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Let's give Rogue another shot! This time, however, let's use ClassicRogue!
Part 1 - Old Dog, New Tricks
ClassicRogue (version 2.5) is an updated Windows port of Rogue released at the end of 2013, which has been given a tile set (provided by Oryx Design Lab, who also hosts the port), sound and mouse-based controls! It also has some quality of life changes, such as combining all identify scroll types together (thank god), as well as some config file options. On the other hand, there are some changes that I don't really appreciate, but I feel that that good outweighs the bad in this situation.
Of the config options that significantly alter the game play (and what I will be turning on), there is:
-NoDarkRooms: This removes the dark rooms that normally appear in the game (and consist of every single room from Level 11 onward). I will be turning this on for the reason that there is ONLY ONE WAY of getting more light ( a wand of light) and it has limit on use (charges) and isn't even guaranteed. This makes anything from Level 11 onward very tedious to go through, as well as quickly game ending if the wrong enemy type stumbles upon you looking for some stairs. If there were a midway option to enable some dark rooms (or even re-scale it so it only goes completely dark by Level 26 or so), I would go with that option, but it is solely black and white.
-NoSecretDoors: This reveals all secret doors/passages automatically, with no need to stand next to them and search. I will be leaving this option off, as secret doors (though sometimes annoying) can lead to interesting game play of trying to figure out how to get to the stairs, or if you want to spend more time on a level trying to find a way into the last room.
Anyway, let's dive!
Welcome back to the Dungeons of Doom, now with a customizable window size! The only differences with our HUD is that our Armor starts at 1 instead of 0 (with no mechanical difference), and we don't see our experience level/experience anymore. We also see a kestrel (which is promptly destroyed) and a pile of gold.
This right here is the new scroll tile, which I guess can stand out a bit better than a ? on text if you are more used to tiles.
And here I encounter an ice monster (represented by an I in ASCII). Ice monsters are monsters who used to show up from Level 2 onward, and had a paralyzing melee attack which could also instakill you at any time. The new ice monster now spawns on Level 1, and no longer has the paralyzing melee attack. They do, however, have a new trick up their sleeve...
Which this one doesn't get to show off because I flattened it.
An ice monster's experience value hasn't been updated to reflect it being easier, which gives me a level up! With that level up comes five max HP and the return of our experience level to the HUD (now with titles instead of numbers)!
THIS ice monster (behind the bat, in the darkness) does show off their new trick: they can shoot their paralysis as a bolt of frost (currently on top of me) and at a range (including from behind monsters)! They absolutely can chain this if the AI decides to, which can make it a very soul crushing defeat.
Thankfully, bats suck, so I recover fast enough to back into the doorway and stop that from happening again.
Killing that second ice monster rockets me up to experience level 3 (Apprentice), but only one max HP this time 
Here's the new hobgoblin tile. Hobgoblins remain the same.
On the way to the stairs, I level up again off of some trash monsters! This time to Journeyman, and with a gain of eight max HP! I wasn't kidding about ice monster exp not being re-balanced.
When I descend the stairs, a cool little zoom in/out into the new level occurs!
Level 2 is uneventful for the most part. The chicken leg on the ground represents food, which could be either a ration or the custom food (again, set to pizza).
I find a potion next to the stairs. Potions not only have a tile, they also represent what color the potion is!
I kill more trash while finishing up exploring the level and manage to level up again, this time to Adventurer. I also gain six max HP.
Level 3 starts me right next to the stairs, as well as to some armor! Tiles will differentiate based on what type of armor it is. For example, this here is a set of chain mail.
(In ASCII, armor is represented by a ])
I do a little exploring, then decide to throw it on. Unfortunately, it turns out to be cursed 
Cursed armor cannot be removed until I read either a remove curse scroll (to remove the curse, obviously) or an enchant armor scroll (which removes the curse while improving the Armor by one).
Food bonanza! That solves the food clock for a while.
With nothing else interesting, I hop down to Floor 4.
I find EVEN MORE FOOD. I swear, food is actually supposed to be a big deal in this game, I'm just getting lucky.
I clear out the level of trash mobs and loot and keep diving.
Another ice monster kill nets me a level up to Fighter and five max HP!
Finally, something new! Slimes have taken the place of snakes (I guess to reduce the confusion between snakes and rattlesnakes).
Slimes will split at random, making it a priority to either kill them fast or get to a doorway/tunnel to filter them instead of becoming surrounded.
Oh, speaking of rattlesnakes
I loop around them to get into the doorway, but not before the rattlesnake gives me a welcoming gift.
I run into another one later on, who gives me a matching bite. Strength drain still sucks.
Level 6 starts off pretty bland, but I find yet another rattlesnake. This time, however, I've got the range advantage.
Unfortunately, hand throwing arrows is no longer as effective as it used to be, so I'll have to actually shoot them the proper way.
The throwing interface has also been improved, as you can actually see your whole menu of options when selecting instead of needing to hit * first (or memorize the arrows slot).
A couple shots and the rattlesnake goes down.
Oh hey, it's a ring (in ASCII, represented by an =)! Rings, when worn, provide powerful magical effects at the cost of making you hungrier while you wear them. However, there are a couple really nasty ring types out there, which makes it not worth putting on unless you can identify them.
Poison dart traps, the rattlesnake of traps. Sometimes they miss, but not often.
I get into yet another rattlesnake scuffle, and my strength is starting to suffer.
I finish with as much of this level as I want to deal with, and head to the stairs. Since this is the level right before centaurs start spawning, I take the time to identify at least my scrolls (if not my potions).
My first scroll turns out to be identify!
I immediately identify my ring, which turns out to be a ring of slow digestion! Rings of slow digestion, unlike other rings, slow down your hunger rate. This makes food last roughly twice as long as normal. I'll be stapling this to my finger unless I find something extraordinarily better.
My next scroll is confuse monster, always a welcome mainstay.
My third scroll type is aggravate monster. This is why it is a smart idea to identify scrolls on the staircase to the next level, as this scroll wakes up all monsters and draws them to your position. Very bad to read-ID this scroll in the later dungeon levels.
My second to last scroll takes me off the staircase, which means it is teleportation. These are also very useful for the late game.
My last scroll type is scare monster. This scroll works differently than the others: instead of reading it, you drop it on the ground. While standing on this dropped scroll, all monsters attempting to attack you will instead run away. If I can find another of these scrolls, I can exploit my ring of slow digestion and large stack of food to become way more powerful than I should be by easily bullying monsters who I have no business of fighting (and racking up piles of experience).
As a note, however, monsters with ranged attacks can still fire at you from a distance, so it isn't flawless.
I also decide to do some quaff-IDing while the game is still relatively early (and while I'm missing four strength).
The first one is gain strength, which increases your strength by one. This is pretty useless, as you can see, when I'm missing some strength. However, if you drink a potion of gain strength while at max strength, you increase your max strength! If I find any more of these, I will be saving them for after I manage to restore my strength.
My second potion turns out to be confusion. This lasts for about 20 turns, and about now is when I notice the rattlesnake that crept in the doorway from last turn.
I keep drinking potions, since I have enough distance to go down the stairs before the rattlesnake reaches me. This one turns out to be restore strength, which brings you back up to your max strength! It's important to use these sparingly.
I leave my last potion type alone and dive down to Level 7.
NEXT TIME: Aquators, the biggest assholes.