Diablo II/Diablo II Expansion

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Well-made, but not good for kids.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this game contains almost constant fighting -- there is very little storyline. In addition, young players could be frightened by the cinematic interludes, which contain torture, demon possession, and battles.

  • Not applicable.
  • Majority of the game involves violence, either physical or magical. The battles can be quite bloody--larger monsters, in particular, can explode into a large puddle of blood and guts. Multiple scary themes, demons, battles, blood, violence.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

The premise of DIABLO II involves the character taking on Diablo, which is, of course, another name for the Devil. The expansion pack picks up where Diablo II leaves off, by having the character fight Diablo's "brother" Baal. The idea of Heaven versus Hell is prominent throughout the games, with the player being assisted by an angel of sorts while taking on various demons and monsters, all the while building up to the battle with Diablo, and later Baal.

Diablo was one of the first popular games to employ a "real-time" aspect of gameplay: With every click of the mouse, the player can move a sword or cast a spell to attack enemies. Strategy primarily involves choosing the best weapon or spell your character can use.


Is it any good?

 

Diablo II and its expansion pack contain a rudimentary story that, while well done, only serves as a weak link from one battle to the next. Perhaps one of the more worrisome aspects is the direct correlation between player action and violence.

The battles can be quite bloody -- larger monsters, in particular, can explode into a large puddle of blood and guts. The potentially scary segments are mostly contained in cinematic segments between the main "acts." These scenes tie the overall story together, and contain some of the most disturbing scenes, including battles, possession by demons, torture, and fires. Although undoubtedly a popular and well-made game, Diablo II isn't a good choice for kids.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the violence in this game. Do you enjoy the constant action, or do you prefer more of a story?


This review was written by Jeremy Gieske
Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Addicting, just addicting
This game is very addicting and can tear apart your grades, friends, family, and mind, if you don't regulate it. Limit yourself to playing it 1 hour a day max. If you play this game too much it can get to you. Listen to music while playing this game or simply turn the sound off. Often times the sounds are disturbing. Since the story is pretty pointless, don't bother listening or reading what they have to say. Just do the deed and get out. Play outside, listen to music, and have friends. It's when you don't get out is when Diablo really gets into your life.

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Adult
June 6, 2010
 
Diablo II/exp. is amazing, but awfully gorey.
Diablo is one of the best games. Sure, it's violent but it's fun. Though sometimes the gore can get out of hand, such as when you encounter a monster that is 'fire enchanted' killing them causes them to explode in a gorey mess. Some skills such as the necromancers corpse explosion has the same effect. So gore is a pretty big issue here. Language,drugs,alcohol, they are not in the game, besides a bar in the second act. The game can and will make your hand go numb if you play it to long however, since it involves lots of clicking both mouse buttons. The game is pretty long and will take time. There are very minor maybe you can call them sexual issues, as in the first and rarely in other acts you encounter female undead warriors who are scantily clad, if you even look that close. And your first AI partner you can recruit is a bit the same. The first act boss however is another story, as she is immensely tall and show her chest completely. However, chances are you won't notice as you should be to busy trying to survive her attacks to pay attention. There are some nightmarish things, such as giant bugs,the act 2 boss is a key one here, large mosquitoes,swamp monsters,big foot like beasts etc..though admittedly, the boss in the 3rd act is nightmarish crazily. The cut scenes are also that you would see straight from a horror sci fi movie so beware there. It's a game that is incredibly fun,which is doubled with a online friend, and one you should try before you buy.

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Adult
October 25, 2009
 
Good game, old graphics
I've played this and the original Diablo for quite a while. While there is a lot of violence, most of it is pixilated, and it is fairly old graphics. Also, you never kill a real human (at least as far as I've gotten, I've never beat it, because my little brother kept deleting my saves), so while there's violence, it's against made-up creatures. Overall, a good game.

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Teen, 14 years old
March 16, 2011
 
AWESOME
I have been playing this since i was 8 and the blood is to pixelated to be graphic it has lots of language on multiplayer and its a good game.

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Teen, 15 years old
February 16, 2011
 
Violence is unrealistic, game fueled by greed, effing awesome game.
This game, if nothing else, is fueled by greed. You want more loot. To get it, you'll do anything. Crawling dungeons and murdering tons of daemons all for the loot. While, on the whole, that's not the best message to send to kids, it's the same as a points system, and the violence isn't really that major, as it's very fantasy-fueled. I'd say if your kid's 13 (or really mature and 12) he can handle this amazing action-rpg. Parents should play through it with the lilluns. If not to supervise, than to experience a truly amazing, visceral experience.

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Parent of 14 year old
July 3, 2009
 
lots of gameplay for your money, but not for kids
Diablo is an older game, but it still sells, with good reason. It's a great game that you can literally play for years without getting tired of it. Unfortunately, it's not kid stuff. The online chat is totally unfiltered and the community that plays Diablo is almost totally taken over by cheaters, griefers, trolls and other miscreants. It's possible to play the game offline, single player, which is safe. However, the game has graphics and imagery not suitable for younger kids (although the graphics are small and crude by today's standards) - thing like people that have been impaled on stakes, torture chambers, (small, pixilated) blood.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 

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Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
This is one of the best computer games i play
If you do buy this game keep in mind that it will take a while to play expansion or no expansion (be sure to only install the oringinal, then after finishing act 4 then install the expansion) yes it is really violent and other stuff bit its not like we dont see it in newer games or on tv

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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
 
everyone can play this game!
I was playing Diablo 2 seince i was 3. I know it might be a shocker but when i was 3 i did play it. There is rarly any secenes that would scare any one. The game is a great game if you understand it.There is no nudty and the cuss words are damm,damned,and hell all used in how they were used in the bible so there not cuss words. The blood is bad but half the time it is too dark to see the blood. Then there is the plains where you have to kill bug and they expload diffrent colors and cmon haven't you ever kill a bug. All I have to say is dont judge the game by its cover. I bet half of you haven't even played the game to know about how bad it is. THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU POST!!! PS. Runescape sux!!!!!

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
This is just common sense
People, the game is called Diablo. Its intention is to be satan in a box. (I say that in all the best and most amazing ways possible.) Now, I'm not saying this is a bad game...because it is FAR from that. Diablo is one of the most amazing games of all time; however, I wouldn't let your spoiled 13 year old play it unless you really dont care about the language, and the violence. The rest of you who dont care, this game is a MUST if you are a PC gamer. M U S T!

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This review was written by Jeremy Gieske
Platforms:Windows
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Role Playing
Developer:Blizzard Entertainment
Release date:May 20, 2003
Price:$30
ESRB rating:M

This review was written by Jeremy Gieske

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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