"I loved the original and I love the expansion even more."

Online Multiplayer Review Only

I actually waited two years before purchasing this expansion to the original Diablo II (looking back, that was stupid, but I liked the original so much). Blizzard has a great record with expansions and this game definitely holds true to that statement.

Graphics 8.5/10

The game uses the "3/4 top-down" view. The camera is still the entire game and there is no problem with ability to see. One thing new that comes with the expansion is an increased resolution (800x600). This is a very fine addition and brings much sharper graphics, and also allows for more to fit onto the screen at once. The backgrounds in the game remain the same as in the original, which was nothing special to begin with. Character models are alright. The spells, a major part of the game, are all very fine looking. However, as before, there are some issues with slowdowns. The game usually stays below 30 FPS and often dips down very far below that.

Gameplay 9/10

I absolutely love the trading system in this game. Diablo II has a world of its on with the many rare and unique items, which was only enhanced with this expansion. The players on Diablo II have set up their own economy in which every item is marked in value by a standard. The very old standard was "Perfect Skulls" and now the standard is "Stones of Jordan" (SOJ's). The online multiplayer is like an entire society. The expansion brought the "elite sets", whereas in the original sets were very weak and no decent player would equip a complete set. In LoD however, it is common to see many people searching for sets such as Griswold's, Natalya's, Immortal King's, etc. The skills are the same as in the original with the exception of new "synergies". Synergies is where one skill gets bonuses from putting points into another skill, i.e. "Meteor" receives +5% fire damage per every level of "Fireball" and +5% fire damage per every level of "Firebolt". This changed much of the common character set-ups, since the power of skills shifted. The PvP system remains the same as the original, but some issues were fixed. Now when you are hostile to another person, you are unable to use waypoints and town portals, which stops high level players from picking on lower levels who do not wish to fight. One thing about this game, is that I love the different character types, and builds for each. I myself, not only have one character of every class, but different builds for each class, i.e. I have a separate "Javazon" and a "Bowazon", a "Bone Necro" and a "Summon Necro". The different distinctions are based on the skills, and even using the same class but different skills makes the play totally different.

Sound 8.25/10

The general sound in this game is good. The music added to the new Act V matches with the musical style in the rest of the game. The environmental sound in this game is very good. The noises that all the different monsters make are a subtle yet effective touch. The music won't leave an impression, but it creates the right emotions in the right places, adding the darker touch to the game. If one takes the time to listen to them, the voice overs are actually very well done. I think this is a part of the game that is usually skipped over by people, yet I am guilty of it because when you're playing through the game so many times, you rush through and skip over as much as possible just so you can level your character.

Story 8/10

Nothing too special here as this is more of an action-oriented game. As before, if you actually take the time to listen to what the NPCs have to say, the story becomes more intriguing. There are various quests in the game, and this is how the story progresses - "mission-based" is what I guess you would call it. To go through the game faster, there are only certain quests that need to be done, which all the veteran players know obviously. Blizzard has tried to limit the "rushes" as they are called, and with the expansion has added more obstacles such as a level limit in one quest to stop fast progression. This may be an earnestly good attempt to preserve the game, but when you already have one account full of eight avatars and you have made a second account, all you really care about is leveling your characters, and these new obstacles are just a real annoyance. I saw a review of this game on a Christian review site for video games, and this got a 1/5 for extreme satanical references, unnecessary gore, and unchristian virtues, so don't buy this game for its great ethics education value >_>

Replay Value 9.5/10

Diablo II and its expansion are ridiculously addictive games (keep in mind, this review only accounts for the online experience). Maybe it's the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of people competing to have the best characters which gives you the incentive to keep on playing and get the best items yourself. Whatever it is, this game is really addictive. What happens with me is, I can't stop playing it for several months straight, then I take a respite for a few months, then I feel another yearning to go back. So far I've done this for three years.

Final Grade - 8.75/10

For me, any game in the range of eight to ten is a great game, and this game is actually one of my personal favorites. If you do not own Diablo II original and you are pondering whether or not to buy it and the expansion, I would definitely say go for it because this game is simply very fun. If you own Diablo II and you are pondering whether or not to buy LoD, I would definitely say go for it because the amount of new material this game brings in terms of the new items, two new character classes, and gameplay changes (I forgot to mention the stash size in the expansion is double that of the original) is just perfect. Again, this game is one of my personal favorites.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/04