Diablo II

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Description

Knowing well that Diablo's spirit could never be truly destroyed, the hero of Tristram made the noblest sacrifice of all: he took the spirit of the Lord of Terror into himself, hoping that his strength of will could contain the demon within. He was wrong. Diablo's essence corrupted him, gradually taking over his human nature. He has turned into the Dark Wanderer, a mysterious being whose every step causes destruction and death. A nameless adventurer visits the Rogue Encampment and decides to help its inhabitants by slaying monsters surrounding the area, and eventually pursuing the Dark Wanderer himself.

Like its predecessor, Diablo II is an action role-playing game. The player may choose between five available characters classes: Amazon (a rogue-like class with ranged attacks), Necromancer (can summon undead and inflict status ailments), Barbarian (a powerful melee fighter who can dual-wield weapons), Sorceress (offensive spellcaster), and Paladin (fights with shields and can cast support spells). Much of the game takes place in randomized dungeon-like areas heavily populated by enemies. Unlike the previous game, the environments are not restricted to a single dungeon and include variously themed locations, each with its own town and quests.

The player character gains experience points from slaying monsters, and can be leveled up manually, increasing his or her primary attributes and acquiring abilities. Much of the customization relies on equipment and item combinations. Diablo's magic has been replaced with skills: class specific abilities that can be purchased with skill points as characters level up. For example, a Paladin's skills allow him to cover allies with a protective aura, while a Sorceress can learn to fire lightning bolts and frozen blasts from her hands. Skills can be purchased several times to level them up, and some skills, when purchased, will increase the effectiveness of other skills. A new item type, socketed, has been added as well. Socketed items can be modified permanently by adding magic gems to them, increasing their statistics or adding elemental properties.

Screenshots

Alternate Titles

• "暗黑破壞神 2" -- Chinese spelling (traditional)
• "暗黑破坏神II" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
• "Diablo II: The Calling" -- Working title
• "D2" -- Common abbreviation

Part of the Following Groups

• Diablo II series
• Diablo series
• Gameplay feature: Armor / Weapon sets
• Gameplay feature: Auto-mapping
• Gameplay feature: Character development - Skill distribution
• Games with randomly generated environments
• Video games turned into board / card games

User Reviews

Sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you	Windows	Oleg Roschin (164797)
A much-improved version of the hack n' slash classic that was Diablo.	Windows	Droog (463)
More of the same, and that can be both good or bad...	Windows	Timotei Centea (6)
"click...click...click..." (in a good way)	Windows	MadCat (55)
Mostly fun, strangely addictive	Windows	MA17 (142)
Simple Pleasures	Windows	Ghost (106)
Quake in an RP nutshell...	Windows	Kartanym (10785)
The interest faded all too quickly.	Windows	Geoff Cruttwell (8)
The mind suck master of computer addictiveness - just like its predecessor...	Windows	Colin Rowsell (45)
Some GREAT cinematics hint at a storyline that's absent throughout most of the Hack 'm Slash simplicity.	Windows	WildKard (12157)

The Press Says

Techtite	Macintosh	2000		100
Playback	Windows	Dec, 2005	9.25 out of 10	92
RPGamer	Windows	Sep 05, 2000	9 out of 10	90
GamerDad	Windows	Nov 19, 2003		90
GameStar (Germany)	Windows	Jul, 2000	90 out of 100	90
Gamezilla	Windows	Jul 17, 2000	89 out of 100	89
Jeuxvideo.com	Windows	Jun 30, 2000	17 out of 20	85
All Game Guide	Windows	2007		80
ActionTrip	Windows	Jul 18, 2000	80 out of 100	80
JeuxMac.com	Macintosh	Jan, 2002	4 out of 5	80

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Why am I addicted?..	24	Rola (6510) Jul 02, 2013

Trivia

Dungeons & Dragons

Diablo II was adapted into a set of two D&D rulebooks: Diablo II: Diablerie, published in 2000, and Diablo II: To Hell and Back, published in 2001, in addition to which a Diablo II set for the Dungeons & Dragons boardgame was released by Wizards of the Coast in 2000.

Promotion

Blizzard itself produced an action figure line, with figures depicting the Barbarian, the Unraveler, and of course, Diablo. They also released a whole stack of merchandise, including Zippo lighters, wristwatches and mouse pads, all in limited edition.

References: Diablo

The much rumored and non-existent secret "Cow Level" from the original game was actually added to Diablo II. It is just a flat plain, populated by bipedal cows, which go "Moo! Moo!" in deadpan human voices. The level also features a boss, "The Cow King", who looks just like all the other cows.

In Act I, the player can enter a portal to the town of Tristram, now destroyed by demons. Some characters from Diablo can be seen there. Decard Cain and Griswold the Blacksmith are alive; the former will help the player with his quests while the latter is possessed by evil powers. The remains of Wirt the Peg-Legged Boy can also be spotted; his leg allows the player to enter the cow level.

References

Once in a great while, one of the zombies can be heard uttering "brainsss". This is a reference to the numerous Living Dead movies, in which zombies hunger for human brains.

Awards

• Computer and Video Games
  • 2005 - #25 "101 Best PC Games Ever"
• Destructoid
  • 2009 - #7 "Top Video Games of the Decade"
• GamePro
  • 2008 - #11 "The 32 Best PC Games"
• GameSpy
  • 2000 – Special Award for Cut-Scenes
  • 2011 – #7 Top PC Game of the 2000s
• GameStar (Germany)
  • Issue 02/2001 - Best Game in 2000
  • Issue 02/2001 - Best Multiplayer Game in 2000
  • Issue 03/2001 - Best Game in 2000 (Readers' Choice)
  • Issue 12/2008 - Special mention in the "10 Coolest Levels" list (for the secret level "The Moo Moo Farm")
• IGN
  • 2009 - Issue 12/2008 - One of "Gaming's Top 10 Easter Eggs" (for the secret level "The Moo Moo Farm")
• PC Gamer
  • April 2005 - #16 "50 Best Games of All Time"
  • 2007 - #82 "Top 100 Games"
• PC Player (Germany)
  • Issue 01/2001 - Best Online Game in 2000
• VideoGamer.com
  • 2009 - #49 "Top 100 Games of the Noughties"

Information also contributed by Ajan, Kasey Chang, Patrick Bregger, PCGamer77, phlux, Tibes80, and Scott Monster.

Related Web Sites

• DiabloII.net - The Unofficial Diablo Site (One of the most detailed and comprehensive unofficial Diablo II websites on the internet.)
• Diablo Universe (Blizzard's Complete Support Page for the Diablo Series)
• Karczma Diablo 2 (Official Polish Diablo 2 website.)
• PlanetDiablo (A great news site for everything Diablo.)