Review
There are those who would say that Darkstone is a Diablo clone, directly influenced and patterned after the Blizzard dynamo that revitalized the random dungeon crawl. It might be in full 3D, as opposed to most of the many other Blizzard copycats, but its roots still show distinctly. To its credit, the game doesn't really try to hide it, and if you know upfront that you enjoy games such as Diablo then this is ten dollars you can spend without fear of getting something you didn't want.
There is an overall point to the quest in Darkstone, where brave warriors must forge through deep, dark dungeons in order to find the pieces of the Time Orb and eventually defeat the dragon Draak. Although the story is straight out of the blandest fantasy writer's portfolio, it doesn't get in the way of the real draw, that is slewing hordes and hordes of enemies with searing magic and large, sharp objects.
And this is what Darkstone does with competence. It plays very much like Diablo from the moment you step into one of the randomly-generated dungeons and begin hacking away at the foul underworld inhabitants. You'll lock on to the nearest baddie and begin slicing and dicing away, replacing mouse button-bashing with X button-bashing.
It's mindless fun that serves up small quests and level after level of evil dungeons in one of the four outlying areas away from the central town. If this sounds familiar to Diablo players, it plays with a stark and unabashed familiarity as well. You locate new spells and weapons, gain levels, and come back to town to buy items as you find more pieces of the Time Orb puzzle and continually creep closer to the final climactic battle with Draak.
The polygon count and texture detail of the warriors and monsters are fairly low, giving the entire game a rather rough look. The lighting effects make up a little of the lost ground, as some of the magic effects and the like are actually quite nice. Similarly, the music and sound effects aren't terribly visceral or rewarding, but they certainly gets the job done in the aural department. One word of important advice, however. Do not pay the bard in town one solitary dime. You will live to regret it.
In the end, Darkstone plays well, even if it is a bit repetitive and clichéd. For ten dollars, fans of the genre can't do any better, and even weekend hack-n-slashers just might get a kick out of this game without feeling like they paid 30 bucks too much.
Graphics 
While the graphics aren't brilliant, and the models and textures could have been much better, the lighting effects are impressive enough to deliver an occasional "wow."
Sound
The music and grunting sound effects are better than average.
Enjoyment 
While it is a clone, the game is does the clone thing very well, and ends up being a joy to play. And you can double that joy since it only costs ten bucks.
Replay Value
This type of game can be repetitive, but it is also one that you can jump in and out of with little difficulty. You'll find yourself able to play it long after you've bought it, even if you don't play it for long.
Documentation
The game is simplistic, but the instruction manual does a fine job of explaining its nuances.
