Diablo 2 Review

People spend months, even years waiting anxiously for their favourite piece of software or hardware. Be it the Playstation 2 or Diablo 2, when something has an extremely succesful predecessor, a successor is demanded and seldom not delivered. However, in building all this hype around something, are we not setting ourselves up for disappointment? With the amount of hype surrounding Diablo 2 it was inevitable that some were going to be disappointed. "The graphics suck!", I hear you cry. "It's exactly like the first one!", yet another squeals. But that's what you wanted isn't it? A chance to go back to the demon-killing-potion-drinking-badass world of Diablo.<br><br><br> <br /> <br /> So Diablo 2 is doomed to rest atop the 'overhyped' pile is it? Hell no, my friends, hell no! As anyone who played the original knows, it's the gameplay, the joy of discovery and the multi-player aspect(though PK'ing almost destroyed that aspect) that made the original game so great. Diablo 2 is essentially the first game on a lifetime supply of steroids. Four acts, thousands of rare and unique items, five character classes and more demons than you can shake a stick at have been squeezed into the game and I for one couldn't be happier. Many will claim that the game is nothing more than mindless hack and slash action and that the game becomes boring after the first hour or so. "Away, ye heathens!", I scream, because for me, Diablo 2 is the epitomy of pure, unbridled chaos. The feeling of hacking your way through a mountain of demons, only to be faced with one of the biggest, ugliest sons-of-****** you've ever seen, and then to smack his demonic ass back to..well, wherever they go, is as good a feeling as it gets. Surveying the battlefield after a huge fight is truly a sight to behold. None of that wimpy disappearing bodies to save RAM garbage. Oh no, when you've done a whole lot of killing, you can stand back and admire your handywork. Any game that evokes the level of emotion that Diablo does and has me screaming "Kill 'em, Kill 'em all!" at my monitor is all good in my book. <br /> <br /> I'm not going to cover all of the finer points of the game in my review as there are plenty of great sites out there with a wealth of information, covering the various intricacies of the game. What I am going to say is this. The sheer amount of in-game items is staggering and finding the right equipment for your character is immensely enjoyable. Socketed items(you can place various grades of gems into these to enhance them), magical items, rare and set items are all there for the taking. The Skill Tree is another feature designed to allow the player to customise their character to their liking. As you gain levels, you are given skill points which can be assigned to a number of abilities, both active and passive. Depending on your chosen character, the Skill Tree will change. While a Necromancer can choose to excel in his ability to curse his victims and raise the dead, an Amazon can choose to imbue her arrows with magical abilities, such as fire and ice. It all serves to make the game feel very personal and developing an attachment to your character is not uncommon. That must be why I refuse to let my character die. The number of times I've come within inches of death, but with a bit of skill and a lot of luck managed to escape any fatal blows are numerous, but those are stories for another time. <br /> <br /> Playing on Battle.net is an important part of the experience for many gamers, as proven by the huge outcry from fans whenever the servers go down. PK'ing was a big problem in the first game, but the severity of the problem has been reduced tremendously this time around. To attack another character, you must become 'hostile' towards them. Doing this warns the other player, giving them time to ready themselves for a fight. Cheating and trainers have also been all but eliminated thanks to the use of Realms. Whenever you play on Blizzard's Realm servers, you are only able to save your character there, thus removing them from the prying hands of cheaters. People can still cheat when playing 'Open' games, but players have now been given a choice as to what experience they would prefer. <br /> <br><br> <br /> "The graphics suck!", the masses have screamed. Trust me, I've heard more colourful descriptions of the game's engine, but I'll refrain from repeating them. There's no doubt about it, the much-maligned graphics engine is not great. Running at a maximum resolution of 640x480 and being rather intolerant of old graphics cards and drivers has ensured that many fans will be cursing Blizzard's name late into the night. That said, I had no trouble whatsoever with the installation. Everything went smoothly, not a single hitch, graphics or otherwise. Pixelicious would be an apt description of the game's characters. Ugly as sin would do just fine too. The animation isn't bad, but it ain't great either. It's a shame really, because there are some phenomenal character designs and the backgrounds are pretty neat. On the flip side, I'd rather have a horde(read: friggin' boatload) of pixelated enemies swarm me than a handful of beautifully rendered imps hacking away at me at 3 frames per second. The game's cinematics on the other hand are fantastic, popping up just when you start questioning your existance in this forsaken place. And spurring you on with renewed vigor! Okay, maybe not quite, but they were cool none the less. <br /> <br><br> <br /> <br /> Aurally, the game is fantastic. Every character, playable or otherwise is superbly voiced, playing their roles to perfection. Screeches, howls, cries, the jingle of gold, and that sound I like to call 'The potion sound' are all crisp, clear and very familiar. Familiarity is not necessarily a bad thing though, as they were great to begin with. The music is tremendous, the pacing slows for those rare moments of peace in the villages and speeds up when in the midst of battle.<br><br><br> <br /> <br /> Comments<br>In the grand scheme of things, Diablo 2 will not re-define the genre like it's predecessor did, and I don't believe it's worthy of the title 'Game of the year!" that so many people seem to be giving it already. It's July for crying out loud! But, what Diablo 2 is, is an immensely enjoyable title that's well-worth the time, effort and money. Just remember, when faced with a nasty demon or two, "Kill 'em, Kill 'em all!"