David? What kind of name is that for our hero? Unfortunately he’s as wimpy as his name. This is whom you are to survive the tyranny and the fate of the world with? Oh well, an average character fits this average game called Silver.

This Diablo rip-off does nothing entirely new to the genre, but it’s not bad either. Sporting beautiful backdrops, fair character designs, brilliant voice acting (with the exception of David), and good story, Silver is a nice appetizer till a REAL RPG surfaces.

Graphically this game, while not pushing the DC to its limits, doesn’t do a bad job. Wonderfully designed backgrounds fill the game with beauty and eye candy to behold. Each area is very diverse throughout your journey. You travel through forests, caves, castles, and other environments that are all remarkably detailed. The backdrops are the graphical high mark, as the characters aren’t done nearly as well. 1st generation polygons give your characters shape and form, and the positioning of characters can be a problem too. Sometimes your characters are so far off in the distance, it’s hard to tell who you are and what you’re hitting. Lighting effects are done admirably when used. All in all, Silver’s visuals generally look excellent.

The sounds are another feature used extremely well. Environmental sounds such as leaves rustling, waterfalls, branches breaking, etc. give the game life. The one thing that I appreciate most about Silver is the use of voice acting. The dialogue for the whole game is in speech. An option of text, just speech, or speech and text are offered. For the most part, the voice actors do a first-rate job, with the exception of David, who comes off annoying. It’s really nice to see developers incorporate voice acting in RPG’s; it’s very rarely done, especially throughout the entire game. I really hope developers take note of this. Other sounds such as swords clanging and magic spells do their job, nothing more. The music is also very welcome, supplying an orchestrated fantasy score aimed to please.

Gameplay, while not bad, comes down to really just hack and slash. This was done most notably in the PSX version of Diablo. Silver really doesn’t take this game play to the next level, which is sad considering the visuals and sound. The inventory screen takes some getting used to. Also, the use of some weapons requires practice, as you are not shown how to use them. In the later part of the game, you’ll group up with other cast members, which gives a nice newness to the game when it starts to drag. Otherwise, Silver really just boils down to an average playing Action/RPG.

As with all RPG’s or Action games, replay value is very shallow. This is also true with Sliver. The story is very fresh, but like an opened bag of bread, it will get stale quickly. I do recommend Silver as a “must buy” for RPG fans, and a “give it a try” for others. There’s not too much like it on the DC or even PSX and will keep you satisfied in the 30-40 hour time frame it takes to complete.