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His Brothers Haven't Escaped You...
Lord of Destruction, overall, really did change the gameplay for the better. The game has all new tactics and things to work for in terms of items and character building. The two new classes are certainly welcome additions to the game, and the new act and music are exceptional. With the new act, though, I believe a better name for the game would have been Diablo II: Icewind Dale, though I'm not complaining considering how much I love the environment of Icewind Dale. The Battle.net problems are a draw-back for the multiplayer players, and the missing changes for re-assignable skill points, stacking gems, inventory space, and the like really do detract from the overall fun, as does the odd concept of balance, but that isn't to say it isn't fun. I still can see this being a game I pick up when I'm bored and just build up a level or so, and the expansion makes the game far more fun than the original game was. If you're a big Diablo II fan, and really found it to be a fun way to waste large chunks of time, then you really do need the expansion. If you're just a casual player who played through once and got bored, then the prospect of having tons of new items and a single new act probably will bore you to tears. Then again, perhaps you could wait for Diablo III: Neverwinter Nights <G>. Not to mention, with a suggested retail price of $35, you could have a full game rather than a silly expansion. No expansion pack should EVER sell for more than $20. I must say, though, that for all players that play realms at all, and any players that really pursue single player frequently, you really should get Lord of Destruction, you'll be glad you did.
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| Graphics
- Sound - Gameplay - Depth
- Multiplayer | Reviewed
by John Del Percio |
GRAPHICS
79 % |
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Really, if this were still 1992, the graphics would be exceptional, but come on, we live in an age where most mid-grade PCs have 3D cards, or at the least, an accelerated 2D card, and this is the best we can get? No anti-aliasing even? Diablo 1 was antialiased! Still the art-work and cinematics are great.
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SOUND
92 % |
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The Diablo II sound was a mixed bag. The continuity of sounds from D1 was welcome, but on the other hand, they were sounds from the early 90's. The expansion sounds continue with the same general scheme. Fortunately, however, the music makes up for any and all off-sounds. I'd buy a soundtrack of the music from the expansion if there were more songs to it. If you liked the music from any of the Black Isle D&D games (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale), you'll love the music in Lord of Destruction.
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GAMEPLAY
98 % |
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While the Blizzard concept of balance is a somewhat unique point of view, the fun factor still remains at the heart of the game. Especially multiplayer with a friend or two can really provide you far more hours of gameplay than any other game out there, especially with the addition of this expansion, even if the replay gets repetitive.
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DEPTH
74 % |
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Ok, not the deepest game in the world. The story is fairly loose and undeveloped, and the gameplay isn't the most intellectually stimulating experience around. Fortunately, I don't play ARPGs for the depth factor, and neither does anybody else.
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MULTIPLAYER
93 % |
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I was planning on giving the multiplayer a 98% rating because of the great fun it is to play online, despite the inability to trade items from one player to the next, or chat-room based trading. Unfortunately, recent events dropped the rating down a few points. Even if the problem is being corrected, missing items is quite a bug to allow to slip by and makes me wonder if the server patch was even tested before it was unleashed upon a few hundred thousand users. Hopefully, though, the instabilities will fade away in the near future.
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Do note that our rating system has changed, as outlined in the Antaeus Rising review, since we reviewed Diablo II a year ago, hence the seemingly low scores in come categories. Also note that the overall score in this review is not an average of the base scores. Some games can be worth more than the sum of its parts, and this certainly qualifies as one of those. There are far more factors than just the five core ones that make the value of the game. I also dropped a point from the intended 93 because of the sheer cost of the game. $35 for an expansion is simply inexcusable. Regardless, though, I will nominate Lord of Destruction for our 2001 Top Pupil awards in the category of best expansion, simply because of how fun it is, and much work went into, at least attempting to balance things, and create new fun items.
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