Generic-Giant-Spider
Guest
This gets to the previous poster, several pages back, who rightfully pointed out that D2 acts are very much like a themepark. Grasslands, sandland, jungleland, hellland and snowland. It isn't thematically tight like Diablo 1, it's "more = better". But the argument of D1 v D2 is a tired one, it's art vs commerce and we all know which the masses prefer...
I dunno, most of the time those areas have some gimmicky themes to them. Like you don't have quicksand in Act II trying to pull you in to your death or having to worry about slipping off cliffs to your doom in Act V. They probably wanted to expand the world more and put in a bunch of different environments and maybe inspire them to expand the bestiary somewhat.
IMO the best acts in D2 would go A1 > A2 > AV > A4 > black edge of screen leading you back to your death > A3.
Always thought Act II got a lot of dumb hate because some niggas got a Vitamin D aversion, only section I hated was Arcane Sanctuary. Everything else was actually pretty cool.