Diablo II
Sold Out		(Win95/Win98/WinNT/2000/XP) (Retail) (DIABLO2DPR)

See Diablo Battle Chest for a replacment.

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Game

- Animated blood, gore and violence

Ratings:

9.0 from  WomenGamers.com

from DailyRadar.com

Return to a World of Dark Fantasy

Since the Beginning of Time the forces of Order and Chaos have been engaged in an eternal struggle to decide the fate of all Creation. That struggle has now come to the Mortal Realm... And neither Man, Demon, nor Angel will be left unscathed... own on-line gaming servers, Battle.net, has taken Blizzard titles into a new dimension.

After possessing the body of the hero who defeated him, Diablo resumes his nefarious scheme to shackle humanity into unholy slavery by joining forces with the other Prime Evils, Mephisto and Baal. Only you will be able to determine the outcome of this final encounter...

In Diablo II, return to a world of dark fantasy. As one of five distinct character types, explore the world of Diablo II -- journey across distant lands, fight new villains, discover new treasures and uncover ancient mysteries, all in the quest to stop the Lord of Terror, once and for all...

Game Features

• Five all-new character classes with unique attributes and abilities
• Four different, fully populated towns complete with wilderness areas
• Multiple dungeons, caverns and crypts in every town for players to explore
• Expanded world filled with all-new quests, weapons, spells, armor, monsters and non-player characters
• Advanced combat system which incorporates class-specific fighting techniques and spells
• Full Multiplayer support, including Internet play over Battle.net
• Optional 3Dfx and Direct3D support

Character Classes

Amazon -- This powerful woman warrior belongs to nomadic bands who roam the plains near the South Sea. The wandering of these groups often brings them into conflict with other peoples, so the Amazon is accustomed to fighting to defend her own. This lifestyle has made her fiercely independent and able to weather severe hardship and travel. While her skill with the bow rivals that of the Rogues, the Amazon is also adept in the use of spears and other throwing weapons, as well as in hand to hand combat. The Amazon is much sought after as a mercenary, in which type of service she will be loyal as long as her own ends are also served.

Barbarian -- The Barbarian is a member of any of several tribes on the fringes of civilization, and he refuses the influence of those he sees as soft and weak. Ceaseless clan warfare and the constant struggle to survive in the hostile wilderness are reflected in the Barbarian's sturdy and powerful frame. Though perhaps lacking the sophistication of city folk, the Barbarian has an acute awareness of his surroundings. Because of his shamanistic belief in the animal powers with whom he identifies, the Barbarian is sometimes associated with stories of lycanthropy. In fact, he believes he can call upon the totemic animal spirits to infuse him with supernormal strengths and abilities, but these only work to improve his already superb battle-tactics.

Necromancer -- From the steamy recesses of the southern swamps comes a figure cloaked in mystery. The Necromancer, as his name implies, is an unseemly form of sorcerer whose spells deal with the raising of the dead and the summoning and control of various creatures for his purposes. Though his goals are often aligned with those of the forces of Light, some do not think that these ends can justify his foul means. Long hours of study in dank mausolea have made his skin pale and corpselike, his figure, skeletal. Most people shun him for his peculiar looks and ways, but none doubt the power of the Necromancer, for it is the stuff of nightmares.

Paladin -- The Knights of Westmarch who felled the armies of mighty Leoric are pure at heart and follow closely the teachings of Zakarum, the Religion of the Light. A battle-ready warrior for whom faith is a shield, he fights for what he believes to be right. Furthermore, his steadfastness gives him powers to bring blessings to his friends, and wreak cruel justice upon his foes. There are those who call the Paladin an overwrought zealot, but others recognize in him the strength and goodness of the Light.

Sorceress -- One of the rebellious women who have wrested the secrets of magic use from the male dominated Mage-Clans of the East, the Sorceress is an expert in mystical creation ex nihilo. Though somewhat lacking in the skills of hand-to-hand combat, she compensates for this with fierce combative magics for both offense and defense. Solitary and reclusive, the Sorceress acts based on motives and ethics inscrutable to most, sometimes seeming capricious and even spiteful. In reality, she understands the struggle between Order and Chaos all too clearly, as well as her role as a warrior in this battle.

Requirements:

Single-Player PC System Requirements: Windows® 2000, 95, 98, XP or NT 4.0 Service Pack 5, Pentium® 233 or equivalent, 32 MB RAM, 650 MB available hard drive space, 4X CD-ROM drive, DirectX™ compatible video card

Multiplayer PC System Requirements and Options: 64 MB RAM, 950 MB available hard drive space, 28.8 Kbps or faster modem. Up to 8 Players: Over TCP/IP Network or Battle.net® (Requires low-latency Internet connection with support for 32-bit applications)

Optional 3D Acceleration Supports Glide™ and Direct 3D™ compatible video cards with at least 8MB of video RAM. Direct 3D™ requires 64 MB of system RAM

Reviews:

WomenGamers.com by Chariss (7/14/00)

"What does a hard core Diablo addict think when they initially start up Diablo II? Besides the typical 'It's about time it came out!' reaction, many have extremely high expectations. I was one of those who wanted more of what I had already fallen in love with in the original, and I got it in spades, along with a few surprises. The overall look and feel is beyond Diablo and was definitely worth the three plus year wait. The advancements in the gaming engine make coming back a much more fulfilling experience than I had ever thought possible. Once again Blizzard has done what few gaming developers can: revamp what was already successful and make it better by leaps and bounds."

"The lands to explore are massive! If you were used to the constrained areas found in Diablo, you will be lost in Diablo II. The tab key (automap) has never been more a friend than it is now. Because of the size of maps, Blizzard listened to the gamers and put in the much needed run function..."

"Despite my original skepticism, the new classes are not just upgrades from those found in Diablo. Each class is distinct, with different skills available only to that particular class. Where once you had a warrior, sorcerer, and rogue who could pretty much use the same items and learn the same spells (just with varying degrees of skill) now you have the individually specialised skills of the barbarian, amazon, necromancer, paladin, and sorceress. Gone are the days where a warrior could use chain lightning (albeit a lower skilled variety than the rogue and sorcerer) to help him clear out one of the levels of hell. Now only the sorceress can summon chain lightning. There is so much to work with now that every player can truly create a uniquely specialised character..."

"As I said before, I was a Diablo addict. Now that I have played D2 for a week, I can truly say my addiction has been transfered to Diablo II. It has given a hack-and-slash game lover like me countless hours of fun and will more than likely continue to give me the same enjoyment for years to come. Don't scoff. I played Diablo up to the day D2 came out, and this by far exceeds Diablo in all aspects. Whether it is the superior gameplay, the new challenges or just the fact that it's Diablo - bigger and better, I can't say. What I can say is that for those of you who like to RPG yet don't want to be bogged down with massive character development along the lines of pencil and paper RPGing, Diablo II is the game for you!"

DailyRadar.com by Rob Smith

"...Diablo attracted new, non-gamer PC owners and also managed to give the hardcore crowd the depth, style and intensity of gameplay that we vocal group demands. Diablo II not only repeats those basic tenets of structure; it surpasses most (as a sequel should). It's a role-playing game; it's an action game; there's a little bit of strategy thrown in for good measure, and the adventure holds it all together."

"It's a shame that the first Act, created first (some two years ago), is the worst. The 640x480 resolution graphics are not impressive, but it hardly seems like the same game by the time the player reaches the incredibly detailed desert town of Act Two, the jungles of Act Three and the lava-filled environments and mammoth monster types of Act Four..."

"We could go on for pages more. That's the beauty of Diablo II -- it's huge. The additions made over the original game may seem small on the surface, since the gameplay is essentially the same, but it's the small touches combined in one package that offers as good a gaming value as you could ever ask for. The ability to run, the parallax scrolling backdrops, the 3D accelerated spell effects and explosions, the puzzles, the tile set changes, the unique "set" items, the outdoor environments, the subtle but foreboding music and sound effects... Blizzard has nailed it again. But you knew that was going to be the outcome all along, didn't you?"

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