Diablo III – Ten Years of Diablo’s Rule… and Still Counting!

Last June, Diablo 2 celebrated its 10^th year anniversary – the game that singlehandedly changed the face of hack and slash and other dungeon crawler games and inspired the emergence of strategic games today.

Diablo 2 came out on June 29, 2000. It flew off the shelves which put it in for the world record as the fastest selling computer game. The World of Warcraft, another game from Blizzard, was the only other game able to beat it.

Continued patches after the game’s release changed the game in increments.  While there were several issues that affected the game, Blizzard has worked to resolve each and every one of them.

There is a reason many people consider Diablo 2 as the real start of the Diablo franchise. Diablo 2 took its predecessor’s traditional hack and slash mechanics and changed it to allow players to explore a more expansive world with unique zones and dangerous dungeons that change every time a player sets foot in it. The quests from Diablo 2 make the character travel through various terrains – equally intricate and dangerous. They explored every crevice of the Sanctuary. The monsters and demons the player fought trained him to withstand hardships and gain the skills and experience needed to prevail at the final battle of the Burning Hell. The four acts of the game weave a compelling story around the character. He battles the corruption inside him while fighting the Prime Evils, and demonic minions to face Diablo, the final boss.

The players found themselves a good selection of character classes. The classes are catered to different styles of player, each unique with its tailored weaponry and deadly arsenal of skills. The original five classes have varied strength and weakness and skill set to choose from. They make players want to play the game over and over just to see how the game looks like from a different prospective. From the humongous Barbarian to the frail but powerful Necromancer, every gamer can have his own way of playing the game. The later expansion also added two new classes, the Paladin and the Druid.

Diablo 2 introduced us to the online play that is the foundation for future RPG’s to come. The popularity of Blizzard’s Battle.net ensures the game’s vitality. A fact that gives it a regular spot in the best selling computer games for ten straight years.

The community around Diablo 2 is the best aspect of the game. Players help each other solve the mazes of the game, they give unique customization to the characters and the story, and they work to preserve the qualities that make the iconic game the best in the genre.

This year, the reign of Diablo 2 will likely transfer to its younger brother – Diablo 3. There will be changes that older fans will need some taking used to and the introduction of new characters will put old and new gamers on the same ground. What will not change, however, is the experience that the Diablo franchise will bring to the players. They can expect that Blizzard will deliver its promise of giving us a world where we can be heroes, fight monsters, and save the day.