Diablo II | |
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Diablo II cover art
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Developer(s) | Blizzard North |
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) |
David Brevik Erich Schaefer Max Schaefer |
Producer(s) |
Mark Kern Kenneth Williams |
Designer(s) | David Brevik Erich Schaefer Max Schaefer |
Programmer(s) | Rick Seis |
Artist(s) | Phil Shenk |
Writer(s) | Kurt Beaver Stieg Hedlund Matthew Householder Phil Shenk Robert Vieira |
Composer(s) | Matt Uelmen |
Series | Diablo |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, macOS |
Release |
PC Macintosh |
Genre(s) | Action role-playing, hack and slash |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Aggregate scores | |
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Aggregator | Score |
GameRankings | 89% (PC) 83% (Mac) |
Metacritic | 88/100 (PC) |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
GameSpot | 8.5/10.0 |
GameSpy | 86/100 |
IGN | 8.3/10.0 |
Awards | |
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Publication | Award |
Guinness Book of World Records | Fastest Selling Computer Game Ever Sold (2000) |
Interactive Achievement Awards | Computer Game of the Year (2001) |
Interactive Achievement Awards | Computer Role Playing Game of the Year (2001) |
Interactive Achievement Awards | Game of the Year (2001) |
PC Gamer | #16 "50 Best Games of All Time" (2005) |
PC Gamer | #82 "Top 100 Games" (2007) |
Computer and Video Games | #25 "The 101 Best PC Games Ever" (2005) |
GamePro | #11 "The 32 Best PC Games" (2008) |
Destructoid | #7 "Top Video Games of the Decade" (2009) |
IGN | #6 "Top 10 RPGs of All Time" (2012) |
Diablo II is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and Mac OS X. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror themes, was conceptualized and designed by David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, who with Max Schaefer acted as project leads on the game. The producers were Matthew Householder and Bill Roper.
Building on the success of its predecessor Diablo (1996), Diablo II was one of the most popular games of 2000. Major factors that contributed to Diablo II's success include its continuation of popular fantasy themes from the previous game and its access to Blizzard's free online play service Battle.net. An expansion to Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, was released in 2001. A sequel, Diablo III, was announced in 2008, and was released on May 15, 2012.
Diablo II's storyline progresses through four chapters or "Acts". Each act follows a more or less predetermined path, although there is some random-level generation in wilderness areas and dungeons between key cities. The player progresses through the story by completing a series of quests within each act, while there are also optional side dungeons for extra monsters and experience. In contrast to the first Diablo, whose levels consisted of descending deeper and deeper into a Gothic-themed dungeon and Hell, Diablo II's environments are much more varied. Act I is similar to the original Diablo; the Rogue Encampment is a simple palisade fort, while plains and forests making up the wilderness area, and the Monastery resembles the typical Middle Ages fortress. Act II mimics Ancient Egypt's desert and tombs; Lut Gholein resembles a Middle Eastern city and palace during the Crusades. Act III is supposedly based on the Central American jungles; Kurast is inspired by the lost Maya civilization. Act IV takes place in Hell and is the shortest, with just three quests compared to the other Acts that have six.