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Clans might look like a straight Diablo swipe, but it's actually a bit more difficult in terms of combat and a lot more rewarding in terms of exploration. The game eschews the larger dungeon maps found in Blizzard's classic for a sectioned off "room" format where enemies and/or puzzles lie in wait to be dispatched and solved accordingly. As a Strategy First-published title, the appeal here is toward gamers who want a slightly more "cerebral" sort of hack and slash and it's here that Clans delivers. Combat is similar, but even the earliest enemies can do you in quickly if you're careless. Your avatar's HP doesn't regenerate, so you'll need to use healing items (which are scarce at the beginning) while trying to survive multiple encounters. Magic points DO regenerate, but slowly, so blasting spells constantly isn't possible until you gain enough MP to do so. Add to this enemies that can (and will) follow you from area to area until you or they expire and yes, you get quite a tough game. Stick with it and Clans also includes some fun adventure game elements such as combining items to create other items or solve puzzles, a nice touch that requires a bit of brainpower and helps the game rise above the usual chase and chop. Clans is a fairly lengthy game, so you can expect to be in its deep dungeons and clammy caves for a while. I logged about 50 hours through on my first playthrough, but your time may vary. One thing this has over the Diablo series is the ability to save anywhere, a VERY helpful necessity where some battles and puzzles are concerned. In terms of visuals and sound, what's here is OK for the time, but you won't find the massive variety of item drops or rare gear as in the Diablo games. There are only a few types of weapons and a handful of spells here, but it takes a while to find the best stuff, so that +1 Sword and Shield you get will be with you for a bit. One cool touch is some weapons serve double duty - for example, the first axe you find will cut down a tree so you can reach a new area. Sounds are sparse but OK and the music is decent overall. As this is an older game, the multiplayer modes haven't been tested, so I can't comment on how well they turned out. Given that no one I know has even heard of Clans, I'd say the game probably didn't catch on much. Not because it's a bad game, mind you - this seems to be a curse of sorts that affected quite a few action/RPG's in the pre-Diablo II era. By the way, the game runs flawlessly on XP (I haven't tested it on Windows Vista or 7), so I'd recommend tracking this down if you like Diablo but want something a little different that at least feels the same in a few areas.Read full review
A Diablo clone that brings something new to the table. Clans look and setup is a direct steal from Diablo but that is all superficial because Clans is more like an adventure than a hack-and-slash. There are many inventory based puzzles. For an example, near the beginning you encounter a mage who was banished into a pool of water by the Demon (main bad guy of the game). Using the last of his magic, the wizard spirits you away to his cottage so you can destroy his spellbook and, in turn, release him. After you destroy the enemies wandering around, you find his spellbook. But you cannot destroy it directly, so you pick it up and explore the rest of his house. A stick found elsewhere becomes a torch when you touch it to one of his experiments and the torch ingnites his fireplace. Now that you have a good fire you place the book in and you've lifted the curse and rescued the mage. Another thing that makes Clans stand apart is the use of prerendered "rooms" where you can only see the action in that room and none other. A must have for adventure RPG fans.Read full review
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