Diablo II

There's something that has to be said for computer based RPGs. From Ultima to Diablo, there are game series out there that make traditional Japanese RPGs look like child's play. But, they usually get ignored by the influx with RPGs with girls with pink hair and guys with long(er) hair. It's sad. We as Americans and Europeans need to stand up to this bullshittery. We need to have our own RPGs with manly men and big busted women. We need- a dungeon crawler.

And lo and behold, I intend to review a somewhat old Dungeon Crawler, Diablo II. Diablo was originally a small cult game that really hit it off when people discovered that, unlike many other roguelike dungeon crawlers on the market, Diablo was randomly generated- eg, the game was completely new EVERY TIME YOU PLAYED IT. This was phenomenal, because everything felt new, from the adventure to the gameplay to even the customizeable items. It was hardcore. And now, in comes Diablo II.

The major changes to Diablo II really put as more of a traditional RPG. A somewhat-decent story, more customization, lots of weapons, items, better graphics, and generally a better playing game. It fixed a lot of character class weaknesses, and generally worked the whole structure out to "Perfection". But is this true?

Diablo II's engine is/WAS quite unique for the time, but has been copied quite repeatedly. It is almost all point-and-click, so the majority of the game will have your hand on your mouse. Keyboard shortcuts on your other hand allow you to run, quickly use items, cast spells, or generally anything else you could want. This allows for quick control on a PC type configuration without trying to emulate some sort of keyboard control, which is nice for the somewhat odd 3D-2D graphics that the game presents.



The game essentially breaks down into this:
- Be at town. Stock up on equipment and potions.
- Go outside. Hit stuff for a while. Find pit.
- Go in pit. Find boss, kill it, take some sort of icon.
- Bring it back to town, get bonus for icon. Repeat.

Unfortunately, at the time Blizzard made Diablo II, they apparently didn't know how to make quests other than "Go over there and kill that big monster. Yep.". It makes the game very fighting based, which is fun, but the point and click gets old. The game has hundreds of weapons, hundreds of armor, and virtually unlimited ways to customize yourself and yoru character, but that still doesn't translate into pure fighting prowess.

The game still invokes good memories. For the most part, the game is an oldschool dungeon crawler, so you have the fun of making your character in different ways to try to get through the dungeon safely. You can hire a guard, but for the most part you will find yourself alone in these dungeons, so it becomes imperative to work your character to the max. The game features different ways of doing this, from "Magical" weapons, "Slotted" weapons (allowing you to insert magical gems inside), or just general levelling up. The more you do this, obviously, the easier the game is, and any good gamer will find themselves blowing through the game quickly without much effort.

However, this leads the game to an interesting problem. The game requires work. Constant work. Possibly work with friends. Ergo, the game takes time and energy, and the rewards are reaped AFTER you get to a sustainable pace. So, many gamers, who are stereotypically give-me-it-now, will find themselves quickly in a bind about what to do. No-one wants to spend thirty hours clicking moving enemy sprites unless they enjoy it. If I rated this game on the enjoyment *I* got from it, I could easily give it a 5. But, what about normal RPG gamers? Well, it's a bit different.



This game, in all it's formats, is hard to enjoy without having friends playing it with you. You have to have constant entertainment of some sort to effectively play this game, because this game specifically requires time, which some people may get bored of. Get a voicechatting program and chat with friends. Window it and Instant Message or watch a movie. SOMETHING. But, in all honesty, this game requires time.

Now for the cool parts. The game has so many ways to upgrade the weapons, I can honestly say it was the first RPG I've ever played where I didn't get "Bored" of a weapon, they kept switching and powering up fast. As well, the armor choices (And the pure amount of places you can put armor) wil keep you entertained to some degree. It's good stuff, and it definately presents a real feel to it, but it's very unimportant in the long run.

Another interesting addition is the Skills Tree, the ability to earn skills based on earned points via new levels. For example, as a Paladin, I could place a (Ton) of points into one ability (In this case, "Thorns"), or I could spread my points and have weak but useful abilities, like the ability to heal my team for a very short period of time. This beats the hell out of Spell Books ala the Original Diablo, and it also provides interesting ways to "Combine" the spells to be one hell of a danger to enemies. Don't worry though, there are still Scrolls and Tomes, one use and multiple uses respectively of special skills like "Identify" or "Town Warp", that come in handy no matter what class you are.



What this all amounts to is a resoundingly sound battle engine that I actually find rather useful. What ends up biting you in the ass is when you lose. See, Diablo II is nice enough to let you respawn at the town you were from, which is very nice if you ended up making a dumb run into a big pit o' enemies. But, this has one catch- not only do you lose money, but your body stays.

Which is your armor.

And your weapons.

Which means that I literally yelled a string of swear words as I ran my completely naked character into the DEEPEST AND MOST DANGEROUS PART of a dungeon to re-gather my gear that I spent thousands of gold on. Greeeeat. While this does make it interesting and quite funny, I imagine this could leave many gamers completely screwed. Also note that if you log off, your armor is gone forever. Essentially, this is one of the most cruel death systems I've ever found in a game, excepting maybe only Fire Emblem. Respawn me, take my gold and even dock me experience points, but for GOD SAKES, DO NOT MAKE ME RUN NUDE AROUND THE BOSS JUST TO GET MY +63 CHAIN MAIL. So basically, if you die your stuff hits the ground, if you quit your stuff is gone forever. Isn't that great?

Diablo II is a great game. It has absolutely everything you could ever want if you were looking for a pure dungeon crawler. However, this doesn't exempt it from being a little mundane and tiring. Dungeon crawlers get that way. Diablo II really does nothing to fix this problem, but when it all comes down to it, it's still solid. The only reason- the ONLY REASON I give it three stars is that this game is purely not for everyone, and I want to dissuade the common gamer from picking this up expecting a game to breeze through. This is a hardcore game, fun, but it takes time. And if you have that, get this, now.

3 star(s) out of 5

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