DIABLO 2

Positive—Diablo 2, All I can say it is just one more of the same from Blizzard Entertainment. What I cannot understand is how a game company can actually pull this off, Blizzard is one of two companies ever to actually have every single game that comes forth from it to be given a landmark title (game of the year). I do indeed agree with the reviewer on the demonic aspects of the game, but I look at this title in a more general since. The world is in extreme peril, heaven and hell are at war, and the minions of Satan are planning to permanently turn Earth into an “outpost of hell.” Rather then interfere directly God instructs and gears a hero (your character) to attempt to defend the mortal realms by directly combating the powers of Satan. The epoch of the game occurs after your character slays two of the three “right hand” demons of Satan, Diablo, and Mephisto. Now Blizzard has released an expansion package extending the story to include the Destruction of Baal, the last of the three demons of Satan. Violent…yes, Satanic…oh yes, fun…yes indeed, dark and gothic…well look at the box. My Ratings: [1/5]
   —NECROLIGEST, age 18

I have to agree and disagree on the points the reviewer has made. I agree that as a christian, I find the symbols, lack of clothing on some of the female creatures and carnage disturbing, however this is a fantasy game much in the same vein as Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike D&D though, which encourages the player diversity of being good, neutral, evil, and service to gods of all types. Your player in “Diablo 2” has one goal … destroy Diablo and his menions and rid the land of evil. This game is NOT for everyone! Christians who are easily offended by such symbols and violence should avoid this game. And children should definitely not be allowed to play it either. I have been an avid gamer for about 9 years, and played about every genre that the game industry has to offer. I would not recommend this game to most christians, but I would highly recommend it to a hardcore game player. “Diablo 2” is a fantastic game from a gamers perspective. The interface is easy to use, it offers very interesting character development that can literally provide thousands of variations on the characters, the storyline progresses very well, geniunely requires solid strategy skills based on the character you play, and it provides three progressive levels of difficulty. Make no mistake, the game is a challenge to finish. On the down side, you may have to play through the same areas multiple times to gain enough experience to defeat a boss creature. This can become tedious at best, but usually this is only a problem in the single player game. The game is also a very serious investment of time. Most players I know on battlenet have spent hundreds of hours playing through all the difficulty levels. A christian definitely needs their priorities straight if they intend to play this game. God should always be at the forefront of our lives, hearts, and minds. If this game or any game ever takes away from God's place in our lives, then I'd say it is time to put it away. I'd much rather live life without games, than to live life without Jesus Christ. My Ratings: [2/4]
   —Troy, age 29

While the game is easily played, and the save feature is very, very bad, it is still a fun game. And I would have had no idea that there were occult symbols in it if the reviewer hadn't pointed it out. If you don't pay attention to what they talk about and can handle the violence, then it really is a fun game. And the main fun of the game is contained in the strategy of developing your character, not in clicking on monsters. My Ratings: [3/4]
   —Brian Dukes, age 15

The symbols are required for this game, as it is a game about fighting off the minions of Diablo, not butchering townsfolk, and not once did you have to kill a NORMAL (non-monstrous) human. The game had blood, to be sure, but it isn't even nearly as violent as other games on the market. The symbols meant signs of human sacrifice? The save settings were needed to prevent people from saving and then probing rooms, and the game might have required a lot of clicking, but it still wasn't just click the monster, it's dead, it did require some strategy, allowing the barbarian to jump pits, properly placed spells, like the one that allows a corpse to be converted into a trap against the monsters. And finally, I felt that the videos were fine, and of course the demons will look creepy, they aren't SUPPOSED to be all sparkly and nice looking! They're supposed to be ugly, but they weren't, as your review claimed, “made my skin crawl in revulsion” in the slightest, unless your reviewer has only been playing Alley Cat for the last few years.
   —D.M.

While these games do make mention of other gods, it is again fantasy, a story, made to work the imagination, and the mind, that is the beauty in it, its a wonderful story, in which you save the world…so I urge you not to over look the game because of its title, and try and enjoy it in the context of what it was made to be used it, a fantasy game, with a wonderful story.
   —James Hunter, age 16, non-Christian

…Every reputable gaming source gave Diablo 2 a very high score, such as PC Gamer and Game Spot. Diablo 2 has already made its mark in history. The game is very violent and has demonic content, but the game never supports satanism at all. The character you play is attempting to rid the game world of evil. True, the game has some violent and occultish images, but it is cartoonish enough to not really seem real at all. The gameplay is extremely addictive, it is simplistic yet complex. The quest system is excellent, it makes the game more straightforward than most games. The auto-save feature is ingenious, it adds a whole new layer of challenge and strategy. The storyline is intriguing enough to drive the action and is mostly told through the cinematics, which were of amazing quality. The story is basically a good vs evil plot where you play good and have to kill evil. The battle.net online system is amazingly easy to use and makes playing the game with tens of thousands of people around the globe easy as ever. The only real problem is the battle.net servers are often unstable or down. To be honest, I can see where a Christian would take offense. There are occultish and violent images throughout the game, but I feel that it is cartoonish enough that it isn't a real problem. The important thing to remember is that the game is a fantasy, not real at all. At the end your character descends down into hell to defeat the evil Diablo, but again the fact that the game portrays hell as a terrible place was good I thought. Overall, this is a great RPG that is very addictive. I would say that it deserved it's “M” rating due to its violent content, but it really is a great game. It will challenge you and keep you itching for more for hours. I have played it thoroughly and it didn't make me demonic at all, so I honestly don't feel that there is anything wrong with the game. My Ratings: [4/5]
   —Zack White, age 16

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this Christian Spotlight review are those of the reviewer (both ratings and recommendations), and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Films for Christ or the Christian Answers Network.