CHENNAI : Play as one of five characters, each with their own fight modes, and battle the forces of Prime Evils once again. With lightning fast gameplay, quality-of-life improvements, and a wholesome story, Diablo II is one of the finest action RPG in history, and is incredibly addictive
The original Diablo was greeted with critical acclaim when it released in 1996, and surpassed Blizzard’s wildest expectations with its success. So when they released the fervently-awaited sequel four years later, it’s safe to say that expectations were high. So how did Diablo II get on, and does it hold up today?
Diablo II picks up shortly after the events of its predecessor. The world was briefly at peace after Diablo, the Lord of Terror, was defeated in the previous game; but now, evil has returned. You’ll select a character — an Amazon, Paladin, Barbarian, Necromancer or Sorceress — and set out to fight the forces of the Prime Evils once again.
When it comes to gameplay, Diablo II was lightning in a bottle. This is where Blizzard perfected their just-one-more-level formula, and it still just works. There’s a rhythm to a session of Diablo II — frenetic action mixed with exploration, with the occasional teleport back to town to restock and then back into the fray. It’s a beautiful symphony of furious clicking — I’d wager this game’s responsible for the destruction of more mouses than any other! — and it’s incredibly addictive.
Each class plays so differently, they’re like playing five separate games. Amazons hurl javelins from range or get up close and personal with spears, while up close and personal is the only way barbarians fight. Paladins can soak up damage and cast auras like nobody’s business, while sorceresses prefer to hang back and annihilate enemies from a distance. And finally, the necromancer can either do long-range magical damage or raise an army of loyal skeletons or put on some bone armour and wade in himself. Sure, asymmetry is something you look for in modern RPGs; but this was mind-blowing in 2000, and still plays fantastically today.
Blizzard released an expansion, Lord of Destruction, in 2001 and it made a great game something very close to perfect. Gameplay tweaks and quality-of-life improvements aside, Lord of Destruction added two new classes — the Druid and the Assassin — and a fifth Act to play through which concludes the story.
Speaking of the story, it is easily the most underrated aspect of Diablo II. Just about everything you hear about this game will be focused on the gameplay, but the story deserves a shout-out too. It’s not flashy — remember, this is before Blizzard became known for its movie-quality cutscenes — but it is effective. It accomplishes a lot with very little, and that’s why I love it. (Side note — the lore of Diablo is wonderful, if you ever want to read up on it!)
It’s got a sequel now, and I’m not sure if there’ll ever be a Diablo IV; but, if this is it for the series, it still consists of three amazing games. Out of them, though, if I had to pick just one, it would be this one — for my money, Diablo II is simply one of the greatest RPGs of all time and it’s still an amazing game to play today.