Need replacement for Diablo2:LOD (not your usual "What-Game-Should-I-Play&q

I am a disgruntled Diablo 2:LOD player, having played for 6 years straight. I've done it all in Diablo, both softcore and hardcore, and now there's nothing left for me. Last season, I had an unprecedented six level 99 characters in USWest, but this new ladder season I don't even have it in me to get one 99 because I am: sick of Blizz, sick of Bnet, sick of the immature D2 community; sick of lags, connection interruptions, realm downs, hackers, dupers, botters, PKers, losing items due to lag, not being able to use a torch and a Javazon's lit fury because I'll cause the game to drop; and most of all, sick of Blizz for neglecting a once great game and running it into the ground by letting all of the above take place for years now. OK, having got that off my chest, it's clear I need a new game .... but which one?

I can tell you what games I don't like ... anything that even remotely resembles EQ or WOW or GW ... (I've tried all three just to give them a fair chance). I discovered that I hate those slow moving "quest after quest after quest" games. I don't care for "space wars" or military combat types of games either.

I'm also not keen (but willing to adjust) to 3D environment games because I'm so used to the 2D environment of Diablo. Something about always looking at the back of my character's head bothers me. When I tried EQ and WOW, for example (and I gave EQ a fair shot of playing it off and on for 3 months before I decided it wasn't the game for me), I spent most of my time looking up my ass trapped against a wall. :roll:

What I do like are RPG games with the kind of "feel" Diablo has. A game where I can choose my characters, develop the characters and then kick the crap out of demons surely and swiftly ~ none of this attacking a monster for half an hour with 20 guildmates to kill it like in EQ (boyfriend plays EQ and has several level 75 characters ~ I've watched enough over his shoulder to know what the game is about). I like a fast-paced game with a "dungeons & dragons" fantasy/medieval world theme.

I play my games online on a decent gaming PC (I thought it was a kick ass PC until I saw some of the builds of your PCs in your sigs LOL), and I don't mind having to pay a monthly server fee if the game and the server are worth it. I would like to play a game that is looked after by it's programmers/company (meaning new patches or expansions or some attention devoted to keeping the players interested).

NOW ... another gamer at this forum suggested HellGate London (which I've heard of) but after reading several posts in this forum about the demo/beta, I am undecided. Not even sure I want to download the demo, it sounds so bad. Admittedly, the appeal of HGL was that it was developed by the original team of Diablo (how could they go wrong???) and some of you wrote that it is the D3 we've been wanting for years ... but some of you said simply one word and that is LAG ... if there is any lag in the game (be it SP or MP), I might as well stick with D2:LOD as I get all the lag I need over on Bnet for free. 'Nuff said.

The Witcher was also suggested to me (never heard of it) but I haven't begun to research it yet. Later today for sure though. Gotta go to work in half an hour.

All of that having been said, what games would you recommend based on my likes and dislikes? I really appreciate any suggestions you can give me because I'm at the point where watching reruns on TV or watching paint dry is way more appealing than playing Diablo with all of its hassels. Thanks for reading and have a great game !!

best game i could recommend would be Titan Quest. closest thing to diablo i seen thats newer than baldurs gate.stanley4u

Titan Quest doesn't seem to have anything on Baldur's Gate when it comes to the average review score on gamerankings, though.

Well, I felt so compelled to recommend this that I registered...so my pick must be worth it! You gotta try Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Universe. They are pretty well done futuristic D2 clones basically. TONS of cool items, but not quite as much skill tree depth per class (though I've never played Universe) as the game is more item based with class restrictions on certain skills (spells). I'm sure there are demos on the web.

I just tried the Hellgate demo and I gotta say I has some potential, but it is very unpolished and left me a little underwhelmed. The graphics are passable (think a really good looking quake 2), but the voices are terrible, and the animations are even worse. STill the tech tree is porbably decent and the item system is downright cool. You get a forge (ala the blacksmith in D2) right at the beginning and you can "break down" items you find into base components (read gems) and forge new items. I'm guessing the item volume blows away D2 in the full version. Not all bad, but the demo is brutally short and leaves you hanging with nothing left to do after 30 minutes or so instead of feeling like you finished a quest.

Wow you played LOD for 6 years? Well if graphics age dont bother you at all i strongly suggest you play the Baldurs Gate saga. Its like Diablo but you think more and plan more. The story is one of the best in the genre and character role play is top notch. Realy had a good experience with Baldurs gate, especially BG2 Shadows of Amn.

At first you may find the game boring like the 1st 5 mins especialy in BG2, but when you begin to get out of the sewers, thats when the real game kicks in (BG 2 SoA).

Try it you might like it.

Well, I was in the same situnation before. I've tried lots of Diablo clones but none of them make the cut. DII is all about the items and there's no game with an item system that even comes close to that in DII, unfortunately. I've given up on those types of games until DIII comes out, playing DII online now isn't possible. It's, seriously, the worst game community in existence. If you've played it for that long I suggest you play some other types of games for a while, games without an end get really time consuming and maybe it's good to take a break from them every once in a while? :)kyrieee

I'm at work now and reading your posts on company time ... shhhh, don't tell anyone. LOL

This is the feedback that I need so thank you to all who are putting forth your suggestions. I am writing down all of the game name suggested and will look into each one when I get home from work tonight. Please, keep the feedback coming .... I don't mind if I have to research 12 games by the time I get home. LOL

Insofar as Kyrieee's post goes, I've heard the very same feelings from my D2 friends ... that there *isn't* another game like D2 out there (all the more reason Blizz should get off their collective asses and develope a D3) and yes, D2 is extremely item-based which is what makes MFing all the more appealing. I love MFing when my friends aren't online; it would be nice to find a game that has that element in it as well as hacking and slashing monsters and leveling up.

The Bnet community sucks and the little kids (no offense but you know who I mean) have ruined it for the mature players who take the game seriously. It *is* impossible to play on Bnet ... I just can't take it anymore despite my friends emailing me repeatedly to get online and baal with them (I might add that I have a great group of mature friends on Bnet who are probably some of the best baalers and teles in USWest ~ you don't get six 99s on your own without a damn good team !!). If I manage to find a new game I can stick with, I'll hate to leave them behind .... or else I'll have to persuade them to come to the other side. LOL

Anyway, got a deadline to meet, so I'll end my ramblings. Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming. I appreciate all of it. :)

PS: BTW, there *is* an end to D2 ~ when you reach 99, you win the game and Blizz sends you a mule of 50 high runes of your choice!! (Well, the runes part isn't true, but that's what I told the noobs in my baal runs when they repeatedly asked me, "What happens when you reach 99?") ;)

Titan Quest I can definitely recommend. that game was pretty great for a Diablo-clone. has some interesting character customization options that make for all sorts of ways to play your character.

supposedly,Hellgate: London is going to be pretty similar to Diablo, just in a 3D perspective, so you may want to keep an eye on that and check out some videos or something upon its release next week. might interest you, might not, but worth a look.

Titan Quest I can definitely recommend. that game was pretty great for a Diablo-clone. has some interesting character customization options that make for all sorts of ways to play your character.

supposedly,Hellgate: London is going to be pretty similar to Diablo, just in a 3D perspective, so you may want to keep an eye on that and check out some videos or something upon its release next week. might interest you, might not, but worth a look.

Xelioth1

or he could play the demo, it is developed by most ex-blizzard members that worked on diablo 2

Ahh, your post brings back so many memories :)

DII is such was such an emotional game. When I was kid and didn't have that great gear I got really euphoric when I'd id an amulet and saw "Mara's Kaleidoscope" for example (not a specific case), but also when I died with my HC characters and lost 6 months of hard work, I would just walk around the house feeling empty for a couple of hours (sounds way geeky), but in the end, the lows make the highs much higher. I know some people hate MFing but I really liked it, maybe not pindle, but each time you kill meph it's like you don't know what you'll get and maybe you'll get that gold Shako this time. All my friends in school played D2 too so we pretty much only discussed characted builds every day for like 2 years :P.

The current state of the game is a bit ridiculous though, since it's all based around dupes. I mean, how many people have found the runes for all their BoTD or Enigma themselves? Also, too many kids using pindlebots. Working hard for your items doesn't feel as rewarding when kids get them with little or no effort.

The reason I don't play much now though is that none of my friends play, and making friends in HC is next to impossible since public games are a death sentence (and the game list is cluttered with the likes of 'gib itamz') and soloing HC can be a pain. I lost all my chars to tppks (on the same day lol, I was careless) and then I got mad and 'quit' and when I came back all my mules had expired so :P

HG:L is a good choice. Ya the demo was underwhelming, but I am in the beta and the game is very good, and will only get better.

For a more traditional (and possibly better suggestion for you) D2 experiences, Mythos will certainly satisfy. Actually, based on your post I will go ahead and say Mythos is your best bet. It's 2D, has FANTASTIC skill system almost exactly like D2. It has tons and tons of items, and great customization.

Sacred

BG1-2

Icewind Dale 1-2

NWN 1-2

Planescape Torment

Gothic 1-3

Morrowind - Oblivion

Titan Quest

Fate

Space Hack

Dungeon Siege 1-2

Disciples 2

Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines

To be fair.. I actually liked the demo to Hellgate London. It even has references to D1-2.. which I thought was kinda cool.

Divine Divinity.

There isn't anything like D2 really, good luck.

Baldur's Gate

Neverwinter Nights

Dawn of Magic

Loki

And I'd recommend trying Hellgate. Yeah, it's 3D, but it's by Blizz ppl, and I really liked the demo, as a hardcore Diablo player myself.

Oblivion? It's amazing for anyone of any genre, imo.

Its pretty tough atm, to find diablo like games, that are fun to play ,and have a good online setup. Titan quest is pretty good,but it lacks the community to play it with others. I would recommend applying for the beta to hellgate london and see what you think, it looks like they are just opening it up to most everyone. Another game that you might like is Mythos from flagship, its still in development but in beta.

The Witcher looks like it has alot of hack and slash style gameplay, mixed with more traditional RPG storytelling, check that out as well.

If the story could matter less to you, I would give Icewind Dale a try over Baldur's Gate, as Icewind Dale is more combat focused. But if you want a very good story, great combat, and unforgettable characters, I would go with the Baldur's Gate series...

Try EQ2, it got me hooked for years :P

Hi guys !! I see that:

* Balder's Gate 1-2;

* Hellgate: London;

* Titan Quest + Expansion; and

* Mythos

are in the lead with strong recommendations for:

* Neverwinter Nights;

* Loki;

* Phantasy Star Online/Phantasy Star Universe; and

* The Witcher.

I knew I came to the right forum on the Internet ... this morning at the time I made my post, I felt like I had no options after the dismal failures of EQ, WOW and GW and now I have 4 solid options and 4 alternates. I will download the HGL demo tonight and maybe there are demos for the other games at Gamespot. Nevertheless, I appreciate your suggestions and feedback. I'm off to do some research now.

Mystic