What genre of game is Diablo 2?

[zero14777]

hack n slash-action-RPG-Dungeon crawler with an isometric view. Diablo II has qualities of all of these genres so as a game its more of a hybrid. The isometric view camera angle is the key point that all games in its same "genre" share, although I don't know of any game site that has an isometric view filter when searching for a game.

 

[Weaver]

I call it an action RPG.

 

[StBishop]

Action RPG. Thread over. Next question.

Wow, this reply coupled with your avatar makes me want to punch something.

I don't think anything has pissed me off in a loooooooooong fucking time. I get annoyed a lot but I haven't actually gotten angry in ages.

I don't know whether to chastise or congratulate you.

OT: Old school RPG?
I don't like Action RPG and I don't like Hack 'n' Slash (wrote Hack 'n' Slack initially) either as both games make me think of vastly different games than D2.

ARPG makes me think of Too Human or Dragon Age 2.
While
HnS makes me think of Dynasty Warriors, and a little of Too Human.

If I was describing D2 to someone I'd day "It's an Isometric, top-down view; item based, dungeon crawler with 5/7 classes who each have unique fighting styles and each has 3 skill tree options to work though."

It seems like it falls best into Dungeon Crawl for me.

 

[Dragonsoulq]

Point and Click: The solution to every problem is use sword on monster

 

[triggrhappy94]

Top down, MMORPG, Dungeon Crawler, Awesome
any of those work

 

[Hippobatman]

Isometric Dungeon Crawling Hack and Slash Action RPG.


What? Not specific enough?

Seriously, all the mentioned genre suggestions are valid. I don't understand why there needs to be a debate over which of the three gives the most precice description of the games in question, since they're already pretty vague from the get-go.

But that's just how I feel about the case.

Please don't be offended.

 

[Raziel Paragorne]

I always though they were 'Isometric Dungeon Crawlers'...that could just be shortened to dungeon crawler I suppose but it's in an isometric perspective.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Assuming that it only belonged in one genre is where you're getting confused

I would say its a rpg and a dungeon crawler.

true enough, Dungeon Crawler RPG is fairly concise term for it. I'll use that from now on.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Dungeon Crawler. And good luck classifying games with the current ambiguity given to the genre terms.

 

[RanD00M]

ARPG makes me think of Too Human or Dragon Age 2.

DA 2 was, or at least was supposed to be, a CRPG, so how do you get ARPG from that? It makes little sense.

 

[StBishop]

ARPG makes me think of Too Human or Dragon Age 2.

DA 2 was, or at least was supposed to be, a CRPG, so how do you get ARPG from that? It makes little sense.

You mean classic rpg yeah?

It didn't feel like one. It was great and I had a lot of fun with it. But I enjoyed the combat more than the story, therefore, it's an Action RPG.

I can't believe that they were going for Baldur's Gate, when they were obviously aiming for Jade Empire.

Which, incidentally, Mike Laidlaw wrote for.

 

[Austin Howe]

Rogue-like, hack'n'slash/point'n'click/dungeon crawler (they're all pretty much the same guys).

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

I'd classify it as a dungeon crawler.

 

[cgmetallica1981]

Hack 'n' Slash to me is more to God of War than it is to Diablo. Point 'n' Click could refer to a lot of things, so I usually refer to Diablo "Clones" as Action RPGs or Dungeon Crawlers.

 

[Deathninja19]

Action RPG. It has rpg elements, and plenty of action. Dunno, first thing that came to mind anyway...

Also, what the hell is this thing?

Tyloom penis? Though everything looks like penis to me.

 

[synobal]

It's an RPG but more specifically it's a dungeon crawler Hack n slash RPG.

 

[Stryc9]

Other games such as Torchlight and Titan Quest I tend to refer to as Diablo style games.

The problem with using that as the terminology is it makes you look incredibly antiquated. Like how all FPSs used to be "Doom Clones". Or sandbox games "GTA clones".

That may be true but it's no worse than calling them "rougelikes" when Rouge is an even older game. I usually follow up that statement by pointing out how game X differs from Diablo for the good or bad.

When describing Titan Quest to a friend I called it a Diablo-style Action RPG set in ancient Greece with more character classes to choose from, some improved mechanics and better grapics with physics. This was only a year or so ago and she was interested in it. She didn't feel that Diablo II was antiquated in any way because there haven't really been a plethora of other games to improve on it like there are in the more popular FPS and sandbox genres.