Diablo 2

That being said, Diablo II is vastly different from its predecessor, Diablo in many ways, but in one disappointingly large area, it's almost the same.

The gameplay has been simplified so everything is basically point and click. The commands are intuitive and easy to learn. The major improvements of this game are the 5 new character classes: The melee fighter Barbarian, the spellcasting Sorceress, the quick missile launching Amazon, the holy spellcasting/melee fighter Paladin and my personal favorite, the resurrecting Necromancer. Each has their own set of skills you develope as you progress throughout the four new and vastly larger stages of the game. If you thought Diablo was big, just the first act of Diablo II easily dwarfs it. You'll travel everywhere from forests to jungles to deserts. Each landscape is very well designed and looks fantastic.

With this new item generation engine Blizzard added, there are now over 1 million magic items to be found. There are now also set items, which are magic items that, I'm assuming, when you collect all of the items in the set, you get a nifty bonus or something.

The only disappointment to me was the graphics. They looked almost exactly the same as the origianl Diablo. Don't get me wrong, they still look quite good, but I was hoping for some improvement.

All in all, this is a GREAT game. I highly recommend you get it, especially if you liked the orginal Diablo. The strategy guide isn't really necessary to me.


Diablo II   June 19, 2000
41 out of 42 found this review helpful

I have been testing Diablo II through the Stress Test beta copy... GEEEZ! If you are a fan of this style... better yet, if you want the best role playing, action oriented, adventure style game... this could very well satisfy your desire! Okay... here are some important features: 1) Physical chest located in town that you can save your extra stuff to (not that big, but handy all the same. 2) NPCs (like Rogues)can join you... I was limited to only 1 at a time... but I did have a choice of who I wanted to hire for varying amounts. They heal themselves and follow you... they also attack on their own; however, they will follow if you decide to run in combat. 3) Almost an unlimited variation of items/equipment with enhancements produced by embedding gems & such into those socketed items you find. Not all items are socketed... but alot are. This increases everything from attack rating to special powers or spells like frost or fire attack. What is really cool is that the item changes in color... ex. embedding 3 rubies into a 3 socketed long sword turns the sword blood red. COOL! 4) Details of background are amazing, although the beta test was in 640x480... not sure if they will increase this. Your system maybe set higher, but when running the game... it defaults back down. Even at that, it look really good... 10 times better than the original backgrounds. 5) Lighting... wow... when travelling crypts and caves... the shadowing and lighting effects are truly awesome (I was using Glide as my video setup). This adds to the realism since light only travels so far. 6) Sound is solid... I have an A3D II sound card... it was simply excellent. 7) Tracking... hmmm, definitely improved. NPCs that are hired by you will follow... but occasionally they get stuck... so guess what, they teleport to your location if you get too far ahead! Nice idea. 8) Improved trade. Now you actually enter a trade screen for trades... gone are the days of dropping an item and running over to the other to protect your trade. You both choose your items of trade... then confirm it... so you actually see it. 9) Special effects are very detailed... ex. If you have a sword that steals life by 2% and mana by 4% and attacks with frost 1-6... you see all of them; each with a different effect. Very nice! 10) Creatures - tons with interesting abilities and attacks. You will not be disappointed! 11) When connected to Bnet... your char changes as to what you are equipped with... so you see your char in the channel, not just your name. This adds to the individuality of each person. Excellent touch! 12) Bnet multiplayer affords you the ability to create games that have controlable aspects such as how many can join (up to 8) and how different they can be (level differences) Ex. You can state you want a 3 user game with no more than a 4 level experience difference between you and the other players. You can also add in a separate description of the game. Outstanding! 13) Lastly... your saves are on the server (server based). While this is not always a good thing (if the server is down, you cannot play multiplayer with that char), it affords the ability to control cheating. BTW... when you exit the game and reenter.. the map regenerates randomly, but your keep your same stuff in your chest as well as any NPC you have with you.

With all that I have said... I have left off a huge amounts! Just get it. Unlike other games of this nature... this game is extremely replayable with endless hours of enjoyment. Think of the original Diablo... and multiply that by 5! All the things you yearned for in the original are here in Diablo II. It has been well worth the wait.


Diablo II   June 9, 2000
Fred Brooks (Sacramento, California)
41 out of 49 found this review helpful

I have been Beta stress testing Diablo II for the last two weeks and can not wait for the release of the final version.

Diablo II has the "Look and feel" of the original Diablo but with much better graphics. The Beta stress test only included the first two quests but was enough to make me a believer. If you are a battle.net online player you will love the enhancments to Diablo II. Players can join forces in "Parties" and a player must declaire him/herself hostile towards you while in town before he/she can attack you. No more pretending to be friendly then BAM.

The three CD game will be much more challanging and offers much greater choices and options. I have placed my pre-order here and am wating with bated breath for its arivial at my door!


We waited years for this?   July 1, 2000
Lisa Shea
38 out of 59 found this review helpful

It's been on the "most waited for game" list for months and months. Ads from several other software companies made fun of its delay or tried to lure away those waiting for its release. After all of the countless promises and retractions, Diablo 2 is finally on the shelves. Was it worth the wait?

The answer is - yes and no. Obviously the months (shall we say years) of development time shows in several areas. While the install itself is one of the most boring installs I have ever seen in my entire life (and takes up a massive 1.5 GIG of disk space), the opening movie is quite, quite impressive. The dust motes sparkling in the shaft of sunlight, the flames flickering (always a tough thing to get just right), and other touches show the incredibly amount of effort they put into this.

The character selection screen shows the five new classes you can choose from - two female, three male. You can be an Amazon, a Barbarian, a Necromancer, a Paladin, or a Sorceress. Choose the individual standing before you, and he or she will approach the screen and wait for a name. Then, suddenly, you're in ... Diablo.

Yes, Nostalgia is a powerful force, and it is neat to hear that familiar music, see the graphics, chat with the various people. However, much time has passed since Diablo was out and thrilled us with these aspects of the game. Since then we've had Baldur's Gate, Nox, Planescape Torment, and several other games of this same style. The graphics in all have improved steadily, as have the interfaces and sound. To look at Diablo 2, it seems ... well ... old.

Take the screen itself. Sure, at one time this was an adequate resolution, but nowadays we expect a bit more going on in one window. When you talk to individuals the text scrolls by at a snail's pace, inviting you to run off for a snack and come back later to continue. Selections are not always consistant - sometimes you have to click a person height's below an object to select it.

You'd have thought after all this time that they'd bring us up to a new level, not simply slightly improve the existing one!

Yes, some things do stand out as being interesting. The quest graphics, with each quest individually represented, is a neat idea. When you're down in the den, the system kindly informs you that there are still 3 monsters left, so you best go and find them. When you complete the quest, sunlight streams into the den, the evil eradicated ... at least for now.

The atmospheric effects are good. I love the rain falling on the stream in little ripples, and the delayed effect of the thunder after the lightning. Was that really worth leaving us with the most hideous auto-map known to mankind? I'd have taken slightly less realistic rain if they could have made that map a bit more usable.

The game is definitely a "Mature" rating. Go ahead, hack those zombies clear in half. Try killing off some of the higher level monsters and see how much blood and gore spills from them. It's almost hard to be afraid of them though, with the objects being as pixilly as they are. Oh, look. A square of monster fell over to the left.

The skills systems are interesting, letting you customize how your character progresses through the levels. Another fun aspect of the game is the new socket approach to weapons and armor. Get a sword, stick a ruby into it, one thing happens. Stick the ruby into your helmet, another thing does. The mix-and-match is intriguing, but again I would gladly give back the Geranimal approach to combat in return for a game that actually looks like it was made this year, instead of years ago.

Sure, I got it sent to me the day it came out. My work with BellaOnline.com's computers channel meant I waited at the door for it. Sure, I'll play it, but I'm also sure that several other games on my CD shelf will see far more game time than this one will.


Best yet!   May 27, 2000
31 out of 41 found this review helpful

I just received the Stress Test demo of Diablo 2 yesterday. After months of waiting for this game, I can tell you, it's not a let down! If you played the original Diablo, and liked it, you will LOVE this game. Everything in the game has been greatly improved, graphics, story line, characters, music, gameplay, and the setup for gaining levels and learning spells and skills is very easy to understand, and still realistic. If you've played Diablo online, you probably know about all the cheaters and hackers that ruin the game. It wont happen again! Diablo II has a large number of factors that keep it from being hacked. Hacking it would be like trying to fit a key into a lock that has 10,000 dents and bends in it. Everything about this game wins! I have yet to see a better PC game than this!