The Diablo Battle Chest makes the perfect gift for someone new to the action-RPG phenomenon, or for the hard-core Diablo fan that wants the complete series in one big collectible box.

The weakest part of the collection is the strategy guide, but you won't come to appreciate that until you have completed the first level of game play (normal). While the guide does give some useful pointers and some helpful hints about what to expect, it fails terribly in giving really meaningful tactical advice. As an example, some monsters will always "telegraph" an attack. If you know what to look for, you can react before they actually do and you can either avoid them most of the time or strike first, thereby stopping it before it can happen. The guide mentions only one such "tell", that of Diablo's fire weapon, but there are many others, so watch for them. A last thought on the guide, half of it, basically the "lists", contains really useless statistical information. It would have been better to include tactical info like how to set-up your battles, enter rooms, work with your hireling -- that sort of thing.

I now must confess that when I bought the expansion pack, I never tried the original game, I just jumped into Diablo II. It is a seemingly simple game, yet when looked at carefully it is very intricate. You have the option of playing one of seven character types in a game (although you can actually start seven different games and play each character that way). Since each character can specialize in one or two of three areas, there are virtually limitless combinations you can pick and choose from to do battle against the demonic forces of Hell. (The guide does provide some useful advice about where to put your skill points, but here again this could be improved upon.)

The two ultimate goals in the game are to advance your character by defeating the monsters and to ultimately kill the four main "bad guys". This is done by following a scripted story line, but within the story there are plenty of opportunities to deviate. From a gaming perspective the game becomes much more challenging as your character progresses. Once you finish the entire game you can play again at two higher levels and this is when things can become really difficult. (It would have been nice if these plots could have been changed somehow, but it's understandable why they weren't.)

I have two main problems with game play. The first concern is with the rewards received after major battles. It is frustrating to come close to death, perhaps even dying, only to get powerful items your character cannot use. This happens most of the time! A simple solution in the single player option would be a line of code that recognizes the character class and have the monster drop items only useful for that class. This is not an issue in any multi-player mode where everyone should have an equal chance at some goodies, but for the off-line single player mode -- come on!

The second problem, and perhaps it's just me or the character I play the most (sorceress), is that the monster battles should get harder as the game advances, yet I find the battle at the end of Act 2 (Duriell) harder than the battles at the end of Acts 3 or 4!! The first time through I must have been killed 15 times at the end of Act 2, but I sailed through those other two battles. I mean really . . . (The problem, by the way, is maneuverability. Duriell moves very quickly and you are limited in the space you have to fight in. This is less of a problem in just about every other battle in the game. So the very first thing to do when entering the "chamber", open a portal! If you die don't use it to return, go the long way. Also if you use it to escape, return the long way. That way, it remains there and you don't have to worry about opening another.)

If you're looking for a game that allows you to approach it with either some tactical thought by playing a weaker character such as a sorceress, or more of a "hack 'n slash" melee role like the Barbarian, this game has them both. There are also some great cinematics at the beginnings of each Act. I've wasted too much of my life playing this demonic game, it's so addictive!

Logging onto Bnet and playing this game with tens of thousands of people, 4 years after its release, shows you just how great the game is. If any game can put up these numbers years after its release then its got to be doing something right.

Pick up this game now if you havent already. Youll be hooked for a long time...