Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Review

Good Points
This is an excellent RPG with a powerful storyline and enticing gameplay. I'd recommend Diablo II: Lord of Destruction to anyone whether they are a serious gamer or not. The multiplayer network's flexibility easily makes it the 2001 equivalent of such games as World of Warcraft (also designed by Blizzard Entertainment). The game also offers the chance of two different networks "open" and "closed" battle.net which are networks for cheaters and non-cheaters. Modification of characters to give them advantages over other players is typically against RPG online etiquette but Blizzard avoids conflict between players by creating the two for different type of players (cheaters or non-cheaters). Features of battle.net include private messaging, friends list, chat rooms and lots of helpful commands - this may seem like a standard set of features to have in an RPG network but is surprising considering the games age. One of the other good features of Diablo II is the lack of computer specification needed to play the game it is an ideal way to make use of old computers with insufficient graphical or processing power to run new games. Diablo II offers a wide range of items that you can equip to your character to effect your strength, dexterity, vitality, energy and other factors. The variety of items is one of the factors that contributes to Diablo's still active community on battle.net, it creates a ever-changing market for trading within the community and can be changed by game patches or chance. Also it is a chance to play an RPG online for FREE - the Diablo network has no hidden charges per month and is completely free after you buy the discs (unlike games such as World of Warcraft).

Bad Points
The aging graphics mean that Diablo II is not as impressive as many might hope when they purchase the game however the game is originally from 2000 so this has to be expected. However I may point out that menus in the game are very impressive, their gothic style provide a suitably complex GUI which is also easy to get around. The expansion pack did not alter the core graphics of the game (it focused mainly on adding new quests and areas) so in effect the graphics are 7 years old. In recent times the game can easily be beaten by visually impressive games such as Guild Wars or World of Warcraft and is quite small in comparison.

General Comments
I've been playing Diablo II on and off for about 7 years. The game was purchased for my household in around the year 2000 and I've always gone back to the game. In my opinion it revolutionized RPGs and also online gaming in general. It has to be taken into account that the game has aged significantly but Diablo II: Lord of Destruction still pulls it off in terms of gameplay and the survival of the thriving online community. I play a lot of games and this is easily the best one I've played.