DII vs. Titan Quest

[Fragbait]

Ever log off after nine thousand Mephisto runs and say to yourself "All in a good day's work!"? No. You always feel like garbage after that, no matter what you found, because you didn't find a ____. And even if you did find a ____, you still need that XXXX to make it optimal. And once you get XXXX, you either need a better one or have a new character to outfit. There is no gratification. There is no sense of accomplishment, because the only goals that one can actually achieve are ridiculously easy (IE, beating the game) or self-imposed (winning the ladder, beating Hardcore with a stupid variant, collecting all unique items, etc.)

Hi,

• nobody forces you to run Mephisto or any other monster over and over again.<>
  
• If you feel that you didn't accomplish anything by beating the game, well, then don't do it.<>
  
• The game can be much harder than you think if you haven't got the knowledge which skills to develop with all of the seven character classes.<>
  [st]May I put forth as an example for my last point my girlfriend, who, even after being a quite experienced Diablo I player, had (and has) trouble to decide on skills and items in Diablo II because it is indeed not "pick highest damage and fastest weapon and max all skills and attributes" like it was back in Diablo I, and it is very well possible to completely foozle a char and get stuck somewhere between NM and Hell.
  
  (side note to Pete: many people can thus [with a badly skilled char without godly equipment] lose the game, which, apart from many other facts, makes DII equal if not superior to Minesweeper)
  
  Everybody imposes goals on themselves. If they don't, what do they play for?
  Ever thought "How nice would it be if I found Mavina's bow!" or "Damn it, I need that KSoH for my Warrior... These witches spank him every time!"?
  Ever resolved to bring your char through hell no-twink? Well, then you've set yourself some goals here.
  
  I think you, Merlinios, need to realize that there will always and in any field be people that have a higher motivation, stamina and perhaps even a higher will to cheat than you.
  And if that does bother you, Diablo II offers you the singleplayer mode, too.
  
  (side note to Pete: Multiplayer Minesweeper - where are you?)
  
  If you still feel hollow after a few years of playing that game, well that is understandable. Compare this play time to other games that give you this feeling after a week, and you will see what others mean when they write about its 'great re-playability'. If you didn't play continuously for years but rather took one build of each character class to hell and then paused for a few months (I know half a dozen players who play like that), this game can be fun for a long, long time.
  
  No harm intended.
  Greetings, Fragbait