To all you Diablo bashers

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I have seen a lot of people dissing Diablo II on this board, and not much support. The general argument is D2 is too arcadey and simplistic, gets boring fast, etc.

As an avid Baalkiller with 3 character over lvl 50 and 2 more getting close, allow me to point out a few things about DII
-Its too simplistic: You must have never tried to raise a high level necro or assassin. Sure barbarians are pretty easy to play, but not all the characters are. The gameplay itself is pretty basic, but if you look behind the clicking there's actually quite a bit to discover. Each character has 3 sets of around 10 skills, which can be taken up to level 20. You get 5 skill points upon level up (plus a few of the quests give you some), so you can't max out everything. You have to make a coordinated plan as to what type of character you want.
This is the real meat of the game, as the right amount of points into the right skills at the right time can be critical.
The balance of items is also important, its not just better defense or damage like BG and other games. Sometimes, for example, its better to have a lower defense item that adds to skills or to your resistance. Does your character need life or mana steal items? A lot or a little? Do you have mf (magic find) stuff?
And there are plenty of other things like runewords, weapon choices, and attributes to deal with.

-too arcadey, not a "real" RPG: Diablo never pretended to be an RPG, and people who play it don't pretend that it is. I like to think of it as an updated, more complex version of Guantlet. You can pick it up and play for 15 minutes or hours at a time. That's part of the appeal.

-low res graphics: Um, have you noticed something about really high resolution games? They are too freaking small to see anything! I put Nox on 1600X1200 and my character and all the monsters looked like ants! Why cant high res games have everything be just as large, scale wise? Anyway I think Diablo 2 looks cool. Maybe not as good as the BG series or some other games, but still cool.

-the quests are too basic: Well, I have to concede that one. It would be nice if they beefed up the quests a little. But it allows you to focus on the combat, with the Quests being just end bosses.

-one brilliant aspect of the game is the way the difficulty and exp changes in multiplayer (you don't play single player, do you?). The more people in a game, the more difficult it is. But you also get more exp. So if you are not that strong, you can play with 1 or 2 other people, and when you go up a few levels, join games with more people. But, if there are lots of people playing, and you are all doing the same quest, it is easier cause you are all concentrating on the same monsters, and you gain more exp for being in the same area with them. This is an extremely cool idea that I would like to see in more games.

-it has no character development or story: Neither does the Sims, and it has been in the top 10 since it was released (along with the 9 expansion packs). Anyway, playing with real people more than makes up for it. Sure you can play BG2 multi, but 'fess up folks, who among you has played an entire game multiplayer? Ok, you two can put your hands down now. Seriously, multiplayer arcade style gaming delivers a rush like you wouldn't beleive. Those times when you play with 4 or 5 people on the same quest, and you go up against one of the bosses, you're all just whaling away at him and players are dying left and right, barbs and assassins are beating him down, a necro or maybe a druid's minions are swooping in, there's an amazon in the back laying down arrows, he's turning different colors, and the bastard finally slumps over, uniques and rares flying out, and everyone cheers, man thats a feeling your not going to get from BG2 sorry, no way.

I mean, I have played and loved all the BG series, Fallout, Planescape, IWD, etc, and I am not claiming that D2 is better than any of these games, but the fact is the game I keep going back to is Diablo 2. Because there's always one more level to achieve, always some weapon or item a little bit better than what I have to find. I spent upwards of 100 hours on BG2, and it was awesome, but I have way more than that in D2. And its pretty common for people to have 3 or 4 high level characters, so I know I am not alone.

My account name on D2 is Nutrimat, if you play message me sometime and party with SmokaDoobie (my barb)!
DIABLO II RULES!!


[This message has been edited by Nutrimat (edited October 17, 2001).]

 

Wonderful!

 

I say the problem with D2 is that it starts to be boring too soon. Every time the same area, the same creatures, quests... In the beginning the game is soon but after a while when it's hard to grow and explore more, it starts to get boring... and the game is a real RSI-game.

The cool thing: In BG or BG2, you always get the same stuff as loot from creaures. In Diablo 2 the loot is random. So it's always a kick to get a unique or rare item, for you never know what item it will be. In BG you know all of that after playing once.

 

Diablo 2 is a very good game indeed.
You can't really understnad when people compare it to baulder's gate or icewind dale because it is SUPPOSED TO be different.
I use it as a sort of stress reliever after i have been stuck on something in bg for like ten hours or so.

 

I must admit that i didnt give Diablo 2 a chance i borrowed it from a friend and installed it. I played for 20min and then i was thoroughly bored and started my fourth BG2 game. Maybe it would have gotten better if i would have given it a chance i sort of liked Diablo like you people say a stress reliever but i found it more fun to play BG2 a fourth time than to play Diablo 2 more than half an hour.

 

Thanx mate, I still prefer Doom.

 

Extremist, sigh....

I know it Dargorn, I know the games are supposed to be different. I don't compare both games, I make a choice between RPG and Hack and Slash and I chose for RPG's.

 

More cool things about D2: The map regenerates itself each time you start a new game. So, just when you thing you have the hang of things, you have to go searching all over for stuff, like the waypoints. The way the classes are built, you can develop a character in-game, and even though there is fewer classes than BG2, the way to develop them are nearly limitless. For a hack and slash type of game, it's pretty advanced, there. The monsters look way cool, and they die well (even if they do have that irritating same baddie different color thing that the original game had). Finally, the music is pretty ambient, and I find that it really enhances gameplay.

These aren't camparisons to BG2, because there is no basis for comparison. It's good to have a little variety in games. I like a little blood and guts to counteract all the heroic things I do in BG2. Sometimes it's nice not to have to worry about some dead kid's teddy bear.

 

I really like Diablo II, i got the game for christmas! I reckon the whole point system is kewl and itsgot a decent enough story line BUT i must say this, it can get a little boring due to the hack/slash in every quest routine ... apart from that its kewl trying to get kewl gismos etc.

 

You get 5 skills pionts per level now?
Before i realized how bad D2 is i used to play it. IIRC you only got 1 skills piont per level

 

I still play D2 every so often. It does get boring to me after a while i admit, but a few friends of mine get together at my flat and we usually play over a LAN which helps the boredom factor. As for online playing, well, there's always the idiots there, and frankly i can't be bothered with them. Especially idiots on the counterstrike games, but thats another story...
But yes D2 was veery entertaining when i first got it, and a good challenge. I have this soft spot for multiplayer games with it though over the single player ones.
And Extremist, your Doom comment wasn't really necessary was it? Leave others to their own opinion and don't flame them for not having opinions similar to yours.

 

Only point in Diablos imo is playing multi in harcode mode. Single player is just plain stupid. I played Diablo1 that way for awhile and tried T2 at friends house.
But I already got a multiplayer game to waste my life with.. Tribes2

 

The thing that really irked me with Diablo 2 is the *udder* (not utter) lack of game contained story. Now, the movies are wonderful and all, but it would be nice to see/find some TOMES that reinforce the story. Diablo 1 did this, to some small extent, and it made the game all that much more mystic. There's something about *playing* a book, and racking up kills until the next movie starts. Unreal Tournament lets you rack up kills, and with about half as much clicking. But, Diablo 2 was made for MP from the ground up, so that's probably why it doesn't appeal to me as much as the next person.

"Integrated story" is my point for this rant.

 

Actually, my bro has D2 AND expansion set... and I must admit even though it's hack and slash, it's pretty cool looking at the graphics. The game is pretty cool.

 

I agree, Diablo 2 is a good game attacked for not being what some dude decided it should be after playing it.

 

i bought D2 on sale for $25...thought id try it out as a couplt of my friends gave it high praise. frankly, i hated it. contrary to most opinions, i didnt like the regenerating map thing. i dont have hours to spend clicking away at baddies and then have to start over again later on with an entire new area. the multi would have been great, except i have a slow 56k connet and had to dl a large patch as soon as i began to play. however, i have played multi at a friends house on his cable connect and had a great time with it so it all depends on the circumstances.
-matt

 

Unlike D1, in D2, you just can't save.

You better find the waypoint before quitting else you gotta fight the same monsters each time you replay, it's the most annoying and boring me deadly.

 

Diablo 2 is such a pointless crappy game full of bugs! But I love it anyway

Man, I've been playing that game for like ages, lol. I LOVE IT, even though it's boring as hell!!!

Great game if you need to waste some hours. Movie sequences are awesome, and story is pretty good too, to bad it's the same one you run through x 1000's

 

Excellent critque.

Diablo II is a very fun game that is never the same twice, has a huge world of dungeons, terrain, and monsters, and many unique weapons and spells. It is indeed a genuinely interesting and addictive game.

However . . .

People who enjoy role-playing in the sense that they want to act a character out will have a hard time expressing their character in the game. The role-played character is just a flat, practically nondescript hero who just happens to save the world. It's black and white, good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, hero vs. demons. In CRPGs that placed more of the "RPG" in CRPG had much more development and plot in the game. Diablo II had a good plot, probably best placed in the cinematics. However, the player probably felt like he/she had no role in it other than to defeat the bad guy. So I would think that Diablo has a RPG background, but must be powergamed into defeating powerful monsters, acquiring magic items, etc., to make it fun. It just can't be roleplayed well, but is nonetheless a good and fun game.

 

heh...
I play Diablo2, and so does many people I know.
My dad has finished the game 5 times(5 different chars), with expansion, in both Normal, Nightmare and Hell with all of them. The two chara he didn't play was Amazon and Necro. I have finished the game once with a sorceress. It was fun then, but now I dont like it THAT much. My best friend just started playing it, again (!), and I had to play with her. So right now I think it is very boring. It was much better though, when I bought the expansion. Much funnier with jewels, runes and such.
Still I think it is too much Hack an Slash for my taste. It was fun in the beginning, but now when I have played it many times it is boring. Almost the same sorta quests through the whole game.
I remember when Diablo2 was the only thing I talked about. My father, two of my uncles, my littlesis, my cousin and I played the game night and day until we finished it together.
*laughs at memories*
It was much easier to finish alone though.
Well I wont spam on this topic all night long!
/me takes a look around and notices that noone listens...
Still like the game