"Quite a step-up from Diablo, and a title very worthy of a place in your collection !"

FOREWORD

Diablo was a title that kept me up into the wee small hours of the morning MANY a time in my youth and, whilst it was already quite dated by the time word reached my ears of its successor coming out, I was still elated when I learned I would in for another slice of Diablo Goodness. Was it worth it ? Read on ...

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME

Diablo 2 is set a little while after Diablo. As you will recall, the hero at the end of Diablo, realises that the only way to prevent Diablo from returning is to use his (or her) own body as the vessel for Diablo's containment and, in what can only be called a moment of questionable judgment, he/she rams Diablo's soulstone into his/her forehead.

I just take panadol when I have a headache ... but hey.

You pick your character from the 5 on offer (which beats the 3 in regular Diablo, but is arguably matched by the 5 in Hellfire), all of whom are rather different, and begin your journey at the Rogue Encampment - the home of the Sisters of the Sightless Eye (remember the Rogue from Diablo ? These are her people).

From there it's very much a case of battling your way through zone after zone, gradually piecing together what happens plot-wise, until you realise where you must go, and what you must do.

GRAPHICS - 8/10

The graphics are a fair set-up from those in the original Diablo it must be said, and many of the most obvious defects about the sprites in the original title have been lovingly put to rights, such as now in Diablo 2, when you adorn your character with a helmet of a different type that the one they are already wearing, the sprite's graphic changes to reflect this, whereas in the original title this would NOT have been the case.

Similarly, the number of special skills each character has have increased dramatically, and this has also led to considerably better (and more plentiful) animation - the Necromancer's Bone Prison or the Paladin's Auras, for example.

Enemy characters and sprites are well-attended to, and the levels themselves are considerably more varied, as you must travel from town to town, and all of the towns are quite different from each other.

All told, the graphics in this game are impressive, and varied.

SOUND - 8/10

As with the graphics, the sounds in Diablo 2 are better than those in Diablo (not by a huge amount, as there was nothing wrong with them per se, but they have been improved). For starters, the number of sound effects used in the title has had to be dramatically increased to count for all the locations you must visit, as have the music scores.

There are also a large number of voice-actors in the game (in every town you visit you will need to speak with a number of people to get quests, find out what the heck is going on and so on), and these are all rich and varied, and really contribute to your overall enjoyment of the game. There are characters you will go back and speak to repeatedly, just to hear the sound of their voices (although, granted, Deckard Cain is unlikely to be one of them).

CONTROLS - 9/10

As with virtually every other aspect of the title, the control system in Diablo 2 has been revised slightly, but only ever so slightly, for the better. You can use the ALT key to highlight items on the ground which was something the original Diablo title was desperately missing.

This means you don't have to spend AGES and ages wanding little bits of ground to see whether there is anything there before you decide to move on, and greatly increases the speed of play, which is a good thing.

Additionally, you can switch between primary and secondary weapon sets, which adds another element of strategy to the game - you can have a ranged weapon on one, and a melee weapon (and possibly a shield) on the other, for example.

It's a much more involved experience than Diablo was (and there was nothing wrong with Diablo !!)

PLOT - 9/10

To their credit, Blizzard have devised a compelling and powerful storyline to keep you travelling about the map throughout the game. Basically you are on the trail of a character called "the Wanderer" (the hero from Diablo), who, whilst I certainly don't want to SPOIL the plot for you, I believe it would be fair to say is having some considerable difficulty in fulfilling his vow in containing Diablo within himself.

As the Wanderer moves off towards the east, so must you follow him - the plot is BASICALLY that simple (but it's much more involved and convoluted than that, as you play through the game).

There are cutscenes to separate each of the Acts of the title, narrated by a character that has been following the Wanderer along on his travels, who does a very good job of adding to the depth and suspense of the title ... and the cutscenes themselves are BEAUTIFULLY animated, which is always nice.

GAMEPLAY - 9/10

Make no mistake, this is a HIGHLY addictive title indeed. It is very simple to get into the swing of playing Diablo 2, but once you have, you will be hording gemstones and socketing items before you know it. The missions themselves are all like miniature stories in their own right, some leading onto others, some associated with the main plot.

The action is thick and fast-paced, with you frequently getting into tight spots and having to rely on your ability to fast-switch weapons or teleport back to town to save you, but you almost never (with perhaps the exception of ONE boss fight - Duriel) feel that the game is too difficult for you to cope with, and this is a fine balance which Blizzard have very carefully ensured remains perfectly preserved.

It is because you have this sense of achievement whilst playing and developing your character that you will want to go back and start the game again with a new character ... and perhaps another new one, and so on and so forth.

In Diablo 2 another new feature has been introduced (as if it needed any more !!), which is that you can pick up what is called a Hireling to assist you in your missions. Hirelings are additional party members, and you can pick up a different one in practically every town you go to (although you cannot have more than one at a time, and once you have traded one in, they are pretty much gone forever).

You can equip your hireling with goodies as well, from powerful weapons to armour, and so picking the right type of hireling for the type of character you are playing forms another interesting and involved element of the game. You can resurrect hirelings if they die, so use them as cannon fodder - I do ;)

The game also features what are called "set items", which are basically a set of items that make one complete item (usually a suit of armour that you will find in pieces). Combining elements of the overall set increases your powers exponentially, with the complete set becoming something of a goal to attain. Unfortunately the items are all randomly placed, so it is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be able to acquire a set on your first play-through, but keep trying and you never know ;)

REPLAY VALUE - 8/10

Whilst this will diminish over time, Diablo 2 is an addictive title that will keep you coming back for more of the same. The longer-term replay value of Diablo 2 as a standalone title takes a hit since an expansion pack for it has been released (Lord of Destruction), but it is still a fun title to play even without the expansion pack add-on.

VALUE FOR MONEY - 10/10

Diablo 2 should be cheap as chips these days, and I believe you can pick up a copy with the Lord of Destruction Expansion Pack as well, making it fantastic value for money when you consider how easy and addictive it is to play.

OVERALL - 9/10 (This is NOT an average)

If you liked Diablo, or have played and enjoyed Titan Quest and/or Immortal Throne, you won't be disappointed with Diablo 2. Boasting 5 characters to choose from, all of which are very different and require very different playing styles, a load of locations to travel to, tonnes of missions to undertake, fantastic items (including set items) to pick up, and some fantastic online play (if you're into that type of thing - I'm not, but hey). This is a title with plenty to recommend it :)

MAIN GOOD POINTS

* Picks up the impressive plot of Diablo from where Diablo left it off.
* 5 new characters to choose from.
* Introduces a lot of new elements including hirelings, gemstones, socketing, set items, "alt" key to highlight items on the ground, more than one town to travel to, and more besides !!
* Good voice acting and SUPERB cutscenes throughout.
* Graphically significantly better than Diablo.

MAIN BAD POINTS

* Overshadowed by playing it in conjunction with the Lord of Destruction Expansion Pack, so not really a huge amount of reason to buy it on its own.

SO SHOULD YOU GET IT ?

Yes, I recommend this title to you. I wouldn't recommend you pick it up as a standalone title if you can get it with the Lord of Destruction Expansion Pack (which you should find easy enough to pick up), as playing the two together makes the experience a RIGHT treat. It does stand very well on its own, however, and is a thoroughly polished and respectable title. Two thumbs up !!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/07