Poll of the Day > I fucking love Diablo 2.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Seriously, tho. I can't get enough of it.

Also, if anyone wants to send me Diablo 1 I'll PayPal em $5.
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Diablo 2 is one of the best games ever. I remember at launch I was at Costco and there was one copy left on the shelf. Some dude was trying to convince his wife to let him get it and I just walked up and took it then hear "well, that's that...." as I wander off with it.
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TheCyborgNinja posted...

Diablo 2 is one of the best games ever.

Agreed, great game. It doesn't hold up quite as well these days, but still does laps around most modern games.
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it's not hard to find a copy of diablo 1 at this point.

no one cares if you don't buy it
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Zangulus posted...

Diablo 1 is pretty much considered abandonware at this point...

Yeah, it looks like I can just download it for free! Very chill. Thanks.
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/diablo-3it
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oh my god that place has theme hospital
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It truly is one of the best games of all time for me. Every single act (except for 4) had its own "feel," and it was gothic action RPG at its finest. I loved how they made even the sandy deserts a scary place to roam around.

I think my biggest grievance (among many) with Diablo 3 is how it went from this awesome gothic semi-horror masterpiece to Disneyland. You can tell how anodyne and PC blizzard has become because of how well WoW did in sales for them.
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JanwayDaahl posted...

I think my biggest grievance (among many) with Diablo 3 is how it went from this awesome gothic semi-horror masterpiece to Disneyland. You can tell how anodyne and PC blizzard has become because of how well WoW did in sales for them.

I agree. There's really nothing dark or gothic about D3. It's still medieval fantasy, but that's about it.

One difference I'm noticing about the two is how linear D3 feels compared to D2. By that I mean, in D2 there's a nice sense of needing to explore the map to progress throughout the game. You're not really sure what's gonna be around the turn unless you actually go there. D3 seems to have lost that. There's too much of a "go from A to B" to complete the quest.
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Try the HD remake.
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Lobomoon posted...

Try the HD remake.

Is that the one that's being developed now? Diablo 2 in the SC2 engine?
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Lobomoon posted...

Try the HD remake.

Did they change anything else besides the graphics? If so, No thanks.

HeyImAlex posted...

Lobomoon posted...

Try the HD remake.

Is that the one that's being developed now? Diablo 2 in the SC2 engine?

That's the one.
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Diablo II is one of the best sequels / second games (and games generally) of all time. It improved on the original in pretty much every area, except perhaps the atmosphere (although D2 is no slouch in that regard). It's also my most played game far, spanning thousands of hours and dozens of characters at the very least.

The game has various strengths that give it incredible longevity:

-The character classes are fun and varied, and they synergize each other well (through skills like Curses, Warcries and Auras and by bringing different things to the table more generally).
- The game systems are surprisingly in-depth and encourage experimentation (see all the various resources and discussions available online).
- Equipment options are almost limitless and items themselves are rather flexible (e.g. low level items can find use even at high levels, few items and stats are class-specific, etc.).
- The co-op gameplay has very few restrictions (compared to D3 anyway) and essentially lets players do whatever they want within reason.
- There's no always-online rubbish, and thus the game has a healthy modding community. Offline play is actually quite popular; I've been doing that almost exclusively in the last few years myself.
- The atmosphere, music and general aesthetic, while not the focus, really serve to enhance the game.

It obviously has its flaws too, particularly online, like the prevalence of duping, botting, spammers, etc. Maybe always-online DRM would have helped with those, but I'd rather have the option of playing offline / with mods, as I have taken advantage of many times.

I recommend the mod "path of diablo" to anyone who feels like replaying but wants to try something a little different. It has an active online community and enough gameplay tweaks to feel fresh.
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JanwayDaahl posted...

to Disneyland.

That's quite a lot of blood for Disneyland.
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

JanwayDaahl posted...

to Disneyland.

That's quite a lot of blood for Disneyland.

And impaled angels and corpses and body explosions... I don't get people who act like Diablo 3 is totally G rated.
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Moonjay posted...

AllstarSniper32 posted...

JanwayDaahl posted...

to Disneyland.

That's quite a lot of blood for Disneyland.

And impaled angels and corpses and body explosions... I don't get people who act like Diablo 3 is totally G rated.

Because it's a little...brighter...

Cause every area in D2 was dark *coughsunnydesertcough*
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Moonjay posted...

I don't get people who act like Diablo 3 is totally G rated.

It's the cartoony art direction that they brought over from WoW probably.
Also TC, go play Path Of Exile.
It's free, better than diablo 3 and it's free.

helIy posted...

oh my god that place has theme hospital

it really didnt age well.
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knivesX2004 posted...

better than diablo 3

this dude got mad jokes
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

Moonjay posted...

AllstarSniper32 posted...

JanwayDaahl posted...

to Disneyland.

That's quite a lot of blood for Disneyland.

And impaled angels and corpses and body explosions... I don't get people who act like Diablo 3 is totally G rated.

Because it's a little...brighter...

Cause every area in D2 was dark *coughsunnydesertcough*

If you're referring to the desert in act 2- it's actually hilarious because it does gothic atmosphere well even in an environment that ostensibly wouldn't support it. You have creepy animals, locusts, and bugs chasing after you, then it suddenly transitions to these underground, dark areas with other types of scary enemies.

And yeah, D3 has blood and violence, big whoop-- doesn't change the fact that it looks like a disney game, sounds like a disney game, and plays out the plot like a disney game.
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knivesX2004 posted...

Also TC, go play Path Of Exile.
It's free, better than diablo 3 and it's free.

Nice. I'll check it out.
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D2 is in my top 5 games. I still play single player hardcore mode from time to time.

I've been playing Titan Quest and I'm surprised how shamelessly it rips off Diablo 2. I'm in Act 2, which is a desert, and I'm in a cave fighting scarabs and maggots. The art style in this game is pretty dull compared to D2 though.
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HeyImAlex posted...

Nice. I'll check it out.

Check out Torchlight 2 while you're at it. Usually quite cheap on steam.

It's got a cartoon-y art style but it's totally diablo 2 set in another universe...especially considering some of the devs worked on that game.
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JanwayDaahl posted...

If you're referring to the desert in act 2- it's actually hilarious because it does gothic atmosphere well even in an environment that ostensibly wouldn't support it. You have creepy animals, locusts, and bugs chasing after you, then it suddenly transitions to these underground, dark areas with other types of scary enemies.

Cause D3 doesn't do any of this at all. Nope. Not at all.

JanwayDaahl posted...

And yeah, D3 has blood and violence, big whoop-- doesn't change the fact that it looks like a disney game, sounds like a disney game, and plays out the plot like a disney game.

You're watching a different Disney I think. A non-existent Disney.

The problem here isn't D3, it's your issue with the graphics. Which aren't any where near as bad as you try to claim they are.
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It's good, but it's just too gear driven and lacks a proper endgame.
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Cause D3 doesn't do any of this at all. Nope. Not at all.

It doesn't.
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I'm just gonna throw "Grim Dawn" out there for hardcore fans of the first two Diablo games. Worth checking out.
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GeneralFatman posted...

I'm just gonna throw "Grim Dawn" out there for hardcore fans of the first two Diablo games. Worth checking out.

I would even recommend Titan Quest. I'm enjoying it way more than I thought I would. At first I thought it was a shameless rip off of D2 but the similarities are so numerous that it comes across as more like a nod to D2 than anything.
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helIy posted...

knivesX2004 posted...

better than diablo 3

this dude got mad jokes

It's a game whose primary draw is its deep customization system, and you played it long enough to spend ~2% of the skill points and try less than 1% of the active abilities (and that 1% was "Attack twice" instead of "Giant fiery laser of death," so you didn't even pick a cool one). I don't think you can really give PoE a proper assessment.
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Another great hack-n-slash/action RPG is Victor Vran.
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kind9 posted...

Another great hack-n-slash/action RPG is Victor Vran.

The van Hellsing games are quick and fun too.
A ridiculously high number of enemies and if you get your Dodge, block, and party up you're unstoppable and it feels awesome.