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 Home -> Reviews -> Diablo II
Diablo II By John "Award" Del Percio, August 17, 2000
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Developer :Blizzard
Publisher :Blizzard
Release Date :End of June 2000
Demo Available : No
Table of Contents

· Introduction
· Closer Look
· Facts
· Final

Who Needs Sleep?

Granted, this game has it's flaws, but I'll admit that it has consumed me for the past few weeks and even led to the delay of one important thing: my DiabloII review. Yes, that's right, I am such a hardcore DiabloII addict now that I kept pushing this review back "just one more day" because I wanted to play more DiabloII. Despite it's flaws, it is one extremely addictive, and very fun game. While the replay value is very high, after a few times, even it will get boring, but nevertheless, this is one of the few games in a long time that has earned a nearly permanent place on my hard drive. If you liked Diablo, just click on order right now. If you played any other ARPG and remotely tolerated it, just click on order right now. If you value your job, please return the the main page and select a different review, as you'll be waiting throughout the work day just to get your next fix of DiabloII.

Rating

Personal Note

Graphics - Sound - Gameplay - Depth - Multiplayer  Reviewed by John Del Percio
GRAPHICS
90 %

Not the absolute worst I've seen. Especially on any act between 1 and 4, with the colored lighting, the game looks quite nice. Act1 is just frighteningly ugly, and there isn't much to act4, but what is in between is worth it. The bad animations, and lack of antialiased textures removes some points here. The cinematics are spectacular; they go beyond words.

SOUND
95 %

It's pretty nice. Some sounds are kept from Diablo for continuity, but the newly added sounds fit right in. Monsters will send chills down your spine, and the music is classic Diablo. I still listen to some of the "MP3 of the Week" archives from it.

GAMEPLAY
99 %

It's addictive, it's fun, it's addictive. Not just hack and slash, but much simpler than a massive RPG ruleset, it is still the master of the genre it created years ago. You just keep going further and further, to the next waypoint so long that you realize you're half way through the game. More difficult skills add to the fun, as does the compulsive need to build up your character further. Did I mention it's addictive?

DEPTH
80 %

It is far more in-depth than Diablo, but still is more "fight what moves" than story-driven. Gameplay is very deep, so is the decision of how to level up, but the rest of the game won't draw you in too much based on story or the characters themselves. It's more or less the need to level up that makes it addictive.

MULTIPLAYER
98 %

Generally speaking it's the best part of the game. Just a lot of fun, especially if you know someone to play with, or to meet new people. It fixed all of Diablo's multiplayer flaws, and makes cheating and player killing somewhat a thing of the past. The downside, and the only reason it lost points, is the lack of server support. Yes, I know they sold 3 million copies faster then they could think up a fifth character to put in ActIV, but still, it's disappointing.



Well, honestly, as lengthy as this is, there was still more I felt like saying, but I figured you'd value your time more than that. I tend to get bored with any game after I've had it for two weeks or so. That being said, it says a lot about DiabloII that I say it has a near-permanent spot on my hard drive. It's pretty much the only game I have fun playing multiplayer with, and seems it will remain that way for some time. It also says a lot when I ended up delaying it's own review because of it. I don't delay things for a game very often. While Baldur's Gate II will be a close runner in terms of story line depth, it is also logical that I nominate DiabloII for the GV RPG of the year and Game of the Year, as great sequel to the game that started a genre.

Overall Rating

 



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