Interface

Break out your cheap mouse

Your hero in Darkstone is controlled exactly the same way the hero in Diablo - mouse clicks, mouse clicks, and more mouse clicks. Gathering of Developers would have done well to bundle a mouse with this puppy - spare your good one from the certain death that awaits it after a bleary-eyed, no-sleep week of Darkstoning. Err, getting Darkstoned? Nevermind. There are a few important commands that will keep one of your hands rooted to the keyboard, as well. Those of you with three hands, well, we're sure you can think of a use for that free hand.

For those of you who never played Diablo, we offer a refresher course in mouse destruction. If you want to do something in Darkstone, you use the mouse. Want to move over there? Click the mouse where you want to move. Want to open that door? Click the mouse on the door. Want to kill that evil purple demon-beast? Perhaps you need to lower your prescription dosage. And remember, horse tranquilizers are meant for horses, not humans.

Singin' in the rain

Boom

Hold it now, hit it

There are, as we said, a few vital commands that require the keyboard. If you're using a ranged weapon, you'll want to hold down shift, to attack without moving. Hitting tab will bring up an automap, pressing I will bring up your inventory, etc. One nice feature is fairly complete camera control with the keyboard. You can rotate, zoom, and change between ¾ and overhead views.

Although all the control in Darkstone is simple and intuitive, we really have to wonder why they stuck with such a tired, mouse-driven interface. It was obnoxious in Diablo three years ago, and it remains obnoxious in Darkstone. I'm biased, of course, as a lifelong mouse-hater, but we've recently seen things that prove without a doubt that pure mouse-interface is completely unnecessary. For a good example of a game in the Diablo/Darkstone genre that goes back to good ol' keyboard control, check out our preview of Revenant.

Seek refuge in the dungeon?

Translucent rocks