LYCOS RETRIEVER
Diablo Ii: Game
built 123 days ago
The Diablo II expansion includes a lot of other changes and additions to the original game, along with a printed manual that clearly and specifically describes them. One of the most interesting new enhancements in Lord of Destruction is in the way it treats hirelings, the computer-controlled characters you can hire in the towns at the beginning of most of the acts. In Diablo II, hirelings didn't offer any significant benefit, as you had no actual control over them and they weren't nearly strong enough to survive for long. Though you still have no tactical control over them in the expansion, now you can actually outfit your hirelings with armor and weapons and watch as they gain experience levels while fighting alongside you. For a fee, you can resurrect your hireling if he or she is killed, and you can even travel with your hireling from act to act. So, you can actually keep the same hireling with you throughout the entire course of your time spent playing as your particular character. Hirelings are still a liability in some instances, and they generally aren't useful against the boss monsters at the end of each act, but they're now a much more valuable part of the game.
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Diablo II is pure action. Pure monster-killing, item-dropping, fireball-chucking entertainment. The game does not offer sophisticated plot, extensively scripted dialogue, or complicated puzzle solving. The highly intuitive interface allows a novice to begin slaying minions of evil by the handful as soon as the opening cinematic is completed. For the many players who wanted something more out of the original Diablo than just a better sword and shield, Diablo II has added a skill system that has addictive potential for players with motivations beyond loot. Each character class has thirty skills available that allow a player to really excel at point-and-click monster bashing.
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Character Classes/RPG Depth: The original had three character classes; Diablo II [H]as five. But that's just the beginning of the character improvements. Even better, each character class has its own unique skill tree. This pays off in two ways: it creates character classes that are much more distinct, and it adds greater complexity to character development. Each time you power up in the game, you not only get to distribute the traditional five experience points across among the attributes of Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Energy, you ... get to spend one "Skill Point" in your character's skill tree. This means that even within classes you can create a distinct character.
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[T]he graphics in Diablo II are disappointing, especially when compared with those in the original game. When Diablo was released at the end of 1996, its SVGA graphics were amazing. More than three years later, those low-resolution graphics no longer look impressive and barely look adequate, and yet that's all Diablo II offers. There are some notable graphical improvements, such as the game's lighting and translucency effects and the new parallax scrolling that gives a 3D gloss to otherwise flat objects, but the game's 2D graphics are generally disappointing and look pixelated and lack sharpness on larger monitors.
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This wouldn't be such a problem if Diablo II was a clever game. Playing SimCity, for example, is no reason to hate oneself. The game has a cool concept: You build a simulated city. You zone property, budget for various types of transportation, build parks and schools and maintain the city's sanitation system. Admittedly, it sounds dull as hell, but it's certainly nothing to hide from your friends.
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With great music, good sound, attractive scenery within the bounds of the graphic engine, and intuitive game play, Diablo II is worth the price of admission. Stuck in 640x480 resolution, the graphics seemed obscenely pixilated on a big monitor. Even so, Diablo II is perfect for anyone who wants to boot up the computer and rapidly left-click their way to the complete obliteration of all things evil. The skill system rewards extreme specialization in a combination of a few skills, such that any given character class has considerable replay value. At high levels, skills can only be enhanced gradually through considerable play, so the temptation is strong to play 'just a little longer' to get 'just one more skill point' or another rare magical helm.
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