Windows

Diablo II

Is Diablo II worth the three-year wait? Without a doubt, the answer is "Hell yes!" Despite a few niggling points, we have little trouble saying it's an early contender for being the best game of 2000. But consider yourself warned: You might want to say goodbye to your significant other now. Your free time is about to go in flames.

Diablo II, however, still earns five GiN Gems for its ability to easily capture gamers and non-gamers alike, and take them through an exciting and highly addictive Dungeons-and-Dragons-like world. The ability to host a game, where you and a bunch of your friends can all play together, also makes this game worth the price of admission. Now, if I only had five gems for my Diablo II character I would be set! Nothing another 20 hours of play won't fix.

To say that the sequel to Blizzard's runaway 1996 hit has been greatly anticipated is to indulge in wild understatement. Credited with literally saving the RPG genre with its simple, addictive hack-and-slash gameplay, Diablo made a pile of money and became an instant classic.

Diablo II is one of those games that people seem to adore with a fierce passion or just not get at all. Indeed after roughly twenty-five hours of playing it obsessively I suddenly stopped and said to myself "what AM I doing? After all this time, WHAT have I achieved?" and for many people that will be the point they exit, uninstall the game and never bother with it again. But for many more people like myself the sheer enjoyment of building a character and seeing one's hard work payoff later down the line is what keeps us playing, and the reason why, even so many years after its initial 2000 release so many people are still playing Diablo II.

It took Blizzard years to make this game, this probably having been their longest game in development yet. After being delayed several times from it's original release date, originally set for Christmas 1998, we finally have the game, even though it's now Summer 2000. During it's long duration of development, Diablo II received more hype than probably any other game ever has, and why not, as the original Diablo was a major hit, selling more than two million copies worldwide. But the big question that's on every fan's mind is... can Blizzard pull it off again, and deliver us a fun and unique RPG, that is an instant classic?

Given all the disappointments in the gaming world of late, it was hard to maintain my optimism and enthusiasm for Diablo II. I was wrong to not do so. I should know better and trusted Blizzard. They have never steered me wrong yet and with Diablo II they have shown that they are the premiere developer out there. Kudos to the Diablo II team, you survived the hype, the delays and the jinx and produced a solid contender for Game of the Year. If you have never played Diablo, buy this game, if you have, then for God’s sake what are you waiting for. Now if you’ll excuse me I really have to go play Diablo II- bye.

Geen revolutie, wel evolutie. Diablo II heeft al het goede van het origineel overgenomen en dat vervolgens uitgebouwd tot een gigantische, sfeervolle en ziekelijk verslavende game, waar je echt heel veel tijd aan kwijt zult raken. Deze game zou iedereen moeten spelen.

Two million reservations before a game has even come out is something which will cause a stir in the gaming community. Yes, I am talking about the infamous Blizzard title Diablo 2. I brought it upon myself to figure out what all of this hype is about. With the original game scheduled for release in 1998, many people wondered why it was pushed back so far. This long wait has increased all of our expectations for Diablo II, and the game has met them all.

In the end, it comes down to gameplay. All the pretty graphics and fancy effects in the world don't help you. People didn't play Civilization because it looked cool, and they won't be playing Diablo II to see how pretty the Amazon's fire arrows are. Diablo II isn't a perfect game - the save system and battle.net are the two major issues we had, though we are still baffled by the lackluster graphics. However, when it comes down to it, Diablo II is undeniably fun. The charm of leveling and improving your character is undeniable. So what are a few minor issues to stand in your way?

Na końcu pozostawiam sobie kwestię grywalności. Ta gra przyciąga jak mało, która. Pomimo trochę przestarzałej grafiki, oraz, powiedzmy to sobie szczerze, dosyć krótkiego czasu gry, do tego tytułu chce się wracać. Bynajmniej świadczy o tym ciągła popularność wśród graczy grających przez internet. Nawet po wyjściu World of Warcraft, ten tytuł nie ucierpiał. Nie ma, co narzekać. Diablo po prostu zasługuje na miano gry wszech czasów. Ale czy jakakolwiek gra ze studia Blizzarda nie zasługuje na to miano?

Det är svårt att sätta fingret exakt på vad det är som gör att Diablo II är så roligt att spela. Under testets gång kom jag på mig själv med att göra allt för att inte slita mig från skärmen. Maten kom i andra hand, men jag hade tur med toaletten då den ligger i närheten. Det är förmodligen spelets enkelhet och det faktum att karaktärerna kan utvecklas åt olika håll som är mest spännande. Mängden vapen, magiska föremål, fiender och kartornas storlek hjälper också till att fängsla spelaren vid datorn. Blizzard har alltså lyckats riktigt bra igen.

It has been years in the making, but Blizzard has finally released the long-awaited sequel to Diablo. Was it worth the wait? A definite yes! This isn’t "El Pollo Diablo" from Monkey Island; it is THE Diablo.

Bei der Technik muss ich Blizzard sowohl loben (keine Bugs) als auch tadeln – die Mindestauflösung 640x480 lässt sich nur damit erklären, dass die kalifornischen Schnarchnasen seit vier Jahren dieselbe Engine benutzen. Aber diesem Lapsus steht so viel Positives gegenüber, dass der Platz kaum reicht: vielfältige Heldentypen, Myriaden von Gegenständen, ernst zu nehmende Gegner, gut designte Quests, abwechslungsreiche Grafik, funktionierendes Skillsystem, fantastische Videos – und ein perfekter Multiplayer-Modus mit Langzeitspaß-Garantie. Wer Computerspiele mag, wird Diablo 2 innig lieben!

Diablo 2 ist das Sucht erregendste, was mit seit langem auf die Festplatte gekommen ist. Soziale Kontakte verarmen schneller, als meine Magierin Blitze schleudern kann, triviale Bedürfnisse wie Essen oder Schlafen verkommen zur völligen Bedeutungslosigkeit. Der Haken an der Sache: Nach vier, fünf Tagen sehen Sie den Abspann auf dem Monitor. Klar, es gibt noch vier weitere Charaktere und die tollen Mehrspieler-Optionen, doch die dürftige Geschichte mit ihren mickrigen 24 Quests ändert sich nicht - wären ein paar zufallsgesteuerte Aufgaben so schwer zu implementieren gewesen? Das battle.net federt dieses Problem etwas ab. Davon wissen alle zu berichten, die schon mit einer Gruppe wild zusammen gewürfelter Abenteurer losgezogen sind.

Simply put, Diablo II is one of the best PC games out there. Also, thanks to an uncharacteristicly fast port, it is also one of the best Mac games out there. Both versions hit the shelves within a week of each other, and the Mac version has just as much care put into it. Even if you don't care for PC games in general, Diablo II is a nice game, and with it's multiplayer aspect and randomly generated world, you may find yourself playing for a very long time indeed.

Diablo 2 is a simple game in many respects. Sure at it's heart it maybe a hack 'n' slash RPG but to describe it in those simple terms is not giving the game the credit it deserves. Addictive, fun and rewarding (yes it is fantastically rewarding to build a character up) are all accurate descriptions of the game and it is difficult to avoid being sucked in by its 'just another five more minutes' appeal. It succeeds as surpassing the original and giving Diablo fans more than they could hope for. Diablo 2 has already claimed its place in gaming history through its terrific sales and its mass online appeal so perhaps there is a lot to say for a keeping a game simple as long as it still has that old magic playablility , and Diablo 2 has it by the truck (or should that be dungeon) load.

The true key to Diablo II's success is simply the fact that it is a real blast to play, partially because it has a sound storyline with superb scene-setting movies between its four chapters. Moreover, it has an impressive array of beasts and undead enemies to lock horns in battle with and an incredible amount of variety in terms of the skills, statistics, arms and armour combinations you can develop for your characters. Yes, it is perhaps a bit too linear in overall terms, and lacks the sort of interaction and reaction that characterises other roleplaying games, but it makes up for this with simple, action-orientated play. Most of all though it is solid value for money with a single-player mode that will keep you busy for a considerable period of time and satisfying replay value with the different character classes in single-player mode as well as online.

Hack & Slash van de bovenste plank. Blizzard herdefinieert de Diablo formule op een onnavolgbare manier.

If you are looking for serious role-playing I suggest you look elsewhere, especially if you plan on taking the game online. But as an "RPG-Lite" it's a damn fine game - go pick it up!

Sagen Sie alle Termine ab, nehmen Sie sich Urlaub und verabschieden Sie sich vorerst von Ihren Freunden: Diablo 2 ist da! Wir haben den Nachfolger des erfolgreichsten Rollenspiels aller Zeiten ausführlichst für Sie getestet und warnen hiermit eindringlich: Diablo 2 macht süchtig - und zwar dermaßen, dass sich Blizzard vermutlich in absehbarer Zeit um Selbsthilfegruppen für umnächtigte Teufelsjünger kümmern muss

What does a hard core Diablo addict think when they initially start up Diablo II? Besides the typical "It's about time it came out!" reaction, many have extremely high expectations. I was one of those who wanted more of what I had already fallen in love with in the original, and I got it in spades, along with a few surprises. The overall look and feel is beyond Diablo and was definitely worth the three plus year wait. The advancements in the gaming engine make coming back a much more fulfilling experience than I had ever thought possible. Once again Blizzard has done what few gaming developers can: revamp what was already successful and make it better by leaps and bounds.

If you liked Diablo, you’ll like Diablo II. It’s proven very addicting and time consuming (just ask our wives), so if you don’t have much time, you may not be able to really enjoy it. We said this about Diablo but it’s just as true about the sequel: Diablo II really rocks. The gameplay has maintained all the features that made the original enjoyable and the enhancements to character growth, story depth, graphics, and multiplayer support are welcome improvements. While it is a great game, it doesn’t rate top honors due to the many issues with Battle.net and flaky support for Windows 2000.

This one claims to be a Role Playing Game, but I am here to tell you that, while there are a few elements of role playing in this game, for the most part it is too linear and the game play is too superficial to allow me to call this a true RPG. It is certainly an adventure, and a VERY good one, but it is not an RPG. Don't let semantics turn you away from this one, though! In the context of the game itself, it is fun to play and watch, and you will not regret paying for this one!!

Diablo 2 is not a real hardcore RPG like baldur's gate or planescape but it is just one fantastic hack&slash fest that can keep u busy for weeks, looking for quests and items. It has been a while that i played a game that kept me so busy trying to discover new things. And when u're just recovered of the single player experience, try the multplayer on Battle.net. Man that really shows the other multiplayer games (except for Quake(and look-alikes), starcraft and online rpg's) in its class some butt. Yep, your character gets experienced quicker and there is nothing more pleasant then whooping some demon scum's asses with a nice human party.

Most gamers are familiar with the game Diablo from Blizzard Entertainment. The original sold more than 2 million copies at last count, and enthralled players with its blend of role playing and action elements. Many gamers formed calluses on their mouse hands while developing their character, collecting all the right equipment, and pumping up all the right stats until they were ready to hack and slash their way down to Hell's basement and confront the Lord of Terror. The game also featured Battle.net, a fairly amazing service that let you play the game with other people from around the globe (though the experience was soured for most of us by cheaters and player killers). A sequel to Diablo was almost obligatory, even after Sierra's Hellfire expansion pack.

De licht ondermaatse grafische weergave doet weinig af aan de fun en de verslavingsgraad van dit fantastische spel.

Malgré des graphisme perfectibles et surtout un manque d’originalité par rapport au premier volume, ce jeu n’en reste pas moins un excellent titre et même sans conteste le meilleur des... Diablo-like. :)

Legend has it that after many long, deadly battles, the life forces of three demonic brothers, Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo--the manifestations of evil--were finally imprisoned within three separate soulstones. The soulstones were then implanted into the bodies of the heroes who captured the demons, and the heroes were buried deep in the earth to spend eternity wrestling with the demonic life forces, keeping them from escaping back into the world.

While its graphics appear somewhat dated, Diablo II has incredible replay value, and most importantly, it offers a lot of addictive gameplay in either the single-player or the multiplayer mode.

I fear I am to become the most hated editor in the history of gaming news and reviews. But before you go ahead and judge me on my shortcomings as a human being and write thousands of pieces of hate mail and death threats to me, read the review. I have my reasons for not giving Diablo II a perfect score. Plenty of them. But hark! What's this? Yes there are plenty of good things to go along with the bad. It is Blizzard after all, and they aren't known for making horrible products. So blaze on intrepid readers, I promise I'll be fair.

Im Einzelspieler wird Diablo II schnell langweilig. Die Stärke des Spiels liegt absolut im Multiplayer- und Onlinemodus. Dort spielt dieses Hack n’ Slash seine ganzen Stärken aus und das Suchtpotential durch die Jagd auf gute Ausrüstungsgegenstände stellt sich schnell ein. Selbst die schlechte Grafik kann es nicht verhindern, dass selbst heute noch das Spiel eine riesige Community hat und Blizzard das Spiel mit Patches versorgt. Allerdings sollte man sich auf jeden Fall noch Addon Lord of Destruction mitnehmen.

All in all, Diablo II is certainly a worthy sequel to a title that excels at being one of the hardest games to stop playing. Those looking for detailed character and party management as well as a more intricate storyline and rewarding single-player experience should probably wait for Baldur's Gate II. But those who just want to get their licks in without committing significant hours of time will find Diablo II to be one of the more addictive games of 2000.

The game certainly has something about it and that something is mostly the FMV sequences and pure, logic ridden, action. Diablo I was the Prometheus of its genre, Diablo II most certainly isn't. Anyway it is sure to sell good and play a lot, so this game isn't meant for people who already play the game, nor fro those who plan on buying it ASAP, it's for the weird few who wander: Have I gone insane or has the rest of the world gone berserk after a couple of line of quite average computer code?

A espera foi grande, mas recompensadora. Diablo II chega completamente reformulado e com quase nenhuma característica de seu antecessor. No maravilhoso vídeo de apresentação, já se começa a ter idéia do porque tantos gamers dizem que valeu a pena esperar. Mas a diferença maior entre o primeiro e o segundo está, talvez, no tamanho do game. Para se ter uma idéia, Diablo II tem de 5 a 7 vezes o tamanho de Diablo I!

Diablo…. Une des meilleures surprise de l’année 1997. Une ambiance glauque prenante, des cinématiques de folie, un gameplay novateur : le hack and slash et les premières parties (gratuites !) sur internet. Un succès critique et commercial, on ne demandait alors qu’une seule chose : une suite ! Et comme à son habitude, Blizzard a pris son temps : 3 ans de développement et on ne compte plus les nombreux retards pris sur le planning. Mais l’attente n’aura pas été vaine, et Diablo 2 est bien le digne successeur de son aîné.

Any review of Diablo II has to start with a tip of the hat to the original Diablo. This great Blizzard gaming hit swept the county, and the great reception that it received from millions of fans is the reason that we have Diablo II today. While it was almost a given that Blizzard would have to create a sequel, it was open for debate how the next installment would differ from the first. The differences in Diablo II are both subtle and compelling, and Blizzard has again given us a master piece of gaming.

Несомненно, ошибки устранят (кстати, первый патч уже вышел). Но куда убрать поросшую плесенью графику в 640х480х256, из-за которой главным образом D2 и получила столь низкий итоговый балл? Как быть с атмосферой и духом Diablo, которые раздавлены дизайнерами в попытках измерить и склонировать собственный успех при помощи штангенциркуля, лекал, финансовых вливаний и назойливого PR?

Certains ne se sentiront plus de joie devant cette suite tant attendue de Diablo, de par sa grande fidélité à l'esprit du précédent titre. D'autres se sentiront cependant frustrés par cette très (trop) grande fidélité qui fait passer cette nouvelle aventure pour une extension, certes réussie, mais qui laisse sur sa faim. Si l'impression de déjà-vu et le principe simpliste du «j'explore, je tue, je dépouille» ne vous pèse pas outre mesure, vous pourrez vous défouler à loisir avec Diablo II qui à coup sûr va envoûter des amateurs de jeu de rôle d'action... très action !

There are certain events that mark a year, a decade, a century; it is these happenings that help to define the period within our own minds and within the pages of history. So momentous are they that most people can remember every relevant detail, every thought or emotion associated with the matter in question. So powerful are they that they will forever reside within our hearts and minds, in some form or another. This was the fate of such cultural phenomena as the O.J. Simpson verdict, C.N.N's coverage of the Gulf War, the tragic death of Princess Diana...and, of course, Diablo. Storming violently and purposefully across the gaming landscape back in 1997, this title forever redefined the concept of addiction as it claimed the ceaseless attention of millions of fans across the globe with its simple-as-Hell hack'n'slash antics. Part action, part RPG, Diablo went on to become one of the top-selling games of all time, with one of the most avid and dedicated fan bases ever seen.

Diablo and Diablo II comprise a powerful franchise in the gaming industry. When Diablo was first released it went to the top of the sales charts. That was three years ago. Naturally, everyone who ever played the first game anxiously awaited the sequel with baited breath. And for the most part the wait was worth it. But the game isn't without some pretty nasty flaws.