Diablo II

A dark fantasy action role-playing game from 2000.

Diablo II is a 2000 action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and OS X. Building on the success of its predecessor, it became one of the most popular games of 2000 and has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. The game's access to Blizzard's free online play service, Battle.net, was a major factor in its success.

Quick Facts

Developer

Blizzard North

Publisher

Blizzard Entertainment

Director

David Brevik
Erich Schaefer
Max Schaefer

Producer

Matt Householder
Bill Roper
Kenneth Williams
Mark Kern

Programmer

Rick Seis

Writer

Stieg Hedlund
Matt Householder
Phil Shenk
Kurt Beaver
Bob Vieira
Chris Metzen

Composer

Matt Uelmen

Series

Diablo

Facts from the source article.

Plot

Diablo II takes place after the previous game, in which an unnamed warrior defeated Diablo and attempted to contain the Lord of Terror's essence within his own body. That hero became corrupted, causing demons to wreak havoc. Adventurers passing through the Rogue Encampment investigate the destruction, starting with the corrupted Dark Wanderer. The soulstones, originally meant to imprison the Prime Evils after they were banished by the Lesser Evils, become the key: Diablo's corrupted soulstone allows him to control the Dark Wanderer and free his brothers Mephisto and Baal.

Baal, united with the mage Tal-Rasha, is imprisoned in a tomb near Lut Gholein; Mephisto is imprisoned in the eastern temple city of Kurast. Cut scenes show the Dark Wanderer's journey as a drifter named Marius follows him. Marius, now in an asylum, narrates to a hooded visitor he believes is the Archangel Tyrael. In Act I, adventurers rescue Deckard Cain and follow the Dark Wanderer, overcoming Andariel.

In Act II, the Dark Wanderer reaches Tal-Rasha's tomb first; Marius is tricked into removing Baal's soulstone. In Act III, the Dark Wanderer and Baal find Mephisto; the three open a portal to Hell, the Dark Wanderer becomes Diablo, and adventurers defeat Mephisto.

Development

Diablo II was announced in 1997 with a planned launch in early 1998. Lead developer David Brevik aimed to fix issues from the first Diablo, including improved multiplayer, more distinct character classes, and a more horizontal game world. Originally slated for two years, development took over three years. Brevik's focus on gameplay from Ultima Online and concepts from Civilization and Master of Orion led to the skill tree.

The team had creative freedom but this haphazard approach caused delays. After missing a key 1998 deadline, Blizzard North entered crunch during 1999 to ensure a 2000 release. Despite having less than one percent of the original Diablo code and much content done from scratch, testers saw it as more of the same. The game was released simultaneously in North America and internationally.

Cover art by Gerald Brom originally had a hole in the character's forehead, which was hidden after the Columbine High School massacre. Over 70 people worked on the game. A second expansion beyond Lord of Destruction was in design stages but never reached production; it would have added MMO elements like guild halls. It was shelved when most Blizzard North staff left around June 2003.

Reception

Diablo II was widely praised by critics. On Metacritic, the PC version holds a score of 88 out of 100, while GameRankings lists it at 89 percent. GameSpy gave it an 86 out of 100, IGN an 8.3 out of 10, and GameSpot an 8.5 out of 10. Greg Vederman of Next Generation awarded it a perfect five stars, calling it an essential PC title.

The game earned GameSpot's 2000 runner-up Reader's Choice Award for role-playing game of the year. At the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences named it PC Role-Playing Game of the Year, PC Game of the Year, and overall Game of the Year. In 2016, Time ranked it 21st on its list of the 50 best video games of all time, and Game Informer placed it 8th on its top 100 RPGs list. On its first day, Diablo II sold 184,000 copies.

Within two weeks, global sales hit 1 million, and after a month and a half, they reached 2 million. This earned it a spot in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling computer game ever. Total sales for 2000 were 2.75 million worldwide, with South Korea being the largest international market.

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