Diablo 2 Resurrected, or “I can't do it, too many memories…” (cit.). It was the early afternoon of a warm spring day. We had eaten something at the school bar and on returning to the classroom I had glimpsed the edge of a cardboard box sticking out of the open backpack of one of my classmates: it was Diablo 2. At the end of the 90">90s there were still few gamers; few compared to today, of course, even if by now their number was becoming larger. Throughout the school period we have always been two or three per class, but with the fact that International Superstar Soccer (you know it as PES) had become the test bed to prove who knew more than football, the PlayStation had begun to spread almost everywhere, even in the homes of those who had never experienced the thrill of a gaming tower assembled by hand. So I was struck by the fact that this friend of mine (who hadn't come out yet) had a fresh fresh copy of Diablo 2, because then we PC players knew each other a little and we looked at those with only the PlayStation as hopeless noobs.
I didn't want to steal, but ...
Mind you: I was the strongest in the city also with International Superstar Soccer, but here the point is another, which is that without thinking I took that box and went home at the speed of light. It was not my intention to steal it, I want to say it, so much so that I left a note in his backpack that said: “Don't worry, I didn't steal Diablo 2. On Monday I'll bring it back and I'll be forgiven“.
Two hours later, when I had taken my first steps into the world of Sanctuary, my home phone rings. I pick up the phone and on the other side there is my partner, very pissed off: "Give me your exact address because I'm coming to take the game back: see if you can find yourself". I don't know exactly how he figured it was me, but as I said there were few PC gamers and I wasn't the type to hide it. The fact remains that before dinner, at the subway stop near my house, I humbly apologized, explaining that I had not resisted the temptation. The following Monday, between me and him, it was as if nothing ever happened and he soon became one of my closest classmates: I think he understood what prompted me to do that and we never talked about it again.
our memory is unable to hold objective memories
What I told you it's a true story in every detail; every single detail ... except one: on the edge of the box it wasn't written "Diablo 2" but "Command & Conquer: Red Alert" and it was 1997, not 2000. Again it was not my intention to lie, how much to confess that so many years have passed since I played Diablo 2 that as soon as I received the key to redeem Resurrected, I smiled thinking about what happened that I would have sworn was true, only to realize that I was remembering the wrong episode and that that time I hadn't "stolen" Diablo 2 but another game. I was so sure it was the Blizzard title that I had to check the release dates twice before giving up on the idea that my memory was fooling me.
There is no point in making constant parallels between Diablo 2 and Resurrected
With this long but sincere premise I want to start the review of Diablo 2 Resurrected with an axiom: it makes no sense to write an article about operations like this by making continuous parallels between the original and the remake (or the remastered), especially if it's been four decades , because our memory is incapable of having an objective memory of it. To prove it just hit the G key while playing Resurrected and I'm sure that at the sight of that resolution and those pixels as big as crumbs of focaccia everyone would open their eyes wide at the cry of “but no; it wasn't that bad! They did it on purpose to make this version look more beautiful ”. And instead the cock: it was just unwatchable.
Okay, it wasn't that unwatchable. But there is another reason why it makes no sense to talk about amarcord, and it is summed up in the fact that if Resurrected is a one-to-one transposition of a classic, therefore essential if one has a tear but wants to replay it with a graphic brand new (e here ends the review for aficionados), it is also a completely new video game for a very large part of young PC users, so much so that I think it can be misleading to hear how cool it was in 2000 and when it is faithful to the original that of 2021.
Diablo 2 Resurrected is an isometric hack 'n' slash imprisoned in an RPG
Let's start with the fact that Diablo 2 Resurrected is an isometric hack 'n' slash imprisoned in an RPG structure. In other words, we move around a map with a character who has statistics, inventory and a skill tree to grow thanks to the wild loot and experience gained in the field. His only job is to slash, cast spells, summon other creatures or shoot arrows in order to kill anything that moves (and a lot of it always moves, all at once). You can choose from eight classes: barbarian, necromancer, druid, amazon, assassin, wizard and paladin. I am not here to explain how they differ also because the game does not tell you and they are quite clear to anyone who has a minimum of experience with role-playing games. What really matters is the different equipment, as many weapons or armor are unique to each of them and to the stats. Here, however, comes the beauty, because Diablo 2 is a "simple" game.
There are only four items (strength, dexterity, vitality and energy) and four "resistances" (fire, cold, lightning and poison). With the passage from one level to another you get experience points to invest in one of these four variants: fine. The resistances are instead linked exclusively to the equipment. They can then be worn armor or shields with special bonuses but also to set gems and jewels so as to add more. The same goes for the active or passive skill tree, such as the ability to master the use of a specific weapon (ie for the barbarian) or develop the ability to summon an impassable wall of bone and debris (ie for the necromancer). If I wrote earlier that Diablo 2 is a simple game, now I want to specify that "simple" and "monotonous" are not synonymous. In fact, Diablo 2 Resurrected offers dozens of variations, allowing even homogeneous classes to decline in very different fields.
In the continuous evolution of the equipment lies all the power of Diablo 2
There is therefore no need to dwell too much on the fact that it is a title fromvery high replayability. In my small, two hours time in the role of the barbarian who I find a rare shield for paladins only with so many of those bonuses (magical and otherwise) that I regret the choice made. In this continuous evolution of the equipment, even before the statistics, lies all the power of Diablo 2. Each object can affect any parameter: from the possibility of hitting the opponent to the speed and amount of additional damage, from the variations in the percentages of loot to the timing on the recovery of the object's integrity (repairable or not), from the resistances to certain attacks to the ease of recovery of mana, life or vigor. There are thousands of possible combinations, often under the full control of the player who can equip himself with particular stones to be set or specific talismans to be kept in the inventory to amplify any aspect of the build (feature introduced by the DLC included in Resurrected). The gameplay is a frantic succession of "I want more and more and more" why everything is devoted to maximum destructive gratification of what, perhaps even today, is the most balanced (and exhilarating) hack 'n' slash around.
In all of this I have pinned down some outline elements that I would like to talk about, first of all the difficulty curve that goes up softly. You don't have to be a hardcore gamer to get to the end of the tunnel in single player, especially since the strength of the Blizzard title lies in its being a build generator all to be experimented in search of the perfect one. The growth of the character, if done with a minimum of salt in the pumpkin, in fact follows a line parallel to that of the many enemies to be killed. The same goes for the equipment. This is not to say that the ticket price is not worth a single ride but rather than the mechanics lend the side to more runs, without making them mandatory or boring (indeed!). Regarding the narration, which even surpasses that of Diablo 3, there remains something useful to follow the protagonist in his movements between the areas of the map ... but it does not give anything more. However, there are valid side missions, splendid cutscenes and unique items that make up prestigious sets, not to mention the additions guaranteed by the included expansion among which stand out the Horadrico cube which allows you to blend stones, runes and jewels to obtain new trinkets according to a pre-established "recipe book". Come on: while we're at it, let's talk about the maps and graphics for a moment.
Diablo 2 is still the King of hack 'n' slashThe latter offers effects of light and animations that do not make you regret triple A productions released from the need to be faithful to a legendary IP, with even high qualitative peaks in classes such as the enchantress and the druid. In a completely analogous way, even the maps of the countryside, net of having clear geometric boundaries inherited from the iteration of 2000, are presented in a gargantuan succession of excellent set pieces that characterize (almost uniquely) every environment, even the useless ones. We close the circle with the Italian localization passed with full marks, with the original dubbing still… Oh: I forgot the trailer at the opening of the article! Sorry, fix it now:
USEFUL INFOI played Diablo 2 Resurrected in full detail, without hesitation, on my Ryzen 5 1600 which doesn't support Windows 11, 16GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti God bless you.
Duration- The original Diablo 2 came out in 2000 and there are communities that still play it online. So the answer to the question "how long does it last?" I think it's "forever".
- Diablo 2 Resurrected is an isometric hack 'n' slash imprisoned in an RPG structure. In other words, we move around a map with a character who has statistics, inventory and a skill tree to grow thanks to the wild loot and experience gained in the field.
- Game Name: Diablo 2: Resurrected
- Release date: 23 September 2021
- Platforms:
- Dubbing language: Italian
- Texts language: Italian
If with this review I want to try to entice you as if we were talking about a brand new title, it is equally true that I will have to go back - sooner or later - to deepen one of the components necessary to understand its greatness: online. The fact is that to advise you to buy Diablo 2 Resurrected, even if only to listen to the tinkling of a potion or the metallic noise of the collected coins (iconic sounds that have entered the collective imagination of all gamers), to talk about co-op matches or of PVP is not fundamental. I don't even have faults to list, other than that of detesting the pathfinding of allied units and the limited inventory capacity with the need for continuous travel between the dungeon and the city through the evocation of the portals. One could also collect only what is necessary to continue, such as weapons or armor better than those worn, but if at the beginning there is the desire to make cash and then resell magical or rare items, after a few hours a new need arises: to accumulate equipment. for new characters.
The developers have in fact introduced a centralized and shared deposit, of the type that - on the side of the barbarian - I am carrying on a necromancer who has the advantage of starting with a magical shield (which is a very powerful mummified head) and armor, without having collected them in the field. This feature is quite relevant, because I reiterate that controlling one class rather than another radically changes the rules of engagement, so much so that at times it seems to play something different in each new game! In short: buy Diablo 2 Resurrected now… And not because it faithfully follows an old almost perfect title, but because it “is” an almost perfect title even today, in 2021.
Review by Roberto TurriniGraphics
Diablo 2 Resurrected offers lighting effects and animations that do not make you regret triple A productions released from the need to be faithful to a legendary IP, with even high quality peaks in classes such as the enchantress and the druid. In a completely analogous way, even the maps of the countryside, net of having clear geometric boundaries inherited from the iteration of 2000, are presented in a gargantuan succession of excellent set pieces that characterize (almost uniquely) every environment, even the useless ones.
80">80
SOUNDTRACK AND DOUBLE ROOM
The background music is different depending on the environment in which you move, so imagine something Arabic as soon as you leave the walls of Lut Gholein. Nothing that makes memorized tunes whistling during the game, but that's okay too. The localization in Italian is instead promoted with flying colors, with the original dubbing that still knows its stuff today.
80">80
GAMEPLAY
Diablo 2 is still the King of hack 'n' slash and Resurrected follows it without ever going out of business. He is as varied as the Algid Viennetta, as frenetic as the traffic of a metropolis, as addictive as binge watching. The strength of the Blizzard title lies precisely in its being a build generator to be experimented in search of the perfect one, with a gameplay that lends itself to countless runs, one different from the other, without ever making them mandatory or boring.
