9. Diablo II
Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment | 2000
An epic follow-up to perhaps the most polished action-RPG in existence: an utterly perfect hack-and-slash romp
What made it so great?
Every part of the Diablo games was honed to perfection, but the part of a standard RPG that really needed honing is the skill system - they're typically bloated, illogical and riddled with useless stunts you'd never want. Diablo II presents each character class with three skill trees, one for each discipline they can specialize in, and more importantly every one of them is good.
The decision of where to spend your one skill point each time you level up becomes so agonizing that it's almost more of a burden than a bonus. Corpse Explosion is so good... and just one more point would give it that much more damage... but that same point could get you a whole new kind of golem made of rotting flesh! Those big, golden, stone-embossed buttons are so satisfying to press that you have to click one of them soon, or you'll go insane from the temptation.
Get ready to play
Believe it or not Diablo II's great improvement over the original was to up the resolution to, wait for it, 800x600. So brace yourself for some seriously low-res clickery, and while you're at it keep your clicking finger in top shape. It's going to see a lot of use.
Been there, done that?
If you prefer not to adventure alone, Gas Powered Games' Dungeon Siege is as close as you can get to the Diablo experience in a party-based RPG.
