my senseless, materialistic lust for loot, what's the point?

Depths of Peril, however, provides a reason to keep slaying monsters and collecting the goodies they drop. In addition to going on dungeon crawls, you also have to run a covenant, one of the factions vying for control of the town. Through diplomacy screens similar to those in strategy games like Civilization, you can declare war, sign treaties, and trade money, influence, or items with the other covenants. So now there's a point to all the random adventuring: you have to bribe the other factions with loot and level up your character to become the strongest covenant in town. This extra level of gameplay gives you a more meaningful incentive for going out on randomly generated quests and stuffing your inventory full of treasure.

As for the other aspects of this game, the audio, visuals, story, and controls are adequate, but not amazing. But they aren't what you'll play this game for. You'll play Depths of Peril for its unique blend of action RPG random combat and the strategic diplomacy that makes it all worthwhile.