It is finally time for
my second post!
Let’s talk about Diablo
3.
Long story short; the
game is a lot of fun. It is no secret that Diablo 2 is one of the most popular
PC games of all time. Even a decade later, people still talk about it. The game
featured a vast quest, many expansions, and an abundance of glorious loot to
collect. Plus there was the great focus on multiplayer, which made for some
wicked LAN parties. While I did not play Diablo 2 extensively, I played it
enough to appreciate how addictive the game can be.
Fast forward to now,
and we have the game in our hands. What did I think? Keep reading to find out!
What
I Liked:
As in the previous
game, there is a great deal of loot to pick up. It is exhilarating to constantly
be picking up more and more interesting and powerful weapons and armor. It felt
like I was being constantly rewarded just for playing. The knowledge that new
and impressive items are just around the corner is enough to keep me going. I
constantly found myself almost obsessively going through my inventory and rearranging
my gear. I cannot stress enough the fact that you are constantly GETTING NEW
AND COOL SHIT. It is a great feeling. Having said this, I have not yet tried
the auction house, and I will most likely never use the real money auction
house. I am not fully sure how these will factor into loot gathering or whether
these will serve to undercut the validity of you looting. And why would you
want to undercut you looting activities? Loot is amazing. (I really like loot).
Another great thing about the loot system is that there is no loot theft in
this game. While playing with others, players can only see their own loot. This
effectively allows players to pick up EVERYTHING YOU SEE without worrying about
steeling other’s loot. This also stops mad dashes to get the best loot after
killing a massive boss.
The presentation of the
game is spot on. For the most part. First I want to mention the pre rendered
cinematics. It seems the team at Blizzard has outdone themselves again in this
department. Each act is capped by one these amazing show pieces, moving along
the story. During the game, players are treated to a much more tame
presentation. The characters converse with each other using in engine graphics.
The models are not the most detailed, but they get the job done. Plus the
camera is zoomed out enough that one would not notice the relatively low
polygon count on the character models. Even more immersive are the random
journals and lore you pick up on your adventure. As you quest through the world
of Sanctuary (who ever named it that must have been delusional or had a sick
sense of humor) you will occasionally pick up travelers journals or unlock
monster lore. You are then treated to audio files (think Bioshock or Infamous)
that help flesh out the world and the various characters around you. The music
and sound effects in the game are very atmospheric as well. This adds and
undeniable impact to every sword swing, magic blast and arrow that lands on
your opponents.
Now the gameplay. My
God, the gameplay. The combat in the
game is quite exceptional. Just like the Diablo of old, the game can be
described simply as a click-fest. But that really does it no justice, as the
combat is very fast paced. Players are constantly rewarded for leveling up as
they gain passive and active skills to equip. The skills are incredibly diverse
and dynamic as no two classes play the same. Each skill can be further
augmented by runes. They can be equipped to your skills to add different
affects, sometimes changing them completely. It adds a level of excitement to
striving after that next level. The combat is very intense and fast paced.
Because of this things can get a bit chaotic during the later chapters, but
damn is sure is fun! The enemies are incredibly diverse in their appearances
and attack patterns. Each new area yields a new group of interesting foes for
you to dispose of.
The multiplayer is very
easy to get into as well. One can easily drop in and out of a friend’s game. It
is also possible to open the game to anybody who is online looking for a party
to join. Joining with friends is as easy as inviting yourself into their games
or you inviting them into yours. The multiplayer is seamless and works very
well. The enemies will also become stronger based on the number of players in a
game.
What
I Didn’t Like
This list won’t be very
long, but there are some notable issues. First is, of course, the fact that the
game is online all the time can be very troubling for a few reasons. It means
that if the servers are down, you cannot play the game at all. This is
aggravating if you are interested in playing the game on your own and have
little to no interest in playing multiplayer. Another issue is that lag will
occur at some point while you are playing. While this is very rare, when it
does occur, it can be crippling. In the midst of a massive rush of soul sucking
demons that want to impale you and drink your blood, it can be really brutal to
have your character suddenly stop moving then appear at a different location
can be jarring and possibly fatal.
The story falls a bit
flat in my humble opinion. While the pre-rendered videos look great, the actual
story is pretty by-the-numbers. While predictability is not in itself a bad
thing, the story here brings interesting to the table. The voice acting is all
over the place. Some characters sound believable, while others sound ridiculous
and over the top. There seems to be no unified tone for the voice acting. If it
was all serious or all over the top goofy, that would be one thing, but because
it lacks that unifying tone, it comes off disjointed.
Verdict
So yeah, I like it. A
lot. There are a lot of issues with balance in the endgame in the higher
difficulty settings, and I have not delved into the auction house yet. This may
lower my credibility in the eyes of some, but that is probably ok. Basically it
is a very well produced game with very addictive gameplay and great atmosphere.
I very much enjoy the diversity in each class and look forward to spending
hours experimenting with their skills. As far as I am concerned, the game works
well when you are killing shit and looking good doing it. And collecting loot
is like what I imagine a crack addiction would be. And before you correct me,
some of my clients at work are crack addicts, so I know it isn’t the same.
Smart ass.
I really think the
story and voice acting are kinda balls. Neither are even slightly game
breaking, but it is a little disappointing in my eyes that they didn’t choose
between full cheese or straight forward seriousness in these aspects. Blizzard is
great at making sweeping and complex stories. They also have an irreverent
sense of humor when it comes to their products. The fact that both of these
things that they are so good at is pretty half assed in this game feels like a
missed opportunity. But as I say this, I realize that these aspects are not
what define Diablo as a series. The game is still very enjoyable. There are
some moments of laugh out loud humor (Whimsy Shire?) and there are some
grotesque moments in there as well.
The always online is
annoying as all hell, but I can understand why they did it. I just don’t like
it. Cuz I am whiny and entitled. But I bought their product so they probably
don’t care at all. It is a very unfortunate fact that some people do not have
access to the internet and cannot play this game that they may have waited 11
years to play. I really think Blizzard should have considered these people as
well, not matter how few and far between they are.
Overall, I like it.
Better than Diablo II? I dunno. I barely played that game!
So, how did I do with
the readers, oh great credibility score?!
Credibility
points:
Playing and enjoying a
real Diablo game: 80 points
Jumping on the Diablo
bandwagon so late in life: - 60 points.
Calling readers smart
asses: - 2 points.
Total: 18 points
What?! Only 18 points!?
Good lord.
Well that is it from me
for now! I will try to make more interesting posts later!
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