Diablo II

The original Diablo came out in 1996, and generated ALOT of hype, some calling it the best PC game of all time. When Blizzard Entertainment announced Diablo II, it was expected to deliver. and it did. In 2000, it burst onto shelves and millions of hard drives. Yet again, the next chapter in the Diablo saga shattered sales records. Not only does it have a compelling Single Player mode, but Blizzard's FREE Battle.Net service, hosting Millions of gamers each and every day, with as many a 600,000 per hour.

If you want an example of what an ideal expansion pack should look like, Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction would probably be it. This expansion overhauled the original so comprehensively it is inconceivable nowadays that someone would play Diablo 2 without installing the expansion pack as well.

For one the pretty ordinary graphics of Diablo 2 is improved to an acceptable level, and secondly Diablo 2 has added a considerable amount of additional content. Another Act is added to the storyline, 2 new characters are added that can be played from the start, numerous additional treasures and weapons were added and finally your character's stash size and weapons that he/she can carry have been increased. Even though all this additions have been made, they all contribute to better the game without changing the essence of what Diablo 2 is all about.

My only critique would be of the personal kind. By the time I installed the expansion, I have had my overdose of the hack-and-slash gameplay that Diablo 2 offers, and the expansion didn't manage to rekindle my flagging interest in Diablo. I just grew tired of killing the same monsters repeatedly just to slowly increase my skills and look for that weapon that's just that little bit better than I already had.

If you are planning to play Diablo 2, don't even bother to install the original without adding the expansion immediately. If you have played the original and liked it, I'm pretty certain you've already tried out & liked the expansion!

or 4... At least I think that's how long I spent playing Diablo II in every spare moment I could find, I'm not sure, I kinda lost track of time for a bit.

The concept behind making Diablo II so popular is ridiculously simple. Make an engine that can generate nearly infinite numbers of uniquely different magical items and people will play until the end of time trying to obtain a sword or a suit of armour that's just that little bit better than what you already have.

The stories and cut scenes that drive the game forward and link the various Acts are superbly done and contribute in some way to dispelling the "nothing but a clickfest" label that the Diablo games have been cast as.

Many spells and abilities are only available at level 30 or above and to fully appreciate these players are encouraged to move on to nightmare and hell modes in order to fully develop their characters. Indeed, the most powerful weapons and items are only available in these harder game modes and because of this Diablo2's replayability factor is very high.

The 4 character classes are both well balanced and varied enough that strategies that prove effective for one character class often prove disastrous for another. While Necromancers and Barbarians are traditionally the dominant classes, Blizzard has gone some way to leveling the playing field with their patch. The introduction of the D2 expansion pack also promises to introduce more characters and levels. The future certainly looks bright.

Diablo II is disarmingly addictive and it comes as a breath of fresh air in a crowded field of first person shooters and real time strategies that after a while begin to blend together in mimetic mediocrity.

Just remember to give your mouse hand a chance to recover every couple of hours....

After playing Diablo II and the following LoD for months I still love the game. Its great! Thanks to all the people who created it and to the

actresses and actors who gave their voices to the characters and npcs. (Especially to mr Ed Trotta - Greetings!)

Love

There's not much bad to be said about this game. It takes all the elements from the first game and makes them better. Better graphics, story, sounds, levels, characters, weapons. I remember playing this game for the first time for about 12 hours or so. It's hard to stop once you start. It excelled on every expectation I had for it. The ending really stuck with me. It is very bad ass. The difficulty I found challenging, but not impossible.

The most addictive part about the game is the level building. There's nothing more satisfying than building your character up super strong and mowing down some demons in hell. The final thing I like about this game is it fulfilled every want I had for the series. There is no need to continue further. This game and it's expansion should be the end of the series in my opinion, but they are that damn good.