Fifteen-year-old game still fun as ever
When it comes to the universe of PC gaming, there are few games as iconic as Diablo 2: Lords of Destruction (LOD). In August 2016, Diablo 2 placed 21st on Time Magazine’s The 50 Best Video Games of All Time list (editorial note: Tetris placed first, and PC game DOOM a close fourth on that list, two spots ahead of Minecraft, which placed sixth, and four spots in front of Super Mario Bros, which placed eighth!).
Although released way back in 2001, Diablo 2: LOD still had 11 million users playing over Battle.net in 2010.
Why are people still playing this game millennials have never heard of?
Just like Tetris, Diablo 2 is easy, fun and addictive and just so happens to be the ol’ granddaddy of action RPGs — the original hack’n slash click-fest! If you can get past the dated pixel graphics it is still a sweet play, 15 years later.
Getting started in Diablo 2 is really easy. You are not burdened with entire novels of text and back story, you start out standing in a little encampment and in 10 quick steps you are out in the wilderness chopping evil monsters with a sword. Zero plot and 10 seconds to carnage — it’s like an evil episode of Adventure Time. It’s still fun after all this time.
The game offers six different types of characters to choose from: Amazon, Necromancer, Barbarian, Sorceress, and Paladin – each character has different strengths and weaknesses with a diverse skill path to choose from.
A plot isn’t really needed because much of the game focuses and revolves around finding better and better items to equip your character with. The better gear you have, the more powerful you become and this translates into those addictive 3 a.m. magic-find sessions that never end.
After long reflections, I’ve reached a point in my life where I can accurately explain why I like Diablo 2 more than the newer, fancier Diablo 3, which was released in 2012. It has so many things the newer version doesn’t. Blizzard knows that Diablo 2 is still loved and played by so many people, so they released an update on April 7, 2016!
Let’s list some major reasons why D2 is better than D3, and here we go: 1) D2 has offline play (no internet required), 2) D2 has less power creep because there is a level 99 cap that will never change, 3) D2 is actually difficult and doesn’t hold your hand which real gamers appreciate, 4) D2 supports eight players in multi-player, D3 only supports 4, 5) The D2 drop rate seems much more random and fair – we are not the only ones to report that observation.
For the purposes of this game review I’ve managed to level a Javazon (that’s lingo for an Amazon who specializes in throwing Javelins) past level 80. It was a very enjoyable experience.
It’s hard to fully describe why Diablo 2 is still such a hit. It has everything. Not to mention that the community is the opposite of toxic, random people sometimes enter my game and just give me epic loot.
I forgot how fantastic the music sounds to my ears, the score is timeless.
So whether you are a casual gamer looking for a few minutes to kill, or a hardcore gamer that needs a new challenge, Diablo 2: LOD is available on the Battle.net store usually on sale for around $20.
88% on Metacritic.
