The millions of gamers who fought their way through the horror of Tristram's catacombs in the original Diablo realized that all was not well after their hero destroyed the demon's physical body. Diablo II opens with a vivid animated vision of that mad, doomed hero, who unwittingly spreads chaos as he moves toward a fate of Diablo's choosing. With the original character classes gone, players choose from a new cadre of champions: the Barbarian (can wield two two-handed swords at once, one in each hand), the Necromancer (raises the dead to fight his battles), the Amazon (master of bow and spear), Paladin (holy crusader), and Sorceress (wielder of elemental magic). These warriors follow a diabolical plot through four acts, and each act is roughly as big as the original Diablo.

Diablo II looks and behaves very much like Diablo. Players are assigned quests by nonplayer characters and adventure through dark catacombs and crypts. Hordes of vile monsters assail the hero, who survives by force of arms, powerful spells, and through the use of varied and exotic magic items. Randomly generated dungeons guarantee fresh adventure each time a new game is started. But unlike the original game, characters must fight their way through the above-ground wilderness before entering a dungeon. Fortunately, some of the frustrations of adventuring have been lessened in Diablo II, thanks to the new ability to run and the clever implementation of "waypoints" that let your character quickly travel to and from the safety of town.

Along with the new character classes comes a new character skill system. As in the original game, players improve their character's ability scores as they kill monsters and gain experience. But unlike the original game, players get to add specific skills, spells, and powers each time they advance. For example, after gaining a level you could choose between taking a skill that improves your attack speed or a skill that allows you to scatter your foes with a mighty shout. With this customized advancement system it is unlikely that two high-level characters, even characters of the same class, will be alike. Instead of progressing along a set path, you can choose skills and powers that complement your own particular playing style. Interestingly, this new customizable class system closely parallels the changes made in the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Other enhancements include a method for creating and customizing magic items, 3-D accelerated spell effects, anticheat multiplayer code, and a place to safely store excess money and equipment. But even without these tweaks, even without the sophisticated story line and all the cool new features, Diablo II is just a great game. The sound, music, and graphics combine to create a tantalizingly eerie setting. Players will willingly let their game-playing hours slip well past reasonable bedtimes, suffering bleary-eyed classes and meetings in exchange for "just one more" magic item, dungeon level, or character skill.

Diablo is back. Say hello to the game that will once again dominate gamers' computers, and say good-bye to your free time. --Michael Fehlauer.

Pros:

• Diabolical, engrossing story line told through brilliant cutscenes
• All five of the new classes are distinct and fun
• Fantastic music and sound effects
• Random dungeons allow unlimited replayability
• Millions of magic items, including rare items and sets of unique magical equipment

• Addictive gameplay may cause loss of sleep, significant other, job
• Virtually no improvement in graphics

Playing it for the first time, I found it performed very well on my P-200, 32MB RAM. It begins with an amazing cinematic sequence that fills many of the plot gaps for those unfamiliar with Diablo I. The actual gameplay is the same system of mouse commands, the interface very similar, but less obtrusive (eg. when talking to somebody, the text is not screen-sized, but specific to the part of the screen in which that character is located). The level upgrade system is more logical, less mathematical. The weapons actually appear diffirent when you hold them - a short sword is not identical to a dagger when weilded by the character. I haven't had a chance to play all the characters (the game is VERY long), but they seem very distinct, with varying, but well balanced strangths and weaknesses. As before, however, the general tradeoff is speed and magic for brute strength.

I've come across 100's of distinct weapons, armor, and magic items in the first level only, so I guess there may be 1000 or even more! The soundtrack is eerie and differs in each level. The sounds of dripping water and moaning add true realism to this game when played late at night!

The graphics are far from state of the art, but very decent (I assume this was either 1) to keep the size of the game down or 2) because it's been in production for so long), and I found myself grateful for my 3Dfx card, which greatly smooths out the gameplay (I don't know if it is neccessary on a faster machine, but it is supported nevertheless).

This game is the crowning jewel of my collection. From the depth of the storyline which is, literally years in the making, to the subtle wit and plot twists that are so obviously showing of hard work and dedication. I think this game will be Blizzard's best ever. Buy it now!

With all that I have said... I have left off a huge amounts! Just get it. Unlike other games of this nature... this game is extremely replayable with endless hours of enjoyment. Think of the original Diablo... and multiply that by 5! All the things you yearned for in the original are here in Diablo II. It has been well worth the wait.

That being said, Diablo II is vastly different from its predecessor, Diablo in many ways, but in one disappointingly large area, it's almost the same.

The gameplay has been simplified so everything is basically point and click. The commands are intuitive and easy to learn. The major improvements of this game are the 5 new character classes: The melee fighter Barbarian, the spellcasting Sorceress, the quick missile launching Amazon, the holy spellcasting/melee fighter Paladin and my personal favorite, the resurrecting Necromancer. Each has their own set of skills you develope as you progress throughout the four new and vastly larger stages of the game. If you thought Diablo was big, just the first act of Diablo II easily dwarfs it. You'll travel everywhere from forests to jungles to deserts. Each landscape is very well designed and looks fantastic.

With this new item generation engine Blizzard added, there are now over 1 million magic items to be found. There are now also set items, which are magic items that, I'm assuming, when you collect all of the items in the set, you get a nifty bonus or something.

The only disappointment to me was the graphics. They looked almost exactly the same as the origianl Diablo. Don't get me wrong, they still look quite good, but I was hoping for some improvement.

All in all, this is a GREAT game. I highly recommend you get it, especially if you liked the orginal Diablo. The strategy guide isn't really necessary to me.