Diablo 2, for a lack of a better word, was a clusterf*ck. It was also the very best the genre has seen in terms of handling an environment that allowed people to make any character they want due to stat point allocation and the skill tree. The problem with that "freedom" is how stats and skills interacted with items, as well as how the skill tree system limited abilities down to two active spells. Since every item required a pretty flat stat requirement, all people needed to do was get enough strength to wear anything, get enough dex for 75% block, then put the rest on vitality for HP. Energy was useless. The skill tree was even worse, especially with how the synergy system worked. You would basically spent enough points to get the most power spell in that tree, say meteor, max it at 20 points, get anything else that added dmg to that spell, be it fire mastery or fireball, and spam meteor all day long. Again, items come into play when abilities get + skill with items, especially with runewords, rendering the whole suffix-affix/unique/set item system worthless outside of amulets and rings. Suddenly a game that attempts to promote freedom does the exact opposite since every mechanic collapses onto itself.
For more info, check out David Sirlin's articleon D2 vs D3, as well as the Jay Wilson interview stating why stat allocation was taken out completely.
Imagine coming into Diablo 3, seeing these faults with Diablo 2 and what it turned into, and attempting to fix a problem that stretched beyond just one area. You wonder why it took so long to develop Diablo 3? There is your answer. They basically tore down and recreated Diablo from the ground up.
Oh, and as for why Diablo is so fun, it is the combined "freedom" of the characters you make playing off other player unique characters in a coop setting.
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