Diablo 2 - Review @ PC Gamer

PC Gamer published their orignal Diablo 2 review again:

Diablo 2 (2000) review

It's a whole new Baal-game...

To mark the launch of Diablo 2: Resurrected, we're publishing our original review of Diablo 2. This review ran in PC Gamer UK issue 86 in September 2000. We're working on a fresh review of Diablo 2: Resurrected now the game is live, and you can find Fraser's impressions here.

My arm hurts. And while there are some things I want to say about Diablo II which are by no means in its favour, my criticisms ultimately count for nothing when set against that pervasive muscular ache. Although I will call it repetitive and unoriginal, claim that it encourages inelegant play, and curse its fetishistic immaturity, the plain, painful fact is that Diablo II is the most brutally addictive game I've played since Half-Life. It devours time. You sit down for a quick play—just to find the next dungeon, you tell yourself; just to get your bearings in the next section—then you regain consciousness with the alarm clock ringing from the bedroom and an arm so tensed from all-night mouse-clicking that it barely feels part of you any more.

The game's fundamental hypnotic appeal is obvious; a tried-and-tested formula. You create a puny and impoverished character, then run around a fantasy world fighting monsters. Your efforts are rewarded with increasingly powerful weapons, armour and magical items, and an alter-ego which grows in ability as he or she gains experience. As the game progresses, then, you get to tackle more powerful monsters… and are rewarded with even heftier power-ups… which enables you to defeat even more powerful monsters… which results in a still further enhanced player-character… and so on.

[...]

And of course Diablo II compares unfavourably with a pure-bred fantasy-set RPG like Baldur's Gate in terms of variety, plot and dialogue. But the model here is Gauntlet, not Black Isle's recent forays into the genre. It's designed to be an accessible action-RPG with mass-market appeal, a compelling multiplayer mode and long­-lasting depth. And on those terms it succeeds magnificently.

The excellently differentiated character types, and the fantastic breadth of skills available within these classes, makes this a game which is genuinely worth playing several times over, trying different characters and tactics each time. In fact, I'd play it from the beginning again right now—as a Sorceress, this time—were it not for the fact that my arm hurts so very, very much…

Score: 90/100