I reinstalled Diablo 2 recently and plinked around at it before running out of steam. I recognize its greatness, but times change. Games change. Our expectations change. Even something as wonderful and generous as Diablo can run its course. I have no desire to do the potion inventory shuffle or to work my way up through the usual bosses and past the sand leapers and into the swamp area yet again. The grind for gems and the set chase has lost its allure. But most of all, there are games that improve on the Diablo formula. I could be playing those instead.

One such game us, uh…what the heck is that thing called? It's Pools of Radiance, or Deadly Pool, or something about pools, I think. Hold on, let me go look up the name. Ah, Depths of Peril. That's it. Depths of Peril. Read the Depths of Peril review after the jump.

First of all, Depths of Peril? The title evokes dangerous spelunking, or maybe a game about diving for sunken treasure. At the very least, a relentless vertical dungeon hack with perma-death. There's no such thing in this action RPG from Steven Peeler, the former technical director of Ritual Entertainment, the company who did the Sin shooters. Peeler's talent isn't in thinking up descriptive names. Instead, his talent is putting together a deceptively modest Diablo clone, available here for $19.99.

Underneath the terrible name, Peeler made a really good game. Contrary to what you might think, you don't go underground so much. There are dungeons here, but they don't seem to go very deep. At least not the ones I've seen. And the peril certainly isn't in the dungeons. If something down there kills you, you resurrect immediately at the trusty lifestone sitting in the middle of your character's living room.

The real peril is back home at the town hub, in the vicinity of your lifestone, where all the quest dispenser NPCs and vendors hang out. The average dungeon crawl is about adventuring out into the world to conquer savage monsters and take their shiny stuff for your own. Think of them as metaphors for colonialism. But Pools of Peril ultimately about the threat at home. Think of it as a dungeon hack for the Homeland Security era.

This is what makes Deep Pools so good. Because as a Diablo clone, its merely serviceable. The 2D graphics are retro, and awfully busy during a battle. The loot chase is a bit underwhelming, and the character development is about what you'd expect from a Diablo clone that doesn't suck. At least the classes differ enough that you'll get plenty of mileage playing alts. You can bring along NPCs to fight with you, which gives the action a more party-based vibe than the average Diablo clone. But make no mistake: as far as straight up Diabloing goes, you could describe Plains of Peril as workmanlike.

But the really cool part is that while you're out adventuring, so too are heroes from other clans. You all set out from the same town hub, and you all resurrect from the lifestones in your cottages. You'll see your neighbors running around in the world, doing their own things, hacking aside monsters, and sometimes stealing your kills or beating you to quest goals. Sometimes you'll kill each other because clans don't always get along. They bicker and ally and rattle sabers and exchange trinkets, sometimes with you. There's diplomacy system here like you'd expect to find in an epic strategy game. Hey, Defenders of Virtue, how about I sell you this breastplate I don't need? Yo, Treasure Hunters, how about you and me team up against the Brutal Slayers? Hey, Shining Blades, want to get a trade route going to improve our incomes?

And when clans finally come to blows, it's all about the lifestone. Heroes throw themselves at each other, dying and resurrecting and dying again until the clan's lifestone is sucked dry and eventually burned out, knocking the clan out of the world. Last clan standing wins.

So all that adventuring and dungeon hacking is in service of being the most powerful clan. And here's the kicker that keeps me coming back to Deadly Perils: it's all persistent. When you win or lose a game, you get to keep your main character, all his treasure, and all his sidekicks, porting them into a new randomly generated world with a new and empty house, waiting to be filled with magical books, relics that sit on pedestals, NPC clanmates on guard duty, and watchful monsters keeping an eye on your lovely bright lifestone. It's all so nice to come home to.

Think of Fields of Peril as an MMO played solo and offline, with player housing, inter-guild drama and raiding, and no subscription fee. And a name you'll never remember.