7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
The Best Ever
Date of Review: Jul 4, 2000
The long-awaited Blizzard release, Diablo II, has finally hit the stores. This is one of the most highly anticipated games ever. I must say that Blizzard has truly out done itself. This is definitely the game of the year and is quite possibly the best PC game ever.
The story picks up with the wretched Diablo terrorizing the lands again. You can choose from either a Barbarian, Paladin, Amazon, Sorceress, or Necromancer. Each with their own special skills to learn. There are 4 distinct worlds to journey through, with numerous quests along the way.
So far I have completed the first 2 worlds with the Barbarian and am ready to defeat Mephesito to finish the third world. I really like the Barbarian's skills. Bash is especially effective, it provides a powerful blast to an enemy. Another unique skills is weapon mastery. With this you can fine tune a specific class of weapons (i.e. axes, swords, maces) and make them more powerful. Another great skill is double swing, in which you can wield 2 weapons at once. Other skills include: stun, leap attack, berserk, iron skin, howl, and war cry. I would suggest that a beginner (a first time Diablo player) use the barbarian for he provides the most strength and strategy options.
One of the changes from the original is the use of gloves, boots and a belt (the better the belt, the more items you can hold in it). You also get a private stash in every town to hide your most valuables. Another major change is that when you save, you must exit your game and start back at the town. To combat this, Blizzard installed waypoints. These allow you to transport from different areas to your town and back. Another change is set and socketed items. Set items have special attributes that when all placed together give you special abilities. Socketed items allow you to insert pieces of jewels you find into items to give them different abilities. Most of the weapons remain the same, however. Another change is the use of tomes. Tomes allow you to store up to 20 town portals or identify scrolls in one handy place. Another change is a melee attack, all you have to do is click on a creature and hold down the mouse button to attack until the creature dies.
The graphics in this game are great. The rain looks real and the lightning is completely awesome. The music is great and the creatures look fantastic. Great detail is taking on the look of the levels, the feel real.
If you are a PC gamer beginner, then Diablo II is the choice for you. For those hardcore junkies, this is the perfect addition to your collection. For the Blizzard fan, this is another in a great line of games. Thanks Blizzard!!
