Diablo II Review

Author: Prairie Wolfe
Editor: Howard Ha
Publish Date: Monday, July 31st, 2000
Originally Published on Neoseeker (http://www.neoseeker.com)
Article Link: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Games/Reviews/Diablo_II/
Copyright Neo Era Media, Inc. - please do not redistribute or use for commercial purposes.

When mankind collectively reaches the pearly gates of the afterlife and the Apocalypse has come, his greatest vice would have been his arrogant and stubborn illusionary belief that his life was purposive in some cosmic way.

Humans will eternally believe that they can make a difference, especially when it comes to saving the world. And predictably in Diablo II, this is what we must do.

Aye, Diablo, the daemon from Dante’s worst nightmare, has respawned and has transcended Hell to possess our feeble souls. The Lord of Terror must undertake a stygian quest to reunite with his brethren, Baal, Lord of Destruction and Mephisto, Lord of Hatred. Together, the anti-Trinity would be invincible. Your job, as either a valiant Paladin, a sniveling Necromancer, a lithe Sorceress, a busty Amazon or a brute Barbarian, is to shadow Diablo, the Lord of Terror, in his cursed journey and hope you get to his brethren before he does.

In Diablo I, after your brave hero successfully forded Diablo's denizens and decimated the Dark Lord himself, you may remember unflinchingly impaling a large and cruel stone into your forehead. Then the credits rolled, much to your astonishment and confusion...

Heaven and Hell have been in bitter conflict since the Beginning. The forces of both sides have raged in an eternal war that saw colossal casualties. The bloodshed only halted when mankind opened his eyes for the first time in the Garden of Eden. A breathless stalemate followed as both the angels and the daemons awaited man's decision. Which side would he choose?

Man, being the fickle egocentric being that he was, became the focal point of the Great Conflict.

Background

The Three Prime Evils began to vie for his attention and his affection. In failing to do so, they opted instead to beat man into submission. The angelic hosts took it upon themselves to fervently defend our helpless selves, but their attempts were often misinterpreted.

In the Inferno that was Hell, the Lesser Evils defiantly directed a coup d'état against their masters and successfully exiled Diablo and his two supplementals, Mephisto and Baal, to our mortal realm. For eons, the triumvirate scourged the landscape, wreaking havoc in their preternatural wakes.

Eventually, an archaic order of mortal magi, guided by the Archangel Tyrael, devised a plan to contain the Prime Evils, subjugating their destructive force. The Horadric Order of Mages created three Soulstones to serve as three prisons for the three Prime Evils. Each was then buried far and away from the others in nameless places.

In Diablo I, the Lord of Terror managed to escape his crystalline prison and possessed the tranquil and quaint town of Tristram. And in taking into himself the Soulstone of Diablo, the Wanderer (our hero) was valiantly albeit foolishly attempting to contain the daemon within his own mortal body.

But the essence of Diablo proved too potent for our hero and he fell prey to its influence. Whispering malignant suggestions to his tortured and captive soul, Diablo drove our hero east to seek Baal and Mephisto. And east he went, to the scorching sands of Lut Gholein and the humid jungles of Kurast.

Improving on Diablo I

For a “point ‘n slash”, the Second Coming of the Lord of Terror is gargantuan. Gone are those blasé days of frequenting the same docile town. At our disposal are the services of three separate habitations. Amateurs at the game will familiarize themselves with the gameplay in the sparsely forested grasslands of the Rogue Encampment, where familiar skeletons, zombies and Fallen Ones keep you company. And when you have whetted your appetite and your blade, venture on to the arid deserts of Lut Gholein and then across the ocean to the densely vegetated Kurast. All in all, the towns are the usual fare, with the exception of the grossly vivid Harem underneath the Lut Gholein palace--what with dead gals tied up to bedposts no longer attached to beds. Ugh.

While there was little freedom to explore the world around Tristram in Diablo I, this reincarnation takes place just as much on the surface as below it. The wider scope of the game creates a vast world in which open environments spawn marauding hoards and make dungeons look like cozy fortresses. In these dungeons, there are a myriad of things to click on. Rats nests, maggot eggs, corpses, loose boulders, and urns all yield their loot. Trading with other NPCs is quick and easy. The interface, enhanced from Diablo I, now allows you to right click on the items that you want to buy. This small improvement cuts back on the time going back and forth between yes and no menus and allows you to see what you’re spending $7000 gold pieces on. Items are mostly uninspiring on the most part--some armour have strange iridescent sheens. Items on the ground catch your attention with a twinkle twinkle. And for those of us who are obsessive-compulsive, a touch of the ALT button will bring up all the current items available for pickup on the screen. The gear you equip determines your character's appearance. Different items look slightly different and add a sense of accomplishment to your adventures – there’s nothing quite like seeing your level 27 Paladin fully decked out in magical platemail and wielding his weapon of choice.

As if to parallel the greatest works, Diablo II is divided into monumental acts. Each act has its own personality and theme, which keeps the going interesting and the players from falling asleep in their pretence. Act I looks and feels like the first instalment of this series, and I suspect it was pieced together from strips of code left on the cutting room desktop. Act II leaves the gritty taste of sand in your mouth as you explore searing deserts and their sunken tombs. This most beautiful of the three acts has a distinctly Near East theme, fraught with temples, mummies and imitation hieroglyphs. Act III is a flavourful mix of Cajun, Voodoo and Mayan cultures and Act IV is pure Hell--no, I’m not kidding. The artists certainly didn’t spend too much time on the graphics, insisting on forcing their dated 640 by 480 by 256 colour graphics and display on our poor retinae. Pixilated, the graphics definitely do not take kindly to stretching on a larger display. Instead of dust, the chickens flapped up little white squares. And what is anti-aliasing? The gauntlet pointer was a gray blob and looked like the masterpiece of a 6-year-old. Saturation of colours was very rich on the GeForce card we used, but bland on our Voodoo 3 2000s. I howled in disbelief when I saw my character for the first time. What was wrong with my computer? I cried. Heck, how often does one wish for a smaller monitor? One observant friend remarked that my Paladin’s face looked like Mr. Potato Head.

Character Features & Nitpicking

The torturous sin of Act I will seek redemption in the amazing detail of Act II and beyond. From the engraved stelae and doors of the temples and the suspiciously Egyptian figurines on the walls to the blotchy sea serpents and the costumed Spearcats, what started out in Act I as stick figures became increasingly complex and intricate by Act II. Slimy Maggot Lair doors that go “slllurp” and strange cryptic symbols on Kurast’s deck give the game that added pizzazz. Dynamic lighting and real time shadowing create a convincing 3D environment, although why the non-Paladin characters have light auras is beyond me. Irritatingly, trees in Act III fail to turn translucent as you pass under them and veil nasty little smirking natives from the player. The Barbarian had no trouble jumping from illogical level to level in an Arcane Sanctuary even Escher would have been proud of.

Perhaps in a genuine attempt to lure some RPG fans, Diablo II no longer features the generic Warrior, Rogue and Sorcerer. Instead, we have a stew of complex characters, each with their own history and loyalty. For example, the Sorceress in Diablo II uses only elemental magic, and if you haven’t chucked the manual, you can read why. Each character has an extensive skill tree that is divided into three types. The necrophilic Necromancer, for example, has a myriad of Summoning Spells, Poison and Bone Spells and Curses. There aren’t nearly enough hot keys to cover each characters’ plethora of useful skills. And in addition to the space saved from not having to lug around spell books, some spells and skills are automatic and do not need to be cast. Select one of these for use with the left mouse button and still cast a skill/spell with the right. This added bonus allows for interesting combinations of skills. And the prerequisites required for higher level spells encourage wise investment of skill points and consequently higher replay value.

Be it rare that deities pay much attention to mere mortals, the Blizzard gods have answered our prayers. Gone are the days of having to meander from level to level, hauling worthless rags and caps for a few measly gold pieces. Town portal scrolls are literally littering the floors. To travel from map to map, take the fast and free Waypoint express transport that's also a great way to escape enemies. And why walk when you can run? Exercise that most common of virtues, cowardice. But your stamina will eventually exhaust itself unless you increase it artificially through potions stored on the layered belts that can carry up to 16 bottles. The slowed effect of healing potions discourages “potion-pumping”. And you don’t have to get epileptic from clicking; just hold down the mouse button and your character will slash away at your target until it is bloody on the ground. Or hire a mercenary in town and he’ll slash it for you, though they tend to be a waste of money due to weak AI and the annoying penchant for dying on you.

Sound & Multiplayer

Socketed & Set Weapons

Instead of cluttering up your already limited inventory, scrolls can now be stored in tomes. And you’ll need that extra room with all the new weapons and armour in the game. Making their debut appearance are socketed items. Following the practice of medieval days when a knight’s sword was encrusted with jewels, now you can imbue your weapon, helm or shield with magical properties/bonuses by inserting a wide assortment of gems into the sockets. To cater to our increasing materialism, items now come as normal, magical, rare and unique. The perks list of a unique item spans half the screen. Unique items all form sets, which are three to six themed and complimenting items that have impossibly cool names and give the owner a special bonus. What I would wish for is one of those bottomless halfling bags. But I shall have to settle for the storage crate that follows you like a familiar from town to town, supplementing your limited inventory without complaint.

What is ingrained in my head forever is the wannabe seductive Arabian music in the Lut Gholein Harem (yes, all my adventures were there). Be there even such a thing as Harem music, it was bad. Ouch. What is good is the Barbarian's warcries and taunts, although I certainly expected a Tim Taylor "Ar Ar Ar". In 3D sound, scorching sounds match the direction of the Sorceress' fireballs and lightning bolts. And if you run after them, the sound remains relative to the object's position. Sounds are clearer and crisper, especially that of breaking pottery. The drawback of 3D is that dialogue with townsfolk becomes deeper and less present.

Whatever iota of RPGness Diablo II has is best cultivated in multiplayer mode. Randomly generated multiplayer maps cause much welcomed confusion and appreciate replay value. And with seven hot keys that spew forth seven not-too-witty lines (like "oops, forgive me"), multiplayer mode threatens to be too fun. Most needed was "That's mine, @&%$ off", which was mysteriously absent. Identical to singleplayer in almost every way, multiplayer becomes an exercise of cooperation between up to eight players. And the diversity of possible character-skill combinations makes for interesting parties, especially if a character has skills and spells that will benefit the others--like the Paladin's auras or the Barbarian’s warcries. As a member of a party, you can choose to allow the others to loot your corpse after you've been reduced to one. Death will literally take a greater toll in multiplayer than in singleplayer, and you will curse as you loose a good fifth of your wealth with each passing.

Final Thoughts

Significant problems with Battle.net since the game was released at the end of June has frustrated the online efforts of many fans. As well, Patch 1.02 seemed to increase the gameplay lag, although why lag would be present in single player mode is beyond my technical expertise. Additionally, many people have reported that the game will not even work with their nVidia cards.

As a Religious Studies major of sorts, the themes in this reincarnated 1997 hit made me swoon in ecstasy. Here was a story embroiling angels and daemons, and we mortals were right in the thick of it. Diablo II has an involving and stimulating storyline that is augmented by stunning, jaw-dropping, no-expense-spared cut scenes. These lengthy cut scenes are the reward for finishing each act and vanquishing a Lesser Evil, each episode effectively serving to propel us into the next act of the story. And what a story it is. The replay value of the game is high and the gameplay is innovative. Conversely, the graphics aren’t much to ogle about. Regardless, Diablo II is a must buy. One critic remarked that the game is more addictive than crack, though I can’t say I’ve had the experience to compare with. So without further ado, I will brand this beast an 8.6 out of 10 and send you on your way—to buy or not to buy, that is not really the question here.

If the goal of the Prime Evils was to seduce us and to win our support for the Great Conflict, I think that they've succeeded. For in attempting to defeat Diablo, we've succumbed to his very possession.

Overall Score: 86%

Screenshots

Secret Cow Level