Revisit Diablo 2, demo available at Big Download
49
While we don't know when we'll get our hands on Diablo 3 (our guess is sometime between Starcraft 2 and a Lost Vikings MMO), now is as good of a time as any to look back on the previous Diablo game. While you could download the full version at the Blizzard Store for $20 (and the Lord of Destruction expansion pack for $20 more), the try-before-you-buy enthusiasts at Big Download have tracked down the demo version for you to try out. We know there are a few Joystiq readers who never experienced Diablo 2. Folks, feel ashamed no longer, download here.
Reader Comments (49)
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:04PM (Unverified) said
Thought the demo was pretty meh. The art style of diablo 2 made it really hard for me to keep going past the first dungeon/cave. I'm glad they changed it the way they did for 3.
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 2:27AM (Unverified) said
QFT. if you only played the first act you totally missed out on some of the most awesome looking environments (for it's time). Act II and Act V are my favorites, personally...
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 3:22AM chispito said
I disagree with Stevo and Eldee. The huge boring outdoor environments are the hardest thing to slog through each time I start a new game. The dungeons are pretty decent throughout, especially in Act II, but the monotonous outdoor stuff is just... lame.
Please, no more randomly generated fields in D3.
Reply
Please, no more randomly generated fields in D3.
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 11:40PM (Unverified) said
D2 doesnt work on Vista...I hope there is a fix though I have a unopened Diablo Battle Chest taunting me...
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 11:56PM (Unverified) said
works fine with me
make sure you
disable visual themes
disable desktop composition
disable display scaling on high DPI settings
and you should be good to go
Reply
make sure you
disable visual themes
disable desktop composition
disable display scaling on high DPI settings
and you should be good to go
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:20PM Funkmaster General said
I'd gladly play both Diablos if they'd update them to Universal Binary so I can properly play them on my intel Macbook.
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 12:03AM cuteSAVAGE said
They (D II and D II: LoD) run perfectly on my 2nd-gen 15' MBP with ATI GPU. They finally patched the OpenGL issue, so you can play in "millions" of colors and out of software mode.
Neither is likely to ever get a UB update, and Blizzard won't provide an OS X native installer for anything pre-StarCraft.
What problems are you having, or haven't you tried them recently?
Reply
Neither is likely to ever get a UB update, and Blizzard won't provide an OS X native installer for anything pre-StarCraft.
What problems are you having, or haven't you tried them recently?
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 2:28AM (Unverified) said
you want universal binaries? Damn dude, I would settle for being able to play it on a widescreen LCD in something other than 800x600 stretched out to my monitor's aspect ratio.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:24PM (Unverified) said
Warning to anyone running OS X 10.5.3 or later, it could bork your copy of Diablo II (or any game that runs on 256 colors, like StarCraft). Only solution is to either run it through Windows or downgrade to 10.5.2.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 10:59PM (Unverified) said
Diablo 3 and Spore will be compatible out of the box, thank the lord. I hate downgrading for Diablo II, but it's worth it :)
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 9:39AM (Unverified) said
It doesn't happen on all Macs. I believe it's only with Macs that have certain Nvidia graphics cards. I'm just saying that if you have a Mac and it doesn't work, 10.5.3 is probably why.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:35PM (Unverified) said
why not get that cheaper on ebay diablo 2 and the expansion combined isnt worth $40..you can probably get it for close to $20 for both
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 2:57AM (Unverified) said
What about Mr.BitTorrent and his five-year-plan?
If it's older than five years, it is absolutely positively acceptable to download it.
It's pretty huge though - 3GB.
Reply
If it's older than five years, it is absolutely positively acceptable to download it.
It's pretty huge though - 3GB.
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:44PM (Unverified) said
I just started playing Diablo 2 and I can't say I like it much...maybe I'll give it a couple hours and see what happens.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:45PM Keithustus said
Diablo Battle Chest for far les than $40 at any major retailer with a decent PC game selection.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:52PM BigD145 said
Note to Blizzard: release the original, non-expansioned, versions of both Starcraft and Diablo 2 for free. Consumers will get a taste for the genre and story. This will make them more apt to buy expansions and/or shoot straight to the new games. It's good PR and breeds brand loyalty without reaming the consumer on games that are freaking old.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 9:59PM SheppyReturns said
That's sort of a good idea, except...
Those who got the original for free would expect the sequel for free.
Reply
Those who got the original for free would expect the sequel for free.
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 10:14PM AwesomeTown said
Damn, I haven't played it in a long time. I'd get into it again, but there is just too much stuff to play.
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 12:46PM Zertoss said
OK, it's $30 at Gamestop (was $40 just the other day when I looked), AND for the next 24 hours, you can get free overnight shipping on it. If you haven't played these games yet, now would be a good time to start.
http://www.gamestop.com/gs/stopwatch/stopwatch.aspx
Reply
http://www.gamestop.com/gs/stopwatch/stopwatch.aspx
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 11:41PM (Unverified) said
I just loaded it up again too. My only gripe is the screen resolution. Can't they update that? It would probably look WAY better, and be much more fun to play. Otherwise, it's still ridiculously fun.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 11:22PM Zombienutz said
Diablo 1 and 2 are great games. Diablo 2 being the better, of course. I would recommend going for the battle chest if someone has not played the games before. I know GameStop is running a $10 off sale on all the Blizzard Battle Chests at the moment.
Reply
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 11:34PM SilentBob251 said
Diablo battle chest is $30 at Gamestop.com. I just picked it up and after tax and shipping it still only cost me $35. I did pick the cheapest shipping[5-10 days] but I can wait.
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 12:45AM (Unverified) said
Why couldn't you guys do this yesterday =(. Had to sort threw countless broken links and sit in a 30 minute queue to download it.
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 9:01AM (Unverified) said
Thanks for posting this link! I was hunting around for the Diablo Battle Chest the last few days wanting to get my nostalgia on :) This gave me a chance to see that, while still fun, the game hasn't exactly aged well. There's a lot of little niceties in newer games of the genre that I've come to depend on, and it somewhat dampens the experience for me when they're missing.
On the upside, if anyone is looking to get a point-click-bash fix while waiting "Titan's Quest" is an awesome substitute. (And on Steam too! Yay!) It'll hold me over till big red comes back, anyway!
Reply
On the upside, if anyone is looking to get a point-click-bash fix while waiting "Titan's Quest" is an awesome substitute. (And on Steam too! Yay!) It'll hold me over till big red comes back, anyway!
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 2:26AM (Unverified) said
QFT. if you only played the first act you totally missed out on some of the most awesome looking environments (for it's time). Act II and Act V are my favorites, personally...
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 2:35AM Azazel28 said
My friends and I went back to Diablo II over the past couple days so far I have put about 15 hours in to this old gem of a game. Why has there never been a worthy diablo clone? Not Dungeon Siege I or II, Sacred, Divine Divinity, and a slew of others I am not even going to go into have all been either absolutely horrible or "meh."
No game besides Diablo has been able to successfully capture the true hack and slash RPG like Blizzard can.
Reply
No game besides Diablo has been able to successfully capture the true hack and slash RPG like Blizzard can.
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 2:43AM SpeeGold said
I was a little young when this came out so I didn't get it then but as soon as I started hearing stuff about Diablo III I knew I had to try Diablo II. I tryed the demo and I have already ordered it online. It's sooooooo good. I even got two of my friends to buy it too so we can play online. I am just floored with how great this game is I can't even describe it... and all I've played so far is the demo.
Reply
Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 7:23AM Dummy00001 said
I played Diablo I/II only shortly in its times. Few month ago I have borrowed CDs from my friend to finish it completely.
End of joy after fast install came pretty abruptly: the 800x600 didn't really looked any good on my 1680x1050 TFT panel. In fact it looked really really bad. (On my friend's 20" CRT it looks much better, playable in other words)
We urgently need Diablo III to fix the DII resolution problem!!! ;)
Reply
End of joy after fast install came pretty abruptly: the 800x600 didn't really looked any good on my 1680x1050 TFT panel. In fact it looked really really bad. (On my friend's 20" CRT it looks much better, playable in other words)
We urgently need Diablo III to fix the DII resolution problem!!! ;)
Posted: Sep 29th 2008 11:57AM (Unverified) said
Is there any way to get the demo for mac working on OS X Leopard?
I managed to track down the installer for OS X but it appears only to be working on the full retail version of the game. :/
Reply
I managed to track down the installer for OS X but it appears only to be working on the full retail version of the game. :/
Posted: Sep 29th 2008 12:15PM (Unverified) said
Is there any way to get the demo for mac working on OS X Leopard?
I managed to track down the installer for OS X but it appears only to
be working on the full retail version of the game. :/
Reply
I managed to track down the installer for OS X but it appears only to
be working on the full retail version of the game. :/
Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.
Featured Stories
The most popular posts
in the last 7 days
- Vita 'UMD Passport' won't be offered in US 220 comments
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review: A tempting fate 153 comments
- David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update] 107 comments
- Don't call it a remake: Final Fantasy X is a 'remaster,' to be clear 95 comments
- Battleship movie adapted into FPS by Double Helix 93 comments










