AudyTolson406
Aus Salespoint
Diablo III - Worth the Wait
It's finally time for IGT to examine the 800 pound gorilla in the gaming room, Diablo III (D3). The game continues to be out for a couple of weeks now and that i feel that I'm able to finally give you, the readers, a good review (the truth is I've been too busy attacking the darkness to write one). It has been twelve years since Diablo II (D2) was released so I have been waiting eagerly for this game, continue reading to see if waiting for was worth it.
For those who have played Diablo I (D1) and/or D2, the controls will feel familiar. There are slight tweaks, mostly with the skill bars, but overall it is the same clickfest you are used to. The inventory system is exactly the same grid and gear slot based window. Items have similar stats as in Diablo II, but with damage per second (DPS) already calculated for you.
There are five classes within the discharge of Diablo III; Barbarian, Monk, Demon Hunter, Wizard, and Witch Doctor. The barbarian and Wizard should feel familiar as they are close to D2 classes (the wizard being exactly what the sorceress was inD2). The monk is similar to the paladin class from D2 and also the Witch Doctor is similar to the Necromancer. The Demon Hunter takes the area of the Amazon but is just somewhat similar.
The story is actually fairly engaging for an action RPG and that i found myself wanting to see the distinction between the different stories for every class. The primary narrative is obviously the same but there were small cut scenes that happened at major story points in each act that were different for each class. Something I loved concerning the story is that they tied in plots all the way in which back in D1.
The internet only bet additional numbers doesn't bother me an excessive amount of as I played D2 exclusively on battle.net to play with my friends. At first it was annoying as the servers had issues on launch, but I played World of Warcraft for 6 years so it just felt like every normal patch Tuesday or expansion launch to me; after a week things been feeling relaxed and that i have not experienced any issues since. I can see how players without a consistent web connection might have a terrible experience however. It's somewhat annoying that anyone on your friends list can join your game whenever they want which may be dangerous if you're in a boss battle and all of an abrupt the boss is extra hard as it scales up for the beginners. On the other hand, if you as well as your friend want to play together, the fast join feature is a godsend to the multiplayer facet of this game.
The auction house is really a nice accessory for the game; I am talking about the in-game currency auction house, not the real money ah (RMAH). I have tried personally a number of my hard earned gold to get myself newer and more effective weapons and lots of gems for decent prices and have sold off some of my un-needed equipment for many decent gold increases. I don't intend to take part in the RMAH as I dislike micro-transactions and along with a number of other people have the Blizzard cut is simply too much.
The graphics are a fairly weak aspect of farmville. I'd say they are on par with 2005 and 2006 games. For any game that's been Ten years in development I would have liked to have seen better graphics. However Diablo has never been cutting edge in that department. The game is full 3d unlike D2 which had 2d sprites, and the spell effects are nice. But overall they are lacking.
Was the sport worth the wait? I believe so. I am enjoying it a great deal and love playing with friends. I have just got a couple of characters into Nightmare so I possess a ways to go before I play it all out. I can also see how this game could possibly get old pretty quick as despite 5 classes to experience through getting to level 60 does not seem like a huge undertaking. D3 still has two months left in it for me personally I'd say.
To conclude, D3 is a fine game otherwise a shining gem. It feels as though an all natural increment in the Diablo franchise from D2. The gameplay is familiar and super fun. The storyline is engaging and for those fans from both previous games it ties up some loose ends. IGT gives Diablo III a 9 around the d10 of hack and slash adventures.
