D1 was a horror game/story. That alone was its greatest pro. Not too many of those games and those that tried failed miserably, even the Ravenloft games couldn’t deliver. For those that were playing AD&D (2nd ed of course), played D1 and LOVED it, especially those that were into Ravenloft and horror movies, especially HP Lovecraft. Even though Sierra Games made Hellfire, it was at least an xpack and it gave us the Monk to play. A class that won’t make an appearance till D3 core game. For all its bugs, it was very fun to play.
D2 was a nice continuation, it made the game into an open world of sorts. It was partially horror and partially action. That worked very well for the game. Name another (in that time) that did the same and succeeded. I can’t. LoD was very nice. Players were devided on the Druid vs. Assassin too. Personally, I lobe Werewolves (Werewolf in London and Dog Soldiers are my favorite movies in that aspect. So, I was team Druid. However, I must give props to the Trapassin, it just face melted everything.
D3 was good, but the story was a complete mess. It was a wanna-be / rip of D2. And what they did to Diablo was just Propaganda (I’ll leave it at that for obvious reasons). However, I have fond memories in the infant stage of D3. I beat Diablo in HC with the Monk before I reached level 40. I did get my first Skorn LEGIT!!! All others from the AH. I stopped playing WoW, so I used that 15 dollars a month to buy gold from Blizard and augment my characters. I had fun. I still have fun. It’s a game I keep coming back to. I have played a variety of games, from FPS to ARPG.
D4 as it is now is fun, but needs a little love. D3 evolved into the game that it is now that people love so much. I have faith that D4 will go through a similar process, starting with season 2. I have played the barbarian and the Druid so far.
Now, out of all 4, cant beat the original. I agree, D1 is the best. Of course this is also coming from the person that thinks the first Terminator and Alien movie was the best out of the franchises, most people saying #2, just like Diablo.