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Strangely addictive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: June 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was a big fan of Diablo I, but I found it to be slow because the characters were not allowed to run and also the town was too big. Many of the people in town are useless. The only helpful people are Wirt, the witch, and Griswold. But Diablo II changed all that. The towns are smaller and almost everyone is helpful in some way. Also, Diablo II focuses more on quests rather than just the typical "go and kill diablo" style of play. You can actually return to Tristram in one of the quests, but really it is nothing but to rescue Deckard Cain. The characters are amazing. Advice:

1. Barbarian- when this game first came out, swords were much in demand and many players began to max sword mastery. That has changed dramatically. Now players have found out that lances/spears are more effective and do more damage. Also, lances are more effective in whirlwinds. When you get to level 30, max out whirlwind. Put some points on iron skin and natural resistance because defense is important to barbs.

2. Necromancer- in early levels, put one or two points on corpse explosion. Some on skeleton and skeleton mastery. When you have the capability to get blood golem, max that and golem mastery. There is a cheat for necromancer, but it takes long to explain. You have to go out and raise a clay golem, then u let the golem get killed. Then go and raise a iron golem and let that get killed, then raise a blood golem and let that get killed, then finally raise a fire golem and let that get killed. Now, let urself die and start back in town. Type "Summoner" and look in ur stash. U will find something special.

TOO lazy to do the rest, vote for me and look in the future

Diablo II. . .

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: August 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Blizzard's "Diablo" certainly made waves in the gaming industry when it was released in 1997. Its strange mix of action and roleplaying kept many glued to their chairs for months on end, and spawned nearly as many imitators as the legendary "Doom." In 1997, the formula worked splendidly - but it's the new millennium now that "Diablo II" has come to store shelves, and it just feels a little long in the tooth. That hasn't kept it from becoming one of the most overwhelmingly critically praised games of 2000, though. One PC Gamer reviewer went so far as to call it "the best game ever" at the time. Apparently he enjoyed the minimal story, the pithy roleplaying elements, and the repetitive click-fest that is "Diablo II" - or maybe he just needs to play more games, because this one remains tremendously overrated. I really want to stress how gratingly easy critics were on this game, just because it had the Blizzard logo on the box. Much better games have taken critical beatings, and justice dictates that "Diablo II" is put in its proper place. Even so, it's certainly not a bad game, and can become very engrossing despite its lack of depth and dearth of variety.

Though the "Diablo" games can often be found in the roleplaying section, there is little actual roleplaying to be done. You are offered five character options at the beginning of the game, and you pick one of them as your avatar - it's that simple. It should be noted, though, that each character plays quite differently, and all have unique and impressive skills (or spells) that they can employ when things get rough. Of course, you will also tweak your character's stats to your liking as you gain levels, which is why this is considered roleplaying at all.

In reality, though, "Diablo II" is a top-down isometric action game, and that's just fine. Wading through hordes of demonic baddies is certainly an enjoyable experience - though I myself couldn't help but wish there was more to the game. Combat only ceases when you're in one of the game's three cities (one city per episode), and you really only visit these cities when you need weapons or other items, or perhaps when you're ready to receive your next quest. Quests are extremely linear as well. While playing through the game, I didn't encounter a single quest that was designed to boost experience and was not somehow related to finishing the game's main storyline. I enjoy linearity, personally, but the inability to do your own thing, even just a little bit, keeps "Diablo II" from maintaining its freshness. It all boils down to hacking and slashing, leveling up, and repeating that process until the credits roll. It's certainly fun at times, but it's not enough for the game to stay compelling for long periods. Great games transport you to another reality, but "Diablo II" will never allow you to forget that you're just staring at your monitor and constantly clicking on things with your mouse. Even the outdoor environments just feel like the spruced up tabletops upon which you are playing with your fantasy-themed action figures.

Oh, yes, and I can't forget to mention that "Diablo II" has a truly awful save system that would be more at home in "Everquest." In other words, there's an autosave, and that's about it. It makes casual sittings with the game become more frustrating than they should ever have been, since when you die you'll lose key items in your inventory (like your primary weapons), and you'll have to find your body to recover them. To make matters worse, enemies respawn like rodents when your back is turned, and it's just so bloody aggravating!

In the end, I have been focusing more on the game's faults than its virtues, since I feel that its faults have been least touched upon in the press - but it really is a good game. It is far from achieving the greatness others have claimed, but it's good. If you're one of the few people with a PC and a penchant for gaming on planet earth who hasn't yet picked up a copy, you could be well-served if you're in the mood for some lightweight action. Don't put too much stock in those editorial reviews you've read, though, and take note that games like "Icewind Dale," "Baldur's Gate," "Divine Divinity," and "Nox" have all done this isometric roleplaying thing considerably better than "Diablo II." They actually offer depth as well as frenetic combat. (Well, all except "Nox," but it was just so bloody fun!) It's inevitable that Blizzard will eventually begin working on "Diablo III," and though it will certainly make plenty of money for the company, if it's to attain true success it had better acknowledge its peers and offer more than its shallow predecessor.

Final Score: C+

No skill required

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 16
Date: February 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

ok, so you click & the montser dies....click & the next monster dies. that's all it is...a friggen' toad can play this game & be good at it. click & die, click & die, click & die. you don't have to aim, you don't need tactics, all you need is a skill-less nerd who has hours of free time to push the button. i really don't see why i'm the only person in the world who can't stand this game...maybe i like a challenge that requires steady hands & quick reflexes, whereas the rest of the world doesn't? i dunno, but i played diablo 2 for no more than 3 minutes & said "what the hell kinda' game is this?". i couldn't beleive i spent time installing & playing that thing...i would tell you, as the consumer, to not get this game. but, since i'm the only one who hates this game, you ain't gonna' listen to me. if there's anyone who haven't played diablo 2 yet, i got one thing to say: if you are looking for an RPG, stick to the pen & paper kind, if you want strategy, go get the command & conquer series...if you want action, you ain't even in the same ballpark, pal. go search for Soldier of Fortune or Mechwarrior 3.

Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 13
Date: September 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

After literally YEARS of waiting for DiabloII to be released what a let down this was. The graphics are pretty much identical to the first Diablo, the plot is pretty much the same (kill lots of things till you get to the biggest baddest thing, then kill it), there is no save while playing unless you want to start over, and the gameplay itself is slow and 'crunchy' (lots of screen freezing, slowing down, stalling etc,). Initially, I thought the poor gameplay was because my computer wasn't zippy enough, needed more ram, bla bla bla. However, when I tried playing it on a brand new zippy powerful computer I saw NO difference...it's the game, not the machine. CRUNCH grind GRIND crunch...kind of sucks when you're surrounded by nasties and this starts happening. To me, this game was a huge waste of money, time, and a massive let down after all that waiting. For decent RPGs I suggest Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate and Torment ... another game that gets 2 thumbs up from me is Jagged Alliance 2, this one is worth it's weight in gold!

Okay by itself, but Horrible compared to Diablo 1!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 13
Date: March 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let's get one thing clear: Diablo II is nowhere near as good as Diablo 1. There are more reasons for this than I can remember, but I'll try to list as many of them as possible.

First off, there's no way to save your progress through the game. All that you can do is save your character. When you reload the game, all of the bad guys are back. This gets EXTREMELY aggravating.

Second, there's just too much stuff! Remember in Diablo 1, where there were a dozen kinds of swords and like a hundred different kinds of armor, not counting the two billion magical prefixes and suffixes and all of the Unique items? Well, that's ten times as bad in D2. There's twice as many different categories of items (belts? what the...?), and there are twice as many items in each category. It doesn't stop there, either: it is now possible for nonmagic items to have prefixes as well, and many of those prefixes mean the same freaking thing! A belt can be "poorly made," "low quality," "slightly lower quality," "chipped," "cracked," "rusty," "damaged," "even more damaged," blah blah blah blah blah umpteen et cetera, and it contributes absolutely JACK FREAKING SQUAT to gameplay! Diablo 1 had 2 different potion strengths: Partial and Full, and that was all you needed, but D2 saw fit to create five different potion strengths. You get the idea.

Third, the outdoor areas are WAAY too freaking big. Even with Automap turned on, it's impossible to tell whether or not you've explored an outdoor area fully.

Fourth, the new spellcasting system just doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. A Barbarian at a given level will have just as many magical abilities, AND be just as good at casting them, as a Sorceress on the same level! And how are these magical abilities acquired? Does your character learn spells by reading spellbooks, like in Diablo 1? No, they learn spells by killing things. Yup, you just go out and kill monsters, and you suddenly know how to cast fireballs. WHAT THE HECK KIND OF SENSE DOES THAT MAKE?!?

Fifth, character classes have no maximum stats. This SEVERELY WEAKENS the distinctions between the character classes, and for those hackers out there, it makes it impossible to have a "maxed-out" character.

Sixth, there's too much stuff! I know I've mentioned this before, but it's just wrong that you could pick up every item in the whole game and still only see a tenth of all the different combinations of non-magical items.

Seventh, there's no more Apocalypse spell. Apocalypse was a cool spell that should not have been removed.

D2 does have a few good ideas, though. Gems are very cool, but the fact that they come in five or six different quality levels, plus the fact that items can have widely varying numbers of sockets for them, only worsens the "too much stuff" problem. The Horadric Cube is an awesome idea, because it allows you to do really fun things. You put random things into it, and if you're lucky, they'll combine into something new! You can take 3 gems of a given type and quality, and the Cube will compress them into one gem of the next highest quality. Combine 2 packs of crossbow bolts to get one pack of arrows, or 2 packs of arrows for one pack of bolts. No one but Blizzard knows all of the possibilities. I also love the addition of "set" items, or in other words, unique items that power each other up as you find more from each set. Unfortunately, it is, for all practical purposes, impossible to find all of the items in any one set, leading to hours upon hours of frustrated searching. Let's see, I mentioned Gems, the Horadric Cube, set items... were there any other positive additions to D2? I can't remember any more...

Diablo 2 can be fun and playable in its own way, but compared to Diablo 1, it's just horrible. There were too many bad ideas, and too many good ideas that were badly implemented. Don't play this game unless you've gotten bored with Diablo 1.

Diablo II Highly Recommended

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: July 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Diablo II is simply excellent. The key strengths of the original Diablo have been passed down and improved upon for the sequel. It is now more like an RPG while still retaining the fast-paced and exciting gameplay.

Unlike the original, Diablo II characters are VERY unique. Rather than everyone advancing in a uniform set of spells, each of the five characters has unique abilities. They go beyond spells---they are skills (both passive and active), auras (or curses), and of course spells. This leaves the dillemma of which character to use first, since all are very cool to use. Two high-level Paladins may also have different capabilities depending on the Paladin skills that were developed during play. You can develop many skills, or become very strong in a few skills, for example.

The game is about 4 times larger than the original as well, including several towns and wilderness areas. As far as RPG, there is more interaction with NPC's, and some will even adventure with you, whether by hiring or summoning.

Amazon's review was glowing for this game, as it should be, but I disagree with the only real con listed: no graphics improvement. Although the original resolution of 640 x 480 was retained, the artwork is better than before. 3d effects have been added that greatly enhance game play. A parallax perspective was also added to show more depth. The translucent and transparency effects are more advanced than used in Diablo I. The creatures are more visually impressive (some are also HUGE) including how they die. The animation engrosses you into the gameplay more than the original.

In the end, this game deserves its sales figures and actually lives up to the hype. It will provide many, many hours of game play thanks to the skill system, the different characters, randomization of wilderness/dungeons, and above all, even more addictive gameplay then the original.

Would be 5 stars.....but

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a fun game. I purchased it a few weeks ago and have been playing it every day. I guess I am biased against this for a few reasons. The first reason is that the camera angle is set. You cant zoom in on your character, and you cant differ the angles. I have played Icewind Dale, NWN, and Morrowind. These are all superb in graphics and camera angles to Diablo 2. You also cant save on this game without exiting? This stinks! When you do save, it puts you back in the village.
Overall, its a fun, fast paced game that keeps you interested.
I just wish they thought a little more about it before they released it. ROCK ON!

One of the Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I tried the first Diablo, and was addicted to the very end, but this game got me addicted all over again. I love it, I absoultly love it!! I have like 5 characters, I just can't get enough. Also, to be able to play this game a b.net with other players is awsome. I love the spells, and the abilities, and I love being able to party and gain exp. in a whole new way. I have played endless hours on this game, and I plan on getting the expansion, so I can have endless more! If you are still deciding on whether to get this game or not get it, you'll love it!

4.5 stars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I picked this game up in the summer of 2000, I wasn't really into RPGs. I'm still not into the pure ones, but this game gave me some respect for them. Diablo II is fun, easy to learn, challenging and has great multiplayer. Many have criticized its graphics. I wasn't really bothered by the simple graphics. I especially appreciate the fact that with better graphics, the game would be too large to install on most typical hard drives. The only big flaws are:

A Battle.net community full of people would decapitate their mothers if it meant getting a good item. Although this isn't Blizzards fault, you'll still have to deal with it when you play online.

Repetitive play. Within any one character type (Barbarian, Amazon, Sorceress, Necromancer or Paladin) once you've gotten all the skills, everything is pretty much the same. It gets boring after a while and you either start a new character or stop playing altogether.

Forgetable storyline. There's no reason to wonder what will happen next. It will just mean fighting another monster(s).

Overall, I'd recommend this as perfect for person with nothing else to do during the summer. Its addictive enough to demand frequent play, but during the school year you might lose interst.

FABULOUS FABULOUS FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is the ULTIMATE game ever invented(other then Fable, but Im sure you already know I LOVE Fable, having read my other reviews). Diablo 2 Has soooooooooooo many good things about it, I dont even know where to begin. Actually, assuming you are a very busy person and dont have time to read CHAPTER BOOKS, I will just say this:play it yourself and see for yourself if this isnt the best gaming expierence youve had in your life. Trust me, If you get me started I wont even stop talking bout Diablo 2, dont believ me? just ask my poor sisters haha. But seriosly though, the best part of this game is the REPLAY value. On a scale of 1-10, the replay is 10000000000. Im serios and you dont even know(unless youve played it, then you probably do know) See ya later, reader, and BUY THIS GAME!!

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