Diablo 2 takes place shortly after the final events in the first Diablo. Diablo, the Lord of Hemorrhoids...ah, I mean the Lord of Terror, had just been defeated by the nameless hero in the first game, and contained within the soulstone that he (the hero, not Diablo himself...that would have been stupid of him) thrust into his own forehead to relieve a pounding headache; they had yet to invent Tylenol. Ok, that last part wasn't true, but it could have been. Unforuntately, Diablo slowly began taking over the hero's soul, and began walking eastward with the same burning drive to get to his target destination as a person with bowel trouble.

In his wake, Diablo leaves a trail of destruction and woe. Demons arise from the depths and become Microsoft programmers, animals become twisted and evil, and run for political office. The land is cast under a shadow of doom...until a new hero arises and lets loose a mighty belch of manliness. But I digress...

Players can choose from five charcters in Diablo 2: Paladin, Necromancer, Amazon, Sorceress, and Barbarian. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own styles of play. There are three skill trees for each character, and players can either specialize in just one or two, or be the jack of all trades yet master of none. Some players like making the paladin more of a cleric to help out friendly parties rather than being a strong holy warrior backed with magic, some people prefer making the necromancer a melee character with curses, rather than making his minions do all the work. However, no matter what way you care to play, there is always an element of strategy in how many points you spend in attributes and skill. With 30 different skills to choose from, there's plenty of variety.

Gameplay is nice and simple. See that ugly thing over there? Left click it to bash. Right click it to roast. And yet, there is so much more to it than that! A deep and intriguing storyline makes you wonder what happens next. Skills and abilities add variety and strategy to combat. Quests add diversions, and the random map, monster, and item generation is the meat of it all.

Random generation is the biggest element that made Diablo, and now Diablo 2 have so much replayability. Everything in the game, with the exceptions of towns, npcs, quests, and some key items and monsters, are completely random. There are literally thousands of possibilites for magical items, weapons, armor, monster champions and heroes, and the terrain of each area. The amount of normal and magical Stuff (the staple diet of every rpg) that can be found makes the mind dizzy...especially if that mind is being pickled in beer.

Its the random generation that diverts attention from the linear gameplay though. Diablo was very linear, and Diablo 2 just as much, though on a much larger scale. Players will travel through huge areas and mazes to either complete quests or feed their wanderlust. Playing the same quest in the same dungeon time and time again can get boring very quickly. Playing the same quest in a completely different dungeon, however, breathes new life into the game every time.

Like other Blizzard games, the graphics in Diablo 2 do not require the latest video card that costs $10,000. Despite running only in 640x480 video mode, the graphics still look great and are wonderfully detailed. Getting used to the low resolution should only take a minute or two before falling into the world of Diablo. Spells flash in magnificent glory, lighting looks wonderful, and the terrain and architecture convincing. Also, unlike in the first Diablo where there were only a few pieces of art for whatever it is your character had equipped (i.e. a dagger would look like a sword in the hands of your character), each item and weapon (except for rings or amulets or the like) shows up on your character. If a weapon or piece of armor is colored differently due to magical properties, that color will also show up on your character (lightsabers anyone? =D). Another item of interest is the Parallax technology that Diablo 2 uses. In a successful effort to make the gameplay more enthralling, stationary objects on the screen don't move at the same pace. It's similar to looking out the window of a moving car: objects closer to you appear to move faster than those farther away. It is a subtle yet convincing effect.

It's the little things as well as the big things that make games so enjoyable. Animations in Diablo 2 are all smooth and life-like, and the idle or non-combat animations are no exception. NPCs walk around town on whatever business they have; shopkeepers tend to their wares, either hammering away at a newly crafted sword or mumbling to themselves when contemplating this spell or that. One of the more enjoyable animations is the rallying call of a Fallen, a small, weak, and cowardly demon that you fight in the first Act. Upon seeing or fighting you alone, the Fallen will let loose with a "Rakanishu!" or the name of another great Fallen hero and swing its fist above its head in a circular motion, calling its friends to aid it.

True to Blizzard quality, sound in the game was not in the least bit overlooked. The music is deep and moving, and appropriate to each area of play. Ambient 3d sound haunt caves, jungles, and other forms of wilderness. The war and death cries of monsters echo in the ears. Matt Uelmen, music and sound designer at Blizzard, is truly a master of his craft.

Of course, what is better than playing Diablo 2? Playing Diablo 2 with friends! Up to eight people can join together in a party and battle Diablo's minions together on Battle.net. To prevent the kind of cheating the plagued the first Diablo, Blizzard has come up with Open and Closed characters. Closed characters are saved on Battle.net and can not in any way be tampered with by would-be "H@x0r$". Open characters are stored on the player's computer and can be played alone in offline single player mode or online with other open characters. Open and closed characters cannot play in the same game. To throw another element into the mix, Blizzard has also added a Hardcore character. Harcore characters can only be played after you beat the game on Normal difficulty. A Hardcore character is mortal; that is, upon dying, he or she cannot be revived. Death is permanent and unyielding.

There's so much more to Diablo 2 that couldn't possibly be summed up in just one review or gameplay report. Blizzard has blessed us with yet another fantastic product that is sure to win Game of the Year, and has sold more units in a single day than anyone in the marketing department could possibly realize.

Now, if you don't mind, I'll go back to smashing Uglies and administering divine justice upon the heathens with my paladin. :)

· · · Mithril