The Devil Online

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (Expansion Set)

$35

For a world filled with fire-breathing demons, magical treasure chests, and axe-wielding barbarians, the online experience of playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction holds far more similarities to the real world than most of us would like to acknowledge. As with its forerunner, last year’s wildly popular Diablo 2, gamers are once again converging by the tens of thousands to www.battle.net, an online gaming site where players band together from across the globe to backstab their way up the ranking ladder, earn enough gold to purchase a new power suit of armor, and, even in some cases, commit a little murder. Not real murder, mind you, but rather virtual murder, or “PKing” (player killing), as it is affectionately known in this bloody land of fantasy.

“I know some people who are affected by it personally. I mean, getting PK’d really gets to them,” says DemonTrap, a level 23 assassin who surfaces from a battlefield known as the Arcane Sanctuary long enough to answer a few questions about this alternate reality he inhabits for more than 20 hours a week.

For players like DemonTrap, the world of D2: LOD is about more than just completing quests and finally defeating Baal, the game’s grand overlord of evil. It’s a place where, despite the constant threat of death, a gamer can exhibit more control than in the waking world. “It’s good because if you don’t like somebody, you can just leave the game. Not like real life, where you are stuck with that person,” DemonTrap confides.

Admittedly, this frightening insight into how America’s gaming youth handles social situations might send any self-respecting child psychologist into a tizzy over the type of coping strategies gamers are applying online. How will this form of alternative socialization impact kids as they venture further out into the real world? Do games like D2: LOD and Doom really encourage violence after players finally log off? Opinions vary online as much as they do in the hypersensitive media. CyprussBlade, a crafty level 24 player, wouldn’t agree to comment on the subject until he was paid 10,000 gold pieces. It would seem, even in this virtual world, information rules supreme. As for his take on violence and dysfunction on a post-gaming planet, CyprussBlade puts it this way: “You’re always going to have 50% of a group ready to stab you in the back. In a gaming community. At church. In politics, whatever. You know?”

So if the world of online gaming really is such a harsh climate of hostility, then why do kids continue to log on in ever increasing numbers? Does violence sell to them the way sex sells to adults? “I don’t know,” says Sissys, a level 4 Amazon who’s been playing the Diablo games for more than a year now. “I guess there is that element some people are drawn to. But for me, it’s the ability to modify your character 100%. I like that level of control.”

Indeed, the variety of choices offered in the D2: LOD amply exceeds that of its predecessor. With the addition of the assassin and druid character classes, an entire new act to play, and a whole new cyber kiln outputting newfangled types of elite weapons and armor, this expansion set almost feels like an entirely different game. And, with its higher resolution, it looks different too.

D2: LOD radiates with greater sharpness and detail, and the special effects from new advanced charms like the druid’s deadly volcano spell continue to inspire awe in lower-level characters. Just like a Hollywood movie, half the entertainment here is in the delivery. A small, yellowish-glowing volcanic mound arises from the earth and begins spewing molten lava balls upon a group of unsuspecting skeleton soldiers. It’s quite a spectacle.

Of course, not everybody is gushing over D2: LOD. As with any community, there are always dissenters. “I guess it’s okay,” concedes Big_DaddyZZ, a level 42 necromancer. “But it’s the same old game here, isn’t it? Point and kill. Point and kill.”

True, at its core, much like its precursors, D2: LOD does not require a great deal of strategy. Then again, the simplicity of the Diablo series interface is also a great attraction. Five minutes out of the box, players are thrust into high adventure, with a very short learning curve and a vast injection of adrenaline. This type of game was never meant to appeal to fans of real-time strategy, or others looking to challenge themselves mentally, but with more than 2 million copies of D2: LOD preordered before it hit the shelves last month, it’s obviously found its market.

This article appears in August 3 • 2001.