DIABLO 2

                 Reviewed by Stefan Herber

No I didn't believe I would do it either. After sitting back in
amazement having finished Diablo 1 and wondering who had the nerve
to call it an RPG I would have bet against me ever forking out
money to buy the sequel. But a number of promising reviews and the
promise of new features and a strong story line finally got the
better of me especially when I bought it at reduced price. And at
the end the same question arose - who had the nerve to call this
an RPG? And also - haven't I anything better to do with myself -
like stare into space?

I have to give the game one thing - for reasons I can't fathom
it's very addictive and will keep you glued to the computer. More
than once I felt like calling it a day but the stubbornness that
seems to be a part of me made me continue to the bitter end.  The
reward? A nasty cut scene and the chance to start again at a

higher difficulty level. No way, although I'm sorry I never got a
chance to use some of my hard attained extra powers.

It's basically a rerun of the original - the same game engine with
a few bells and whistles. For one it's set over 3 towns instead of
one; for another you can choose to be a few new characters this
time round. I stuck with a paladin although I tried to play a
simultaneous game as the character I used first time round (an
Amazon) only to give up on this when the combat became too tough.
And combat there is - vast and vast amounts. I should guess it's
ten times as much as in a first person shooter. This becomes not
just repetitive but exceedingly annoying after a while. To make
matters worse there is no conventional save game facility; sure
you can save at any time but the area you may have just decimated
will respawn as many monsters if not more than you've just taken
care of.  Many of the areas are very large and may take 2 or 3
hours to explore so it's not a question of sitting down and
playing for a few minutes. Three hours pressing a mouse button
does tend to induce RSI especially at this rate.  The final
sequence leading you to the arch-villain Diablo himself is even
longer and has some very vicious enemies. There's no stopping for
dinner or sleep during this - you either finish it in one sitting
or you start from the beginning. I know there are people - mostly
professional game critics - who like this feature saying it's more
realistic and increases the tension - that's fine for a 30 minute
shootout but for something that lasts hours?

Oh I forgot - there is a plot. Diablo who died in the first game
has been resurrected and not only him, but also two fellow nasties
are now trying to take over the planet. You've got to kill them.
That's it - a few side quests are tagged on but seem like
afterthoughts. There are no puzzles to speak of, no
characterisation, no party building though you do advance levels
and can improve your basic stats and learn new skills or improve
those you have. Most of these are useless but as skills are part
of a tree you need to get a lot of these to get the one you really
want.

Now what is going to persuade me to play Diablo 3?
                              - o -