Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Developer: Blizzard Publisher: Blizzard (division of Havas Interactive)
Reviewed by Insatia on 7/31/01

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Warning: contains spoilers.

First Impressions:

On June 29th the long-awaited expansion, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, hit the shelves in stores and sold out quickly in several locations. Being a big Blizzard and Diablo fan, I happily laid down my $34.99 for a copy of what has become the fastest selling expansion set ever, shattering sales records worldwide with over a million copies sold, and I'm not the least bit regretful.

Graphics:

The expansion's graphics are identical to those found in Diablo II, except for the desktop resolution: a change that has pleased many gamers is that the expansion supports 800 x 600 resolution whereas Diablo II only supported 640 x 480. Lord of Destruction also adds a fifth act, and the scenery is filled with snow-covered ground. The cinematic sequences include magnificent graphics and animation that will leave you in awe.

Sound/Music:

I feel that the sound effects appropriately match the characters in game. The background acoustic music for towns and certain scenes also plays a great role in just why Diablo II is so fantastic. You can hear the sound of the Assassin's leg whipping through the air only to smash into her evil opponent, rain pelting the dirt, the crackling of fire and lightning in spells. The sounds in the game are very realistic and endless.

There are sound options that allow you to completely turn off or simply turn down sound effects and background music. The sound effects and background music are pleasant for those who choose to play with them. I personally play with sound effects and without the music, as I find that the music only adds to lag in the game.

Gameplay:

The Diablo series has never relied upon its storyline: you can play it without following the story and still beat the game without getting lost. Gold is also something fairly easy to come by in the expansion, as it was in Diablo II. I had my stash at its full capacity in the first act, although the capacity of gold in your stash does increase depending upon your current level. Still, I managed to spend the majority of it on new equipment or gambling.

The two new character classes, the Assassin and the Druid, are the main attraction of Lord of Destruction. They come complete with their own unique physical features, so they are not easy to confuse with the five other character classes of Diablo II. For example, the Druid has the ability to morph into a Dire Wolf or Mammoth Bear, which alters his skills in combat: it is quite entertaining to watch the Druid in battle as one of these alternate forms.

The Assassin is an expert in martial arts. I noticed while playing the expansion that the Assassin is rather powerful at a low level. This makes it easy to roam through the game's areas, but players seeking a good challenge may find it lacking.

As stated, I experimented with the Druid as well, and can easily compare him in many ways to the Necromancer. He has very captivating spells that will keep many players amused. It was hard for me to choose which class I wanted to play first. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed them both equally.

Both characters come fully equipped with 30 of their own unique skills and spells for you to acquire. The spells for all character classes are highly detailed and smooth, and most are very effective against enemies. To play the expansion with these two new classes you'll need to complete Diablo II's first four acts, then continue on to the fifth. You may also choose to play the expansion with existing characters from Diablo II that you've beaten the game with by converting them into "expansion" characters.

The expansion's storyline leads the player into the (final?) fifth act located in the Barbarian Highlands of the North in pursuit of Baal (Diablo's brother), the last surviving Prime Evil. Baal is traveling with an army of minions and his plan is to corrupt the powerful worldstone that protects the whole mortal plane from the forces of Hell, thus damning the world for all eternity. The player's mission, of course, is to defeat Baal, destroy the last soulstone and save the world. The expansion maintains the game's reputation for playability: fans of the previous installments will likely find Lord of Destruction very enjoyable, addictive, and engrossing.

Enjoyment:

Several changes have been implemented to aid players as they venture through the expansion's new act. Some of these include:

• A new stash that's twice the size of the original one you were given in Diablo II, making it possible to contain a greater supply of items.

• When buying a hireling to help you throughout the game you can resurrect him/her for a fee from npc's that sell hirelings. You can equip hirelings with armor and weapons and when they become low on health you can drop a potion on him/her to heal them.

• Gems aren't the only socketable items anymore. You can now find Jewels and Runes to strengthen your armor and weapons. As previous players know, armor was not socketable in Diablo II.

Also, a new item called a "Charm" can be found in different sizes with different attributes. The secret of a charm is that you must keep it in your inventory for its attributes to apply to your stats. The Horadric Cube, an item you receive after completing an important quest in the second act, allows you to take certain items and place them inside it to transmute them into different items. Plenty of new recipes for the Horadric Cube have been added to the expansion for you to experiment with.

Multiplayer:

Battle.net is Blizzard's online multiplayer service provider. It allows players to connect to a server and play in online games with up to eight people. You must register an account with Battle.net, which saves your characters on Blizzard's servers and basically eliminates the cheats that were abused in the original Diablo when the characters were saved locally on your own hard drive.

Overall Impression:

The original Diablo was my first PC gaming experience, so I have Blizzard to thank for opening me up to the world of PC gaming. It's a fantastic game filled with many fantasies to live and mysteries to unfold. I'd absolutely recommend Diablo II: Lord of Destruction to anyone who has played Diablo, another Blizzard game, or an action title with RPG elements. Even someone new to the world of gaming might enjoy it, though it would be wise to start at the beginning of the series. Otherwise, a new player might feel lost in the Lord of Destruction. It would be like skipping to the last few pages of a book and trying to understand why it ends in the way that it does. However, if you're in it for the pure hack and slash, dive on in. Please note that you do need Diablo II to install and play the expansion.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

The clothing on the female characters is acceptable in my opinion, though some may disagree. They could, of course, be showing a little less animated skin but the player can equip them with plate mail to correct that. Blizzard, in my honest opinion, has always seemed to market their titles in a way that appeals to many female and male gamers. For instance, Diablo II characters consist of four male characters (Barbarian, Paladin, Necromancer, and Druid) and three female characters (Amazon, Sorceress, and Assassin) almost equally representing both sexes which is more than most games provide. It's nice to see titles such as Diablo bringing more females into the male dominated industry of computer/video gaming.

Web sites of interest:

Blizzard
Battle.net