Diablo III

Blog Post: Blizzard Details Diablo III's PlayStation 4 Controls In New Video

Matt Helgeson — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:02:00 GMT

In a new video, three of the leads on Blizzard's PlayStation 4 port of Diablo III go into detail on how they've adapted the game for the PlayStation 4 - including their plans to make use of the controller's touch pad.[Excerpt]

In the video, production director John Hight, lead designer Joshua Mosqueira, and senior designer Jason Bender talk about how they are adapting the PC blockbuster for console - and how they intend fit the classic Diablo scheme to the new Dual Shock. One of their more interesting ideas involves using the controller's touch pad for some menu and inventory options.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MvTF1BV5xTQ:610:343]

Via: Destructoid

Wiki: Diablo III Guides

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:05:00 GMT

Guides for Diablo III

Blog: Diablo III - PlayStation 3

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:05:00 GMT

Blog: Diablo III - PlayStation 4

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:17:00 GMT

Blog Post: Diablo III

silver6kraid — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 07:58:00 GMT

So here we are. After 12 years Diablo III is finally here. Personally I didn't think there would even be a third game. The second game pretty well wrapped it all up, Much like the Ending of Aliens there wasn't really room for a sequel. However, unlike the sequel to that film, Diablo III is pretty damn good. Is it flawed? Sure, in a lot of ways. That said, it's still a wildly addicting game that I'll probably be playing for quite some time. Perhaps not to the degree of the first to though, and let me tell you why in this review! I'll break it down!

Gameplay

So, perhaps the most important thing to note is that this aspect of the game is pretty much solid. The point and click action is simplicity embodied. Much like the last two games it is easy to pick up and get into. However, unlike the last two games the number keys are not for potions or scrolls. Instead 1-4 are for your skills. This was an unwelcome change at first as I didn't much like the sudden shift. It was fun being restricted to only two skills at a time rather than six (I'll explain). Now you have a skill on both mouse buttons and on the 1-4 keys. The more I played like this though, the more I liked it. It was nice to do a charge attack then send a shock wave at enemies and finally top it off with a thunderous leap attack to finish the group off. (Barbarian ftw!). This was a pretty solid change and one I think works, however the trade off is that all potions are mapped to the Q key and it's just healing potions and there is a cool down for using potions unlike the past two games. This often got me killed at first until I discovered the health globes. I don't like this change because it betrays the potion spamming goodness that was Daiblo 1 and 2. Another issue is the new town portal system. Now you have to charge it up and you can open a portal, no you teleport and (theoretically) fart the portal out of your ass when you arrive in town. Blizzard said that players used the portals as a crutch, but I disagree, when you died in Diablo II your body and all your stuff stayed there and you had to run and get it. Opening up a portal in a boss fight was essential. Plus now it's just a click away, no more scrolls or tombs. Same with the identification of items. you just right click items that are unidentified and boom, you know what it does..HOW!?! The scrolls worked for Diablo and now they are just gone with the mana potions and basic strategy.. The loot system is largely the same except that it feels less valuable thanks the the auction house. This concept makes it pointless to work for what you get. You can just buy the best items with some in game gold instead or just REAL MONEY! (a very stupid idea kids, don't spend real cash on a sword for Diablo, you should buy stuff like drugs and prostitutes like me!) That all said it's very solid gameplay wise. Feels enough like the last two games and you don't HAVE to use the auction house, though I do (because I am a weak hypocrite). The online is pretty awesome too, it's real easy to join or invite people and the co-op is quite rewarding. My barbarian and my friend's witch doctor really bounce off each other well in combat. (I do all the damage and he sends his minions with me for back up while he has a smoke and reads Game of Thrones.) I will say though that the game has some installation problems and the DRM really does a lot of harm. Having the game online all the time tells me that I don't completely own it. I can't play it if I have no internet. Listen Blizzard, Diablo isn't an MMO. DIABLO ISN'T *** WoW! Stop acting like everything you make has to be online only. Not every part of the US has stable internet. You need to allow an offline mode for the sake of your fanbase. Hell, those offline characters don't have to take up room on the servers as they can be unable to participate in multiplayer or the auction house. That would be fine with me, just let me play the game without worrying about it crashing due to internet failure. Also Single player lag is the main reason I get killed in this game. Oh! That's another thing, this game is too damn easy. Diablo was a pushover! I remember in Diablo II when no matter what class you were you were gonna get your ass kicked by the lord of terror, now I just annihilated him. The same can be said for most everything in the game. Except for the Inferno difficulty. I guess Blizzard doesn't believe in scaling difficulty, no, they just make it super easy and then make it so *** hard you wanna rip your hair out for no damn reason! Though the classes are fun. They are all pretty distinct in their own way. I played the Barbarian (if you didn't already notice) because he was the only character I wanted to use at first (I miss the paladin) but the rest of them are actually a lot better than I thought they'd be. I do hope for new classes soon though. (Blizzard doesn't know the meaning of soon, so I wouldn't count on that). I also enjoy the new follower system. Instead of an expendable and mostly useless merc (I named mine dead meat) These new guys, Templar Soundril and Enchanchress (I would marry that girl if she were real) can take care of themselves and they all have personalities, things to add and their own set of unique skills, it's just too bad there is only 3 of them. I may sound very angry about this, and I kind of am, but it's really not that bad once you accept that you have to re-learn how to play Diablo. It's still very fun to play, there are just a lot of little thing that bug me about this game. (FORESHADOWING!)

Story/Presentation

The story for Diablo II was wonderful.(Wasn't much of a story in the first game until I read about it on Wikipedia! Seriously that's sad when a game can't tell you what the *** is going on, but I forgive Diablo I for it is still amazing) You had to stop the prime evils from destroying the world, it was a cat and mouse game where you had to chase them down before they did some evil thing here or there. The plot felt big and it was well told. There were twists and turns, memorable moments and the antagonists were really great. Diablo III however doesn't have anything on the level of the second game. The plot is cheesy, littered with plot holes and stinks of a lame hollywood block buster style narrative. Basically you seek a falling star, find it and it's some dude who fell from the sky (called who it was right off the bat) and you embark on a quest to stop the last remaining lords of hell from taking over the world as the falling star is a sign of the end times (though that never really gets expanded upon). When you do finally beat them and trap them forever with the use of a black soul stone (McGuffin alert!) turns out it was all part of Diablo's evil plan to become the one true prime evil. (DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNnnnnnnn). It sounds good in theory but the execution makes it feel predictable and painfully forced. That is basically the entire plot of this game in a nutshell. Predictable and painfully forced moments that aren't great like in the second game. Sure there are some cool moments but I never felt as engaged and invested in this thing as I did in Diablo II. In D2 when I finally got to Baal I was ready to finish that *** off once and for all. He evaded me for far too long and I wanted his blood! In this, I was all like, oh! Hey look Diablo! Cool let's fight again old pal! No rivalry or anything, just a bland story that often just annoyed me. Also, PLOT HOLES EVERYWHERE!!! If Tyriel's fall raised the dead of those unjustly slain when why did it bring back the skeleton king and the Butcher? How does nobody know when people who are obviously gonna stab them in the back STAB THEM IN THE BACK?! What happened to Adria at the end of the game? Everybody just kind of forgot about her! What about Leah's soul? Is it just gone? Yes? Well that was a crappy send off to a decent character! Why did they just toss Diablo's body (and the McGuff-err...Black soul stone) off a cliff? Why not take that McGuffin stone and keep it somewhere safe where evil forces can't find it?! I could keep going! Honestly, the plot for this game was really lame. The ending was painfully abrupt too! I don't get it, Blizzard has crafted some great stories in the past, hell the dialogue is good and the characters are well written, but the plot is just stupid. However, the music and voice acting is quite solid and the cenimatics are just amazing, like, seriously they are some of the best cinematics I've ever seen. Though the in game stuff really doesn't jive with me all that well, seems kind of like I should be able to do something in those situations. You'll know what I mean when you play it (if you haven't already, and if not, how do you like living under a rock?) Also, I should mention that this game does feel a lot like Diablo, but only some times, other times it feels more like WoW. Magda for example was a character who really had no place being in this game. She is all bright and colorful and fairy looking. Diablo is dark and grim. Gritty, not colorful. That brings me to my next section! (lame segue is lame)

Graphics
Diablo III graphically is actually pretty good and what I expected it to be. Having that many enemies on screen at once while running something like the frostbite engine might kill a computer or two. Plus for the most part it looks like Diablo except for a few places that seem far to bight and colorful and dare I say, WoWish. Again, not everything has to be WoW Blizzard. Not every one of Valve's game are like Half Life and not every one of Bioware's games are like Mass Effect, similar sure, but they know how to make their games distinct. You guys seem to only know how to do the same thing over and over (and blatantly rip off of Warhammer). That all said, Diablo III looks fine. I like the game's art style for the most part and The fact that I can run it on my computer without fear of falling frame rate or overheating my computer is a good thing. So the slightly WoWish elements are forgiven.

In closing
At the end of the day I have a lot of mixed feelings about Diablo III. The plot sucks but the writing is decent. The gameplay is fun but feels dumbed down or restrictive for no reason. The graphics work but also feel too much like WoW. I have a hard time getting a read on this game really. I love it but there are things about it I hate. But they are mostly for my own personal reasons as I'm a fan of the first two games. Hell, those games helped define my childhood and I still play them regularly. They have longevity that most games only dream of having. This game has that all but to a lesser extent. It's like you guys lost sight of what made Diablo Diablo (Also you closed Blizzard North, but hey, we got Torchlight out of the deal so it's not so bad). So at the end of the day I can't be too hard on this game. It's still really good and I'm glad I own it. I guess it's a flawed masterpiece in a way.

8.0 out of 10

Pros
-point and click action is as solid as ever
-Good graphics for what it is
-Followers are more interesting and can take care of themselves
-Good voice acting and characters
-new use of skills in combat is actually a nice improvement
-loot system is still wildly addictive if a bit devalued by the auction house

cons
-The Auction house ,however, does still devalue the looting and make searching for that rare item seem pointless
-A lot of the core mechanics from D1 and D2 are done away with or dumbed down
-The story is just crap
-The DRM negatively effects how the game plays.
-Seem a bit too much like WoW at times

Blog Post: The Judgement is Incomplete

SneakaFew — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:30:00 GMT

Everyone is saying that D3 is nothing like D2, wrong, but yet, right. You're kicking ass 24/7 getting awesome loot, and co-op has never been more greater. Yea the game doesn't have the feel of Diablo 2 like we all know but still, if you've made it to level 60 and are still complaining, I think your going through a very personal love/hate relationship with the game. The things i don't like about D3 is that they've takin away the talent tree's that EVERYONE LOVES, that's where the diversity was for D2, but with D3, you unlock ALL your moves at level 60 " F*** THAT" I've been using Fist of thunder, Lashing tail kick, and vortex FOREVER on my Monk, it works well, but thats the only moves where i can survive the longest without getting obliterated by elites and rares and thats solo on inferno. The reason i gave D3 a 7.0 was because i had lots of fun killing SWARMS of demons and seeing how long i can last without dieing, The classes are great, and the loot and auction house is incredible, but there's still no pvp which ALOT of people wont even play if it doesn't exist. Old school classes should of kept their style of leveling up and discovering and PICKING your own moves. As soon as PvP comes out, thats where the REAL judgement will come. If it sucks A**, than Blizzard has made the biggest mistake of their lives.

Blog Post: Great But Not Perfect

Assertonsin — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:32:00 GMT

This game is great but no where near close to perfect. The classes are unbalanced but blizzard will balance them overtime. The environments look nice but almost everything looks copy and paste within' a certain act. The combat is probably the best part of the game and there's no problem. The sound and voice acting is top notch and the game wouldn't be nearly as good if you muted it. I also don't understand how the auction house ruins the game when I think it clearly makes it better. You hardly ever find gear that is really good to you. Gear matters in this game and I found myself dying in like Hell mode because my gear wasn't good enough or too low of a level and so I bought good armor off the auction house. That made a huge difference in helping me out. I wish this game was more about skill than having good gear. The enemy spawns could be better and I found myself in dungeons with too many enemies in a single spot. This game isn't exactly what you would expect but its addicting and fun, that's all you need.

Blog Post: Nothing new

Vince — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:34:00 GMT

Beyond the graphics looking better, there is nothing to fawn or get all giddy about this game the reality is for many people who don't give a %^&* about online play. This game for lack of a better term SUCKS, and stinks to the lower levels of hell. The fact blizzard stripped this game of offline play should have been warning enough but unfortunately I purchased the collectors edition . I would have had more fun burning a hundred dollar bill then i ever did playing this game.

Blog Post: Gauntlet Slot Machine

numbody — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 04:22:00 GMT

Riding on the coattails of its predecessors, Diablo III ingenuously tugs at our most primitive and simple pleasures, and at its core, the game's fun in the same way that a slot machine is fun.

As far as gameplay mechanics, the depth in character customization isn't really apparent until you reach around level 20, so you've initially got to stick with the whole click-fest drudgery before you can really experience all of what the game's got to offer. Also, it’s apparent that the designers really took their time to develop and balance the character skills, and it makes the game play like butter --this isn’t necessarily a good thing, however. While the new streamlined approach may appeal to the current generation of casual gamers, it feels like Blizzard’s more or less left the real Diablo fan base out in the cold by stripping the game of a proper skill point allocation system. Unlike previous Diablo games, you won’t have to commit to your skill choices and you’ll end up getting every skill your character can get, which opens things up for experimentation but lessens the sense of character uniqueness. Also, the whole Auction House thing, while fun in a Diablo III kind of way, seems to bastardized the balance of the core game, giving players access to otherwise out-of-reach equipment and making the in-game blacksmith and merchants largely useless.

As far as other things go, Diablo III is aesthetically really nice, and it won’t bog your system down with all its freshness. Animations are solid and the overall graphics have a really clean though quite un-Diablo-esque style (it fits in more with the style of World of Warcaft than it does Diablo what with the colorful look of things). As for the writing, while much of the dialogue is entertaining, the overarching story's pretty banal.

All in all, Diablo III feels more like a new Gauntlet than it does a new Diablo. It’s fun playing the game with friends, but there’s really no cohesive single-player mode to speak of. Even if you have fun playing it, you’ll certainly feel guilty afterwards for having sunk so much time into the thoughtless nature of your demon-slaying escapades.

Blog Post: Hell and Back Again

Craigaleg — Mon, 28 May 2012 20:53:00 GMT

Score: 8.75 / 10

Diablo III

PC
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Release Date: May 15th, 2012

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QATvtLoOh2Y]

Pros:

Addictive feeling of dungeon crawling is alive and well
Randomized dungeons provide huge amount of content to explore
Ability customization offers multiple builds to fit each playstyle
Jaw dropping cinematic sequences

Cons:

Repeated cycle can wear thin after a time
Item identification proves pointless
Must have active internet connection to play single player

Chances are if you had a computer with an internet connection back in 2000 you were crawling through dungeons in Diablo 2. Its simple, but satisfying gameplay was easy to pick up and hard to put down. The major success sparked outcry for a sequel, which has been nothing short of dangled in front of the teeming masses for a long time. After plenty of slideshow presentations, delays, and cinematic teasers; Diablo 3 finally graces the gaming world with its presence. The third title in franchise delivers the classic experience that fans have come to adore, and has plenty of content to last for another decade.

Stay a While and Listen

Twenty years after the events of Diablo 2, Deckard Cain is investigating ancient records and text when he disappears after a mysterious falling star engulfs the cathedral. The star not only draws the attention of the local town, but brings the dead back to life. The player arrives to investigate the falling star, and after meeting Deckard Cain's niece, sets out on a series of events that unveils something much bigger than anyone had hoped . The story chains together the typical themes of sacrifice, betrayal, and greed amongst all the bloodshed. While most of the "sudden twists" are pretty well expected, the various journal entries and extensive lore are enough to provide an interesting tale.

Visually, Diablo 3 holds up well enough. Cinematic sequences are stunning in detail and quality, and entice you to keep playing to see the rest. Some of the more vivid backdrops like the blue hue of the fallen star crater or full-scale war help in bringing the world around you to life, but the jagged character models pale in comparison to the top notch cinematic interludes. It's almost like you are playing a modern title one minute, and a dated one the next.

These small nuances in visuals are made up for with quality sound design. Every swing of your sword or conjuration of a spell is audibly pleasing, and makes taking out multiple foes as appealing to hear as it is to see. Voice actors are spot on in their roles, giving welcome personality to not only the story based NPCs, but your three quirky companions in single player. Soft, yet haunting background music give every world and dungeon a personality of its own, and emphasize that feeling of a foreboding danger around every corner.

Click...Click, Click...Click

Diablo is simple to get the hang of, but complex enough to warrant some preparation at the later difficulties. Practically all of the gameplay mechanics such as movement or attacking are done with the click of the mouse, with the exception of hotbar skills you acquire at later levels. Want to move? Click there. Want to attack that guy? Click him. Want to open that treasure chest? Well...you guessed it. The trouble with this arises when there are foes that take up half of the screen, and can block your attempt to flee.

Quests are given out in local towns, and from there you can set off into the vast fields and deserts to complete the specified objective. While there are a multitude of quests, most of these simply involve you going from point A to point B, fighting through hordes of enemies to an eventual boss. Along this path are plenty of opportunities to stray away and locate hidden items, discover chests, and battle elite foes. Looking in unexplored areas of the map or diving into a cave that is not part of the objective usually pay off in the end, and begin the addictive cycle of hunting every last corner of a dungeon for the most loot you can scrounge together.

The biggest appeal of all this is that every dungeon you enter is completely randomized. Playing through the same area twice can yield not only new pathways, but new opportunities for loot, and new elite monsters to encounter. Where one event was closed with the first character you create, the next could stumble upon an entire two level dungeon. It furthers the unexpected feel of the game, and offers plenty of replay value for your multiple runs through the Acts.

A Hero all My Own

You begin the game by choosing one of five classes; Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Monk, or Wizard. Each has its own specialty, with classes like the Barbarian excelling at melee combat and witch doctors utilizing pets to gain the upper hand. Regardless of your choice, Diablo 3 excels in letting you customize your character as you see fit. Each character will eventually unlock a move to complete their hotbar, but have the ability to join a "rune" to that specific attack for the payoff effect. You can customize a tank to have certain attacks boost his health or a two-hander DPS can have each critical hits do bonus damage. This level of customization ensures that when you run into an identical class on a server, you will have different play styles to match your preference, and opens up hybrid classes like a melee mage or ranged barbarian.

The most satisfying aspect of Diablo is equipping your character with loot, and there is plenty to go around in this title. Uncommon drops are plentiful, and rare drops usually accompany the defeat of a much tougher adversary. The best part is that your loot is your own, so you do not have to worry about any stranger taking your rare drops. There are always new pieces that are better than your current equipment, and the multiple gem slots and materials can assist in crafting an optimal set for the tougher difficulties.

Enemies start off simple enough, but soon become much more menacing. The standard trash mobs range from lowly peons, to heavy hitting brutes, to ranged casters. Boss battles will occur at the end of most dungeons, and while a few vary, the most strategy you can use is "stay out of the bad stuff" and "run when that big move comes". Random elite mobs will also block your path, and their abilities fluctuate per your difficulty. These range from single power Normal mode elites like Jailers that can root you in place, to Nightmare mode dual power elites like arcane nightmares that can drop lasers and fear you into additional mobs. These can prove especially challenging on the latter difficulties, bordering that line between legitimate and incredibly annoying as fights occasionally evolve into a game of tag just to survive. Though death is easily rectified, that repair bill can add up...

Friends with Benefits

While taking the solo path is enjoyable, the multiplayer for the game is the best way to play. With every hero that joins your group, the minions of hell grow stronger. With a group of four, the boss fights and elites require a bit of coordination, and makes their defeat even more satisfying. However, when you have a big group the wide radius of spells and explosions can make deciphering friend from foe difficult. There are a total of four difficulties that you will want to bring some friends along for as the friendly AI lacks any real impact, even if they are fully equipped in rare items.

Coupled with the base game is an online auction house. Functioning like that of previous Blizzard games, all items are up for grabs, and you have the ability to both bid or auction off rare items that are of no use to you. There is an even a real-money auction house that is in the works, allowing Diablo 3 to help payoff a bit in the end.

Diablo 3 features plenty of difficulties to keep you coming back for more. After completing the game on normal you can replay the game through three other difficulties; Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno. In these difficulties, enemies hit harder, and the random elites you encounter have more than one power to halt your progress. The tougher the difficulty, the bigger the payout; as the higher tier items will only drop in these difficulties. Despite what you may initially think, you can technically progress by yourself through all three of these difficulties.

Overall

Diablo 3 sticks close to its roots in terms of gameplay, but holds up well enough. The simple combat and varying difficulties ensure that both casuals and hardcore crowd have plenty to explore. While it would have been nice to have seen some of the promised features like a player vs player arena and mystic artisan crafting, their addition in a later patch can only improve the content offered. With minimal server lag after the rocky first week, Diablo 3 is an addictive and entertaining experience that offers twelve more years of hack and slash goodness.

Blog Post: Diablo 3: Diablo Is Still The King Of Crawlers

Applesteak — Mon, 28 May 2012 18:43:00 GMT

It has been 12 years since the last release in the Diablo series, and even after a decade of gaming innovation Diablo 2 still stands tall as the king of the dungeon crawler genre. Something about its simple point and click gameplay and ridiculous amounts of loot struck a chord with gamers, and never stopped strumming it. Whether you played the game 10 years ago, or last month, it feels fun and fresh. Blizzard really knew what they were doing, and I’m happy to report that they still do. Diablo 3 is an amazing game, and a worthy successor to the Diablo lineage.

Beautiful loot. Lootiful?

Diablo 3 continues the story of the previous two Diablo games, completing the trilogy and the story of Sanctuary. The tale begins with Deckard Cain and his niece, Leah, doing research in an old cathedral when a meteor crashes into the building, releasing an army of demons from below. Your hero gets pulled into the story when he or she meets Leah in the first town, New Tristram. Though each hero goes on the same adventure over the course of the game, each class has their own back story, and reason for pursuing Diablo. My Demon Hunter's family was killed by hell's minions, and his journey was fueled by a desire for revenge. The game world's story is continually expanded by lore books that are scattered throughout the game, and monster lore that is offered up with every new enemy you vanquish, all of which are fully voice acted. The story doesn’t do anything too flashy or surprising (don’t expect any surprising twists), but story has never a big concern of mine with dungeon crawlers. My only complaint is that the game's ending is extremely unsatisfying. I won't spoil it here, but you should check it out for yourself.

The game looks spectacular. While playing Diablo 3, I felt for the first time that the world of Sanctuary had been fully realized. Don’t expect to trudge solely through dark dungeons and caves. By the time Diablo comes to its end you will have gone through a decaying forest, a burning village, a lush oasis, and many more. Every single area looks great, managing to be colorful without losing the creepy vibe. Haunting yet beautiful. And for anyone who thinks the game is too colorful to be a Diablo game, there are plenty of hellish dungeons and castles to battle through. The game presents a nice balance between the pretty and horrible. However, some repeated areas cause the game to lose its sense of progression, and can actually cause it to become somewhat boring. The third and fourth acts are especially guilty of this. Even so, I think the game has a great art style, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The game isn't all fire and demons, but this area is, and it looks great

Now onto the real flesh and bone of the game: gameplay! Diablo is known for its simple, fast paced combat. This isn’t World of Warcraft, where you have 50 different skills that are used in slow, strategy heavy battles. In Diablo your character is a one man army that tears through his enemies with ease, and Diablo 3 nails that feeling with a critical hit. Combat is still quick, reflexive, and a heck of a lot of fun. But that doesn’t mean nothing is new. The combat system may feel familiar, but in truth it has been completely revamped, and with an obvious influence from World of Warcraft. From Diablo 2 to 3, your number of active skills has increased from two to six. Your primary attacks are still mapped to the left and right clicks, but now you have four more key slots to make use of. These are mainly used for more strategic attacks. For my Demon Hunter, these four slots were occupied by a trap, dodge roll, turret, and a powerful area of effect spell with a long cool down. Cool downs may seem out of place in a game as fast paced as Diablo, but with so many attacks to choose from it never hinders the slaughter. Skills are fueled by a different source for each character. For example, the Monk uses Spirit Energy, which he gains from his various primary skills, and the Wizard uses Arcane Energy which recovers slowly over time.

But the number of skills isn’t all that has changed about the skill system. Whether you like it or not the skill tree is gone, but I encourage everyone to embrace this change as it truly improves the game. Diablo 2’s huge skills tree was full of skills I would never want to use. No matter what character I played, I always found myself pumping all of my skill points into a single ability. Diablo 3 fixes this by allowing you access to every skill gradually as you level up. By the time you hit level 30 or so you will have access to all of your character's skills, but that is only the start. Each skill has 5 runes that change the way the skill behaves. Some are very simple, such as adding an elemental effect for extra damage. But some are much greater. My Demon Hunter has an ability called Elemental Arrow, a strong shot that pierces through anything in its path. With runes, it can become a frost arrow that explodes on contact, slowing anything nearby, or a ball of chain lightning that moves slowly through a group of enemies. It can even become a screaming skull that scares enemies away. By giving you access to all of your skills you are free from skill commitment, allowing you to experiment and find your best skill set. I could be playing defensively with traps and turrets one second, and minutes later be going all out with offensive area of affect skills. The only issue with this new system is that it leads to a slow start. For the first 10 levels or so you are stuck with the few low level skills the game presents you, none of which you picked yourself. It will feel limiting at first, but once you find a few skills you like you will be anticipating each new rune and the new possibilities it presents.

Unlike the skill system, the equipment system hasn’t been changed at all. You still have your helm, chest, leggings, boots, etc., some of which can be augmented with various gems to become even better. Each class still has equipment types that are specific to them, such as quivers for Demon Hunters and Masks for Witch Doctors. Getting an awesome new piece of gear off of an enemy or boss is just as satisfying as ever, but the experience is somewhat cheapened by the existence of the Auction House. Having access to amazing items at any time is nice, but it does detract from the fun of the hunt. I would recommend avoiding the Auction House, but given how intensely the difficulty ramps up after normal mode, it feels necessary to buy some top tier gear. The other big new features (and one that is more welcome in my opinion) are your two artisans. You have access to a blacksmith and a jewel crafter, which can be used to improve your gear within your own game. These artisans are trained using money, and items dropped off of enemies. Some great gear can be made at the blacksmith using materials you salvaged from other gear, and gems can be combined and improved with the help of your jewel crafter. Making your own gear is an alternative to the Auction House, but because enchantments on gear are random it is very unlikely you will get just what you are looking for. The game places extreme importance on a few stats. Some enchantments like chance to blind and health steal were cool, but if an item didn’t have dexterity and vitality it was useless to me. All of the gear designs are very cool, and you are even able to customize them with various dyes, which makes up for the lack of character customization at the time of creation.

Comparing gear at my blacksmith

You will want to be sure you have your skills and equipment just right, because combat has evolved as well. Gone are the days of enemies slowly coming toward you in a predictable manner. Enemies in Diablo 3 are extremely varied, and almost every enemy presents a new challenge. Some will leap toward you rather than walking and some will drop fire bombs at your feet. Some will hover overhead, waiting for you to get distracted, and some will do the distracting by popping in and out of the ground. While there still are plenty of plain trash enemies, the variety is sure to keep you on your toes, and get you thinking about each and every move. That is especially true when you encounter one of the game’s many unique enemies. Unique enemies have subtitles such as “vortex” or “jailer”. The subtitle “waller” means the enemy can create walls to block your escape, and “molten” enemies leave a trail of fire in their wake. As you progress through the game’s four difficulties these unique enemies will get increasingly nasty. Nobody is safe in the presence of a “mortar shielding fast extra health” enemy. However, dispatching these enemies is always worth it because they are usually good for a few rare drops. Items are ranked by color, with blue, yellow, and orange being the best three. Blues are commonly dropped by unique enemies, with yellows and especially oranges being less common. I have heard complaints about the loot system being much less satisfying than in previous games, but I think it feels just right. Winning a long fight with a unique enemy will usually earn you two to three good drops, and bosses are even more rewarding. Boss battles have also been greatly influenced by Warcraft. They are now big cinematic events, usually with multiple stages or forms. Bosses will use a wide variety of attacks, and the battles against them favor strategy over skill spamming.

Going hand in hand with the importance of gameplay is multiplayer, and Diablo 3 does it right. When you log on, you can see which of your friends are online, what they are up to and their character’s level. If they are in a game, you can quick join them, as long as you have access to the difficulty they are playing on. The game always remembers your progress, so even if a friend is ahead, you can join them for a while before returning to your own quest. You can have up to four players in one game, and the difficulty increases with the number of players. Having more players does make the game easier, allowing you to revive each other and mix skills for new strategies. It also creates more loot, as your loot is always your own, and each enemy drops enough for everyone.

The biggest complaint (it is a big one) I can levy against this game has more to do with its medium rather than the game itself. PC games and I have never seen eye to eye. I spent $800 dollars on a gaming PC two years ago to play this game, and I still experience lag from time to time. Also, I have never been big on a mouse and keyboard set up. But I am not counting my personal PC bias against the game, because my real problem is with the always online requirement. On the night of the game’s release, it took me over an hour to start playing the game single player, and for a few days after there were server issues. This is a step in the wrong direction, and I hope Blizzard changes this to offer an offline mode in the future, or maybe even a console version.

Celebrating our first Diablo kill (spoiler?)

Despite a few odd decisions regarding how we play the game, Diablo 3 is still the best dungeon crawler out there, offering Diablo 2 some well-deserved rest. From the improved combat to the quick and easy multiplayer, it has everything you would ever want in a crawler, with hundreds of hours of gameplay to boot. Only time will tell if Diablo 3 will hold up as long as it’s predecessor did, but I can tell you that I will be playing it for years to come.

Blog Post: Diablo III Review

FourSixFive — Sun, 27 May 2012 12:06:00 GMT

Twelve years is a long time to wait for anything. Gamers were starting to think it was never going to happen. Fortunately though it did, but not without its fair share of problems. The most infamous of these, was of course "error 37."

Diablo III had a rocky start at best, with numerous login errors and server lag, which didn't really help extinguish the fire they started with always-online single player. Many gamers were and still are outraged at this, since some people don't have a decent internet connection or might travel to certain places with no internet connection at all. However, this also creates a better multiplayer experience, by being able to join a random game and automatically being put in a party and playing co-op. Blizzard also made it very easy to see all your friends playing and made it possible to join their games with a click of the mouse.Diablo III was the biggest launch in PC gaming history, with Blizzard posting over 6 million copies sold (including those that came with the WoW annual pass). Blizzard did some interesting things with this game, things that divided the gaming community, such as the always-online gameplay, the real money auction house and the lack of skill tree customization.

Diablo III's gameplay, to put it simply, is amazing. Whether you're mowing down hordes of the undead with the Wizard's beam or slashing through them with your Barbarian's axe, it is extremely enjoyable, for hours on end. Blizzard really nailed it in this department. The controls are mapped out really well, easily accessible and makes the gameplay very smooth. On normal difficulty the game is quite easy and perfectly solo able, with average equipment and somewhat random skill builds. However, once you reach the higher difficulties, having a good set of party members is a bit of a necessity, since monsters use different combination of attacks and are much higher levels.

One of the main reasons many people return to Diablo again and again, is for the loot. Every time you enter a new area, there will be more loot to find, and the stats are randomly generated to suit your level. Players can repeat "Acts" as much as they want to try and find better equipment. Areas change when you enter them again, so you can't try and finish a level off by heart. With the auction house being so incredibly cheap on most items, it takes some of the fun out of searching for better loot, which can seriously cut down on the re-playability of the game for some people. Blizzard will be launching the real money auction house at a currently unknown date, as it keeps being delayed.The skill selection had a total redesign and the skill tree has been removed. You can no longer set specific stats or attributes to your class, everything is done for you, in a very noob friendly way. You unlock new skills by levelling up and have to pick four slot skills, two mouse skills and three passive skills. These skills can be customized by adding specific runes to them, adding extra abilities or bonuses. Advanced players can choose "Elective Mode" in the game options, to add deeper customization to their skills. If for example you're playing as a Barbarian and you find another Barbarian, your characters can have exactly the same skills, the only difference will be your gear.

The story in Diablo III is good, but not spectacular. It is somewhat clichéd and quite predictable. However, the cut scenes during the game are out of this world. I think we can all agree that Blizzard should just go ahead and make a movie already. The story is not going to win any awards, but that is not the point of this game.

The graphics in Diablo III are very good, it's not Crysis or Battlefield 3, but they're good. The animations are excellent and the character models are very detailed. The terrain and monsters are nicely done. The effects of spraying a heap of arrows at a horde are very realistic and satisfying.

At the time of writing this review, there is currently no player versus player (PVP), but Blizzard has stated that it will be included in a later patch. This aspect of the game should greatly increase the re-playability for some people.

Final Verdict:

Diablo III is a good game, however, it's not without its flaws, such as the always online, lack of skill customization and the auction house being so cheap. In saying that, there is also a lot the game does incredibly well, the gameplay and cutscences are amazing, co-op is very fun and the "friends" menu is incredibly easy to use and the whole game is very noob friendly. Diablo III is the most anticipated game in PC history and gamers waited twelve years for it, was it worth the wait? Well, that's a question only you can answer.

Find this review and more at my official site: www.roncolreviews.com

Blog Post: Time Changes All Things

Crackmandan — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:37:00 GMT

It seems to me that we (being the gaming community) have been waiting for Diablo 3 for a very long time. So I'm going to give a review of this game obviously in my own opinion, however I will try to be as factual as I possibly can.

Fun Factor:

The game is fun to play yet some of the changes may not have been for the best. The excitement of rare item drops and finding out if they're worth your inventory or worth selling is still present in the game. Yet the notion of the Auction house screams money grab.

Gameplay:

The gameplay being smooth shouldn't be a surprise because after all it is Blizzard. Blizzard is very good at making fluid games that are engaging and easy to pick up. Although, removing the Stat point system and inserting a “ready made” leveling system makes you feel like everything is done for you. Which in turn takes away the “Role Playing” aspect of this Role Playing game.

Graphics:

This is where the gaming communities “civil war” has begun. It is clear that the graphics are engineered towards a World Of Warcraft style. Why wouldn’t Blizzard want to recapitalize on a gimmick that seems to work? Well if you ask yourself that question then logically the next thought that should enter your mind is, is this for profit, or for artistic direction? Sadly, if you claim this is for profit, you will be looked upon as some kind of conspiracy theorist and be mocked endlessly. So this is a subject I won’t delve much into. I have my view and I think it is clear as crystal that the game has a cartoony, blocky, brightly colored concept, which in turn is what World Of Warcraft has.

Story:

Now not surprisingly this is where Diablo 3 shines. The story is detailed, entertaining and sometimes humorous. The story unfolds in a precise manner, yet there are little tid bits of side story you can get when you pick up the little voice clips here and there. This gives the game atmosphere and allows you to be drawn into the Diablo world.

Overall:

I gave this game a 5 because it is worth playing through. However, allow me to make some points here. Even though this topic has been covered greatly I feel that it is necessary to elaborate on it some more. The notion that we all have to be online to play a single player game by ourselves is downright wrong. The game would run smoother if it weren’t for the forced online play.

I am generally horrified that this is the way pc gaming is going. Which is why I’m still a console fan, more on that later.

The end result seems like it can’t be made simply because with the way the social world works these days what you say is fact may be myth to another. Then again gaming is just like music, there will be some bands you like and some you don’t. “Fanboys” “hard core fans” and “old schoolers” all have to agree on one thing, this game boils down to opinion. My opinion is Blizzard clearly showed their interest by their lust for money and have “sold out” in clear cut ways a la Auction House. Yes the game is fun to play, but it is by no means a true sequel to Diablo 1-2.

Blog Post: Amazing!

Peter — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:11:00 GMT

I love this game so much. I reccomond this game to everyone. It has some of the best coop i've ever played and only took the time from playing to make sure everyone knew. The only downside is the always online factor.

Blog Post: Diablo franchise: Wrong Direction

Michael The Creator — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:04:00 GMT

Diablo III has taken one step forward (gameplay) and about a dozen steps backwards (everything else).

I'm too upset to right out a long-winded review, so I will just list points where I feel Activision-Blizzard has failed.

-The removal of any character choice.

---No longer do you have the freedom to experiment with fun/different builds. If you want to survive past normal difficulty than you are pigeon-holed into selecting certain abilities that a lot of times you just don't like. Now, just like in WoW, you don't even get to decided ANYTHING when your character levels up. Everything is done for you. You don't even get to decide how you want to spend your stats. Your spells and runes are unlocked CoD style.

- The removal of open world PvP

---I cannot stand the idea of Arenas in a Diablo game. WTF is this? The worst part though is it's not even implemented yet. There is no more dueling, and no more hostile. Im sorry but the thrill of someone joining your game in the previous Diablos and hunting you down via hostile cannot be replaced with arenas. This is pulled straight out of WoW, and won't even be ranked.

-"It's ready when it's ready", or even "No one will remember if this game is late, only if its great " (Jay Wilsion)

---What the hell happened here? Sometime earlier this year that philosophy was completely dropped and somehow the game feels rushed. Instead of sticking to their guns they decided to strip the game left and right of unfinished features and just totally scrapped em. Mystic? PVP? Gems? Rune drops? I'm completely dumbfounded by how rushed this game feels. It was in development forever, and anyone who has completed normal is wondering WTF took this game soooo long. There is no depth, the levels are not even close to random like the previous diablos, and everything is streamlined from point a to point b throughout the whole campaign.

-One word, Corny!

---Diablo III is almost cornier than WoW. Diablo I and II were freakin serious business, burning crosses, pentagrams, anything remotely hellish was taken out sadly. Diablo III has such a lighthearted take to it I found it embarrassing. I miss actually feeling like I was fighting my way through Hell's minions, now I feel like I'm playing some random dungeon crawler w/ WoW mobs. Again-for WoW players. The amount of Corniness in this game is astounding. The weapon and armor looks/effects are sooo bad as well. Everything is oversized, glowing, and dumb looking, Which adds an even more light feeling to this game.

We all knew this game was going to be targeted to WoW players, but not this bad. Hell, they even locked their own DIABLO forums to members who had active WoW accounts. Meaning, that anyone who didn't play wow couldn't give feedback on the game. I'm sorry but this made no sense to me, if you are making a new Diablo why wouldn't you let the Diablo playerbase post on the official forums? No. Sense. At. All.

The Diablo series is no a shell of what it once was. This game had great potential but didn't come close to the mark. This is the first video game that has ever made me feel this upset/confused/frustrated.

GameInformer's 9 rating is fitting for the first 5 minutes of the game (or MAYBE even one quick playthrough) but makes no sense when compared with the previous Diablo's. I have no qualms over someone else's opinion of the game, I just disagree is all.

Diablo III will not last half the time Diablo II has and it is hard pill to swallow, especially knowing how long this game was in Development.

*Sorry for the Scattered thoughts/not the best writer.

Blog Post: A new low for ARPGs, a new low for PC gaming. A poem and review by Spinsle McGee

Spinsle McGee — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:34:00 GMT

O, beloved Diablo

You have returned to my screen.

10 long years of promise

and the removal of the skill tree

No longer can I make my own character

the progression is too lame

everything is done for me

and that's a *** shame

I would love to play you

but that just cannot happen

when there is nothing to you

just items and nothing random

Farewell Blizzard

you now focus on greed

removing skills for items

to make money you do not need

Well, we are finally here at last, Blizzard. This may as well be my final moment with you, so hear me out. I once loved you, but those days are now long gone. You came into my heart with Diablo and that very same part of you is why it's over.

Well, let's begin with exactly what you did that is so damn wrong. As soon as I was finally able to play the open beta weekend, after waiting 24 hours for the servers to stop being as terrible, I knew something was fishy. The game just doesn't feel like Diablo or its sequel, not a single bit. The only common things are the name, style, interface, viewpoint and the health and mana/whatever they decided to replace it with globes. That's about it. All of the other aspects that really defined the series for me are now gone. No longer are skill trees and stat allocation present, effectively reducing the role that you play down to the preconfigured five that the developers force you to pick. This linear progression system also goes in line with the absolute removal of procedurally generated land and dungeons, one of the absolute defining factors of the series.

One of the questions I have had since I had the misfortune to lay hands on this was "why?"

Why did you have to dumb to game down to the point that it is just not even satisfying to play, Blizzard? Since you won't seem to answer quickly, I'll just assume. You want the braindead WoW kiddies to play within their mega-casual comfort zone, so you made version of that game in Diablo's universe. As with that dreadful MMO, the only difference between the different playthroughs are items that your character has. That's it. You're only going to replay the game to get better items. But why, why would you ever do that to my beloved semi-roguelike? I know just the reason. The auction house.

It seems as if the entire game was designed around the item drops, and selling them on the auction house, to the point where people who only want to play a single-player game are being downright punished if they even want to consider playing. Anti-consumerist measures like these are leading to the death of PC gaming. I'm a person who wants to play the game all by myself, without the notion of ever going online to sell the items that are mine, but I can't because Blizzard wants to make even more money off of the people who play this. Even though I am never going to touch the multiplayer or social options, I am still being forced to log into a service that I'm never going to use, and the game will prevent me from playing as it pleases. This is a practice that should be punishable by law. If Blizzard seriously wants people to not cheat for items to sell on the auction house, then they should have a separate executable with characters that will not be allowed to go online. All of this nonsense should not be used when one is in the pursuit of greed, especially since the company has so much money from some MMO game that is just as awful as this.

The only thing I can really compliment this game on are the sound effects. They're just as I expect them to be in a Diablo game, but they get too damn loud most of the time.

So this, this game is the final straw between Blizzard and I. It's been a good long road, but all roads have to end somewhere.

RIP BLIZARD I WIL PLAY DIS TORCHLIGHT II IN UR MAMRY BRO

Blog Post: Very Addictive...and fun

Ag3nt Shadow — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:04:00 GMT

I LOVE Diablo 3! A little about me: I have a family, I have a career, and this is the first game in a long time that made me lose track of time, forget to eat, forget to sleep, and run to the bathroom feeling like my bladder would burst due to lack of noticing that I had to go. (Luckily the bathroom is about 20ft from my computer.)

Diablo 3 is one of the best games out this year, and I will continue to play it for years to come. The loot system is fantastic, and I have experienced no recent issues with multiplayer. I was also very surprised with the story! Most of these dungeon crawlers are lacking in that area, but Diablo 3 kept me wanting to know what would happen next. The voice acting is great and the cut scenes are absolutely OUT OF THIS WORLD!!

I'm not even going to go into anymore details..just know that if you like dungeon-crawly loot fests, you absolutely MUST buy Diablo 3! The only reason I deducted half a point is because I cannot use a controller to play it...hope it comes to consoles some day!

Blog Post: Excelent Game, Awesome FUN!

carapeto — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:04:00 GMT

First I've always been a big fan of Diablo as other Blizzard franchises!

Second the only review of this game I can make is based on my experience, since almost everything else has already been said in the review.

I've been having LOADS of fun. I already play Starcraft and WoW so I have a long realID list that almost doubled with D3. This game is perfect for a CO-OP experience. Its simple and even relaxing to play this game after being a WOW player!!Some times I join a random friend just for a chat, just to take a look at him and what he is doing. others I run a full arc in an alt just to help out a new friend coming to the game, others just to clear a hard pack that has been teasing my day.

No grief, no fight for loot, no roles and elaborated tactics. Just hack and slash burn the enemies down, join and leave a game whenever you want... Perfect, I have no real complains.

The major problem is that I can understand how blizzard failed to have a perfect launch... They aren't noobs at this, they had the open Beta, and they knew that there were a lot of complains about the always online requirement. How could they fail in the launch and have give room to the critics. Still its not even as close to as bad as most people say it is. They had some issues here and there and its running fine now.

Loving the game... Loving the experience to play with m8s i've never played before, coworkers, family, old wow m8s, SC2 m8s, etc. With all the people i've found in blizz games all this years.

Blog Post: Diablo 3 review

vincent- — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:22:00 GMT

Just finished this an hour ago and I have to say, the story was interesting this coming from a person who never played Diablo 1 or 2 though the end was awfully unsatisfying hat leaves a lot of questions with the future of the world and most of the main and minor characters.

Gameplay wise I felt like I was playing an advance version of league of legends solely RPG style. It wasn't bad but not that exciting, I could say the only exciting part was finding out I wasn't stuck to using only certain abilities on the slots they first start on.

Opinion wise here was, if you're the kind of person who gets their rocks off on grinding loot for that better stat than what you have and playing content harder and harder. Than this is a game for that kind of person.

Real negatives that rub me the wrong way is you have to have a connection and there is no choice with playing at your leisure.

Blog Post: A Game brought down by the weight of bad

Stealth20k — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:20:00 GMT

The weight of bad is an interesting thing. In this games case the weight of bad, is the gameplay, which is not the best this genre has ever seen, nor anything else for that matter