GameSpy - The 10 Best Action RPGs Between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3

Dhruin

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GameSpy looks at what they consider the 10 Best Action RPGs Between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. It's not a terrible list as far as these things go; here's the first entry:
Divine Divinity - 2002
Divine Divinity managed to splice Diablo's hack 'n' slash DNA with the more complex aspects of RPGs like Baldur's Gate and a refreshing dab of humor -- something most fantasy worlds fail to invent while constantly fretting about Ends of Days and Chosen Ones. Skill trees, for instance, are shared among all character types, so hybrids of all shapes and sizes are viable if you know what you're doing. (And if you don't, well, you probably made the mistake of playing a Summoner.) The world, meanwhile, is impressively non-linear, and most NPCs react realistically when faced with a blade to the face. That is to say, by dying. Unfortunately, however, there is NPC clone of the person who decided to call the game Divine Divinity.
While we're at it, sister site IGN explains Why Diablo II Still Rules:
Unmodded and running at 800 x 600 resolution, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is still my favorite action role-playing game. I've tried many other Diablo-style games since, from Titan Quest to Dungeon Siege to Torchlight (made by several of Diablo's creators) to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, some of which improved on Blizzard's design with less restrictive skill systems, better interfaces, more advanced visuals and added conveniences for travel, item storage and looting. But I've never played one and thought, without a doubt, that as a whole it established a higher standard than what Blizzard North achieved in the very early 2000s.
More information.
 
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The only two on the list I didn't buy when they were still out new are Borderlands and Bards Tale. Heh.
 
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Too bad that Nox was a half year too early to make the list.
 
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I played all of the games on the list except Dungeon Siege III - I picked it up just recently on a Steam sale and haven't got to it yet. I played the Bard's Tale on the PS2 instead of the PC. Fate was the one I enjoyed the least. There didn't seem to be any objective at all except get to the bottom of the dungeon. I would have to say I enjoyed Titan Quest and Divine Divinity the most out of that list.

I would add Bastion. It is one of the better ones I have played, if it could be considered an action RPG.
I enjoyed Legend: Hand of God more than Fate and Dungeon Siege II, though it just got average or below reviews.
 
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Too bad that Nox was a half year too early to make the list.

It would've been a travesty if it had made the list.

It IS a travesty that FATE made the list. Very much probable the worst Diablo clone I've ever played.
 
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Im so sick of action RPGs these days Almost none of them hold any interest for me anymore.
 
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Wow, those are the best 10 ARPGs in the last 11 years!! No wonder I don't care for ARPGs. Makes me almost believe my opinion is objective not subjective if those are the "best".
 
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Not a fan of any of those titles except for Divine Divinity, and calling that game an "action RPG" doesn't do it justice.
 
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Hellgate was the best alternative, in my opinion - though it died and never came into its own.

Path of Exile looks to actually defeat D2.
 
Hellgate was the best alternative, in my opinion - though it died and never came into its own..

was definitely a shame. from what i played of it it was quite fun but definitely needed a polish and bug-fix pass before release.

aren't some koreans trying to revive it or something, be somewhat interested to see how it goes.

Mythos (from Flagship also) was surprisingly fun for the stage it was at when I played it. Was possibly an even bigger shame that Mythos up and died more than Hellgate.
 
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was definitely a shame. from what i played of it it was quite fun but definitely needed a polish and bug-fix pass before release.

aren't some koreans trying to revive it or something, be somewhat interested to see how it goes.

Mythos (from Flagship also) was surprisingly fun for the stage it was at when I played it. Was possibly an even bigger shame that Mythos up and died more than Hellgate.

Yeah, Hellgate Global has been out for about a year now.

It's completely crap, though, as it uses older code from Hellgate - and they have yet to actually update anything. They've added some content - but the client is crappy - and some of the worst bugs still remain.

It won't get better - so it's pretty much dead :(
 
The only two on the list I didn't buy when they were still out new are Borderlands and Bards Tale. Heh.

Bard's Tale, both the Xbox title and the old ones inside it, is also on the iPad. Speaking of which, Divine Divinity would be a great game to port to it. Anyone agree? I recently bought Neverwinter Nights 2 for Mac and the interface sucks. Games to be fun need simple itnerfaces like Divine Divinity no matter what platform they are for or I lose interest.
 
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The 'new' Bards Tale, hey... Must be embarrassing to put that on your best RPGs list. :p

Divdiv is a favourite game of mine and Titan Quest was pretty fun with its ragdolls.

Thing is, Diablo has the random thing going on and none of those but fate and torchlight do the same and they lacked multiplayer. Considering the pen and paper roots of RPGs multiplayer campaigning is how it should be. Diablo games are boring as shit to play solo. :)
 
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It IS a travesty that FATE made the list. Very much probable the worst Diablo clone I've ever played.

I really love Fate ... but it is a self-proclaimed clone. If there aren't 10 action RPGs in the last decade worth noting without including Fate ... pretty sad.

Not a fan of any of those titles except for Divine Divinity, and calling that game an "action RPG" doesn't do it justice.

Totally agree - it is one of my favorite all-time games. It might use action gameplay, but it is SO much more.

Bard's Tale, both the Xbox title and the old ones inside it, is also on the iPad. Speaking of which, Divine Divinity would be a great game to port to it. Anyone agree?

I really don't agree - action games struggle to begin with on touch-screens, and something with that sort of scale ... no thanks. Anything turn-based (or even RTwP) would work pretty well ... so I'll happily take Temple of Elemental Evil on iPad, for example! Or with a different interface like Wizardry 8.
 
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Never winter nights 2 sucks even on the PC with the PC interface. There is no reason you should have three different interfaces based on an RPG. No wonder the game o ly costs a buck right now quite frankly.
 
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I guess I'm confused about the ARPG classification. To me any game that requires player skill to hit instead of stat's would be an ARPG. Which obviously would include games like skyrim, the witcher 2 and so on.

Is he including games like that. I'm not sure what his criteria is.
 
Given the context, I think he's primarily talking about hack/slash games.

Perhaps a more appropriate term would be action rogue-likes, but any strict genre definition inevitably falls apart as it evolves.

I think including Divine Divinity is a borderline misunderstanding, as it's more of a traditional CRPG with strong action elements. I think many people compare it to Diablo because it LOOKS a lot like Diablo in a strictly visual sense.

But it also has a similar loot generation system, etc.

But I wouldn't call it a rogue-like - except in the loosest sense.
 
I liked the original Sacred as much as I could - for an Action-RPG.

It was really detwilled crafted ... this high level of etail imho just did't correspond with the game's theme (being an ction game, that is) at all, imho ... It almost looked to me like "throwing pearls before the swine", because this game imho should and could have been a onderful "traditional" role-playing experience ...
 
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I liked the original Sacred as much as I could - for an Action-RPG.

It was really detwilled crafted … this high level of etail imho just did't correspond with the game's theme (being an ction game, that is) at all, imho … It almost looked to me like "throwing pearls before the swine", because this game imho should and could have been a onderful "traditional" role-playing experience …

I loved Sacred & expansions a lot too , too bad 2 was so bad .
 
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I guess I'm confused about the ARPG classification. To me any game that requires player skill to hit instead of stat's would be an ARPG. Which obviously would include games like skyrim, the witcher 2 and so on.

Is he including games like that. I'm not sure what his criteria is.

It's a list of games with an excessive amount of clicking, with the same perspective as Diablo (excluding Borderlands obviously).

To be fair, the last few hours of DD are almost nothing but combat, and there are some pretty huge dungeons like the catacombs and sewers before that.
 
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