Diablo II
Blizzard Entertainment
Rating: 5/5

Diablo II has to be one of the most anticipated sequels ever for the PC. Diablo was a best seller, and still has legions of fans playing in nasty dungeons over the internet. Mac users have had this pleasure for slightly less time than their PC counterparts, as it took over a year for us to finally get our hands on it. Blizzard, no doubt understood the anger that Mac users felt about this delay and their promptness with other titles, Diablo II came out just over a month after it did on the PC. It is nice to see Mac players able to enjoy such a good game so quickly.

And what a game it is, Diablo II, takes its predecessor and erases all memory of it. It will amaze you to look back at the older game. They are of two different worlds. Blizzard retained just enough to make the game easy to get into for fans, but not too turgid for newbies. The game is, like its predecessor, decidedly simple but highly addicting. It has a way of grabbing even the non-fantasy rpg fan. Diablo II, unlike some of the other newest games on the market, eases the new player into his role of brave adventurer, gently ramping up the difficulty at first, thus avoiding any danger of early frustration. It is possible for even the most novice of players not to die for a significant amount of time in the early levels. One finds oneself playing the game just to get to the next level, or to be able to use the interesting item one has found.

Each change in armour or weaponry actually makes a difference in how you look, you will occasionally find yourself using one item or other because it looks cooler rather than because it is that much better than what you already have in your possession. One of the biggest treats of finishing an Act, of which there are 4, is the stunning cut-scenes included with the game (installing these on the hard-drive in recommended for maximum performance). These cinematic masterpieces are simply breathtaking and bear viewing more than once. Be warned that it sometimes hard to tell that it is just animation, several of the latter cut-scenes rivaling high-budget thrillers in their intensity. The vignette between Act 3 and 4 should not be viewed late at night by those prone to nightmares.

The town in each act contains an armourer where one can buy, sell and repair armour and weaponry (magic and normal), an apothecary, where one can buy potions and magic staffs/wands, and seedy tinker seller who offers the adventurer some items to purchase and more interesting items on which to gamble with ones money. (In my experience these con men never give value for money.)

There is always, the next level, the next quest or the next Act. Expect hours to disappear into the ether. There is no such thing, as a quick little time with the game. Diablo II is the crack of the game world. In case the solo game was not bad enough, the designers of the game included a varied an interesting multiplay element.