Diablo II (based on v1.2 patch) Page 2 But addictive gameplay! Graphics aren't the high point in Diablo II, that is pretty clear. Gameplay however is where D2 laughs at every game in this genre. It is simple but so addictive and entertaining that you will playing all day long before you even know it. And with 5 character classes you can just start all over again when you're done ! The main quest is to beat Diablo, but like in Diablo 1 you will get some side quests from the people you meet. Nothing special, but the difference with the first game is that these side quests are so much bigger than in D1. Some quests will keep you busy for quite some time. You don't have to do them, it's all optional but you can earn those much needed extra experience points to gain levels and skill points. A larger playing world means more NP characters and it's the same here in Diablo II. More characters with more interaction options. You can now 'Talk', 'Trade', 'Repair', 'Hire' and 'Gamble' with major characters in every act. The new ones are 'Hire' and 'Gamble'. 'Hire' let's you hire(!) mercenaries who accompany you to fight the minions of Evil until they are killed. You have no control over them, they will automatically adapt their weapons and skills to yours. For example if you use a fireball spell, they will do the same if they have one. This will depend on their level. The higher the level of the mercenary, the more it will cost to hire him. 'Gamble' is basically the same as trading, but the items you buy are not identified, so you don't know what they do. The only thing you know is that they cost an insane amount of gold :-).    Five Character classes? Remember me saying there are 5 character classes to choose from ? We will discuss them now. In Diablo II you can choose to play as 5 different classes : the "Barbarian", the "Sorceress", the "Amazon", the "Necromancer" and the "Paladin". The first three are basically the same as in D1; the Necromancer and the Paladin are new additions to the Diablo-Realms. The class you choose to play will determine your possible skills and spells and will ultimately define how the game will be played. So in theory you can play the game in 5 possible ways as every class will require a different approach to how you solve the problems at hand ( the playing world will be slightly different as will the quests ). Each class has its own skills and abilities, but also its limitations and drawbacks. Skills and abilities can be divided in 'Active', 'Passive', 'Auras' and 'Curses' (Necromancer only). It would require to much space to describe all the available skills and spells so I will limit this to the most common and most frequently used ( by me; it is the player's choice to develop his own strategy). Active skills are skills that have to be activated to use them and will draw mana as long as they are activated. Spells are active abilities and defensive as well as offensive spells will require mana. Passive skills are always active and do not require any mana. They have effect from the moment you learn them and you can switch between multiple passive skills. Auras are unique to the Paladin class and almost always involve positive effects like adding damage, adding strength, life regeneration, mana regeneration etc. Each class has its own skills and spells and you will have to make choices which skills and spells you want your character to have. This is done with the help of a skill tree. Each time you have earned enough experience by slaying monsters you will earn skill points and one ability point. Skill points are used to upgrade your skills like strenght, dexterity etc. With your ability points you can activate new abilities in the skill tree as long as you have the necessary level and other skills. That's why it's in a tree form : certain skills require you have already learned some other skills and that you have gained the necessary experience (of course this also prevents you from getting too strong early in the game). You don't have learn new skills, you can apply them to existing skills and thus upgrading them to a new level, but ultimately you will have to distribute them wisely if you want to stand a chance in defeating Diablo and his minions for a second time. That's the new stuff. All the things from D1 are in D2 as well like the limited inventory, the potions and the scrolls etc. There are however some changes that will affect inventory juggling. You can now equip belts. These will provide you more quick-slots and thus more inventory space to store life and mana potions or scrolls or other objects that only require on slot. Another thing that has been changed are the spell books. In D1 you could buy spell books and you would never need to use a scroll again. The use of the spell book in D2 has changed : it now acts as a belt for your scrolls. You can store scrolls in the book in a limited number, but it will require less inventory space. For example if you have 20 Town Portal scrolls in your inventory, it would take up 20 slots, but by putting them in a Town Portal spell book they will only take up 2 slots (the slot space of the book). In every town you also have your own stash to free up some valuable inventory space and store an extra weapon or your gold etc. You will always have to make choices :-) Next Page Up Previous Page If you want to review your favorite game, or if you work with a computer game company and want your products reviewing, mail info@playdevil.com. All contributions are welcome. 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