Diablo 2 back then started and was epic in terms of atmosphere, music and ideas. I remember, the release was planned for 1998...hahaha and delayed heavily.
Content in D2 was a joke compared to what it got, when LOD and patches came.
I dont know how you guys leveled, but getting to lvl 75 took 2 hours at some point...xD
Adding a respec option was a good move...but to be honest, creating an effective char mostly meant extreme linearity too :-)
Not saying D3 will have the same impact D2 had, but there is potential in it :-) (I admit I hate the gfx for looking to much like WOW)
Maybe I ll get it, but one thing is certain. It ll never be the same again, so expectations are lowered anyways ;-)