Looking at Diablo III as it's own game.

[Shoggoth2588]

Well it's pretty much the DRM what's keeping me away from it, I mean it's a stupid piece of shit DRM that keeps people like me who have really crappy Internet connections from playing the game, I mean even if I only played single player as I usually do, I'd have to deal with the stupid lag and the fact that my connection comes and goes as it pleases, bottom line the DRM is awful and there is nothing you can say to justify it, I mean literally the game is unplayable for me, or at least it seems that way, and it's not like I'm in a minority here, most people I know have these really crappy networks, so anyway the DRM sucks too much for me to give it a try.

I'm a part of that group too. I can maintain a decent enough internet connection for web-surfing on my laptop but I can't stay on Xbox Live for an unbroken hour. This game simply wasn't meant for me. I liked Diablo and 2 enough though. Never actually owned 2 but played a neighbor's copy. Never made it far in the original either but it was still pretty fun.

 

[Elamdri]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it possible to turn off the "auto-distribute" for skills? Also, the auction house will soon be overrun with gold farmers and power levelers so that's true.

I don't think there is, and even if you could, it wouldn't matter. Theres no skill tree.

EDIT: Apparently I was wrong, there is an option to put any skill in any slot. My apologies.

Correct. Your character has

2 Mouse skill slots bound to Mouse 1 and Mouse 2. These are your "Bread n' Butter"

4 Action bar skills bound to 1, 2, 3, and 4. These are your cooldown powers.

3 Passive ability slots.

now within each slots are a number of skill choices that you unlock as you level.

For example, for Mouse 1, the Barbarian has the choice of Bash, Cleave or Frenzy. He must pick one of those skills to be bound to Mouse 1.

Likewise for each action bar slot, you have a choice of between 3-4 powers that fit the theme of that action bar slot, but you must pick one of those 3-4 powers for that slot.

The passives give you a lot to chose from, but you only get to pick 3.

Ultimately, how you specialize your character is:

A: What skills you pick for each slot and

B: What runes you use for each skill.

It isn't like Diablo 2 where you could sink a BUNCH of points into one skill and make it better. Instead, all your abilities scale with your gear and instead it's up to your skill and rune decisions to diversify.

 

[TaintedSaint]

Diablo 3 is great, yeah the Drm sucks and the first few day were sketchy at best, but the game is amazing.
The real issue is people just love to hate what is popular plain and simple. always on DRm is here to stay I don't like but its a minor headache compared to missing out on a game alot of us waited 12 years for. And if you think always on DRm is not gonna happen to consoles as well you are fooling yourself, because that would be one sure fire way to kill used game sales and we all know how hard big publishers are trying to do that. Welcome to the future folks.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

*SNIP* For example, for Mouse 1, the Barbarian has the choice of Bash, Cleave or Frenzy. He must pick one of those skills to be bound to Mouse 1.

Incorrect. If you enable "Elective Mode" in the options, you can put any ability in any slot you want, and use any number of abilities from each category. I have no idea why "Elective Mode" isn't enabled from the start. Probably coddling the WoW players who got the game for free.

 

[Zeh Don]

The "3" in the title prevents the game from being looked at on it's own. Blizzard are literally milking the name "Diablo"; the only reason the game is selling is because Diablo II was so well received.

...The real issue is people just love to hate what is popular plain and simple...

Tall Poppy Syndrome doesn't apply to something we don't actually like. Such as the always online DRM.

...always on DRm is here to stay I don't like but its a minor headache compared to missing out on a game alot of us waited 12 years for...

Except that this isn't the game we waited 12 Years for. This is "World of Diablo-craft". It's not a Diablo game by any stretch of the imagination.
From the story, the atmosphere, the visuals, the presentation, the DRM, the multiplayer focus to the very attitude of the Developer themselves: This is "World of Diablo-craft".
And it is terrible.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

If it weren't Diablo, I would have stopped playing already. As is, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt using what good will I have for Blizzard left and hoping it gets better towards the end.

The combat is good, it's polished to a shine, and a lot of the little stuff is well done, but it's as rail-roaded as you can get for an RPG. The writing is terrible and cliched for the main story at least. The style is...not bad. Different, but if we're discounting the previous games, it's fine, even if inconsistent. And it's far too easy (saying it gets better in higher difficulties but not allowing those difficulties at the start does not make that any better.)

It's not awful, but the only reason I haven't just discarded it as a mildly entertaining but pointless game is the brand-power. Take that away and I'd prefer Torchlight.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Total Biscuit pretty muched summed up my thoughts on the Diablo 3 thingy.

 

[Jamash]

Slap a $60 price tag on it and it starts to look mildly insulting.

Don't forget the additional auction house fees. And I found it more amusing then insulting. It reminded me of this line at 26 seconds in:
(BTW, if anyone knows how to set the start time automatically, help a guy out. I couldn't find it)

To make a Youtube video start at a specific point, you add "&start=XX" to the end of the URL.

If you quote this message, you'll see I added "&start=26" to the end of the URL in your post, so if you click the video in this post it should work as intended.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Disagreed. I don't think its impressive. Its a good hack and slay/loot em up title, but nothing more. Its also got a new ability system which will probably hurt the game in the long run and a controversial auction house.

i agree the AH needs help in some form or another, doesn't feel very stream lined compared to the rest of the game

but i do wonder what you mean about the skill system

 

[Syzygy23]

I've never played Diablo I or II, but I picked up three out of general interest...

Can't fault you there.

...it's awesome.

Wrong.

I have no idea what all the complaining is about, and I like always being online, it makes multiplayer a breeze. Also, there are like no loading screen, I am always fighting, always playing, and never waiting.

So... what happens if you're playing and you lose your internet connection? Or what if you're in an area with no wifi or really shitty wifi? If you like always-online DRM, then it is a safe assumption you also like paying for things you like while the people who sell you the product jam a dildo up your ass.

This game is constant mindless fun.

well, you certainly hit the nail on the head with 'mindless'...

I feel as though a lot of the hate just comes from the DRM stuff and people's past perception of the Diablo series.

Maybe for some, but Diablo 3 is also competing with Torchlight 2 (which is being made by the ACTUAL developers of the original Diablo games) and Path of Exile. Both of which are better in almost every respect.

But when looked at as it's own game...Diablo III is quite impressive.

It looks pretty and the special moves are pretty cool, but taken on it's own merits it's campy, linear (this is a big no no as far as hack n' slash is concerned, it should be at least SOMEWHAT open ended) and the developers tried to artificially extend the games life by forcing you to unlock each tier of difficulty to make you play through the same thing multiple times.

Agree? Disagree? General thoughts?

Disagree, I feel like you're trying to justify dropping 60 bucks on a game that's worth 30 USD, maybe 40.

 

[TaintedSaint]

I have just hit the beginning of act 3 and already have 15 hours in the game. That does not even consider messing around with other classes just for giggles, and continuing on after normal mode. That alone is more than most games on the market.
The real issue is that people basically wanted Diablo 2 all over again and now they are crying because they don't have it. And the idiots who cry " Its not dark enough have obviously not played it.
So keep bashing it because its popular, because besides the DRM it is a very good game.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

To me, the gameplay just doesn't look as fun. I haven't played it, but from watching quite a lot of it and playing the torchlight 2 beta, the torchlight 2 combat seems 10 times more fun.

 

[fenrizz]

I think Diablo 3 is pretty good, and I am enjoying it very much.

It's everything I expected it to be, and more.

The skill system is ok, and certainly a massive improvement over D2.
I'd rather have the game auto distribute for me than having to go on a forum for theorycrafted builds.
Which is what most players do anyway, after all there are only so many "optimized" builds.

The different classes I find varied and interesting, though I picked the Barbarian (obviously).
I am going to have to try out Demon Hunter and Witch Doctor though.
The lack of customization is a bit dissappointing though, but it's not the end of the world.
In any case I won't be able to see my Barbarian under all his gear anyway.

All in all I find it to be a massive improvement over D2.
It is not very innovating, but if I wanted innovasion I would have bought a different game.
I bought D3 to play Diablo, and I'm having a blast doing just that.

Oh, also, the always online DRM.
Yeah, it sucks.

 

[chadachada123]

I've never played Diablo I or II, but I picked up three out of general interest...

...it's awesome.

I have no idea what all the complaining is about, and I like always being online, it makes multiplayer a breeze. Also, there are like no loading screen, I am always fighting, always playing, and never waiting.

This game is constant mindless fun.

I feel as though a lot of the hate just comes from the DRM stuff and people's past perception of the Diablo series.

But when looked at as it's own game...Diablo III is quite impressive.

Agree? Disagree? General thoughts?

That's all fine and dandy. The game could be the second coming of the Flying Spaghetti Monster for all I care, but if you give me unnecessary and incredibly intrusive DRM (and rainbowy graphics), it's just not worth $60.

It's that simple. Great game? Maybe. Worth the money? Not from what I see, if it's contributing to the overall death of the games industry.

We don't all have a constant internet connection everywhere we go, after all, or a large group of friends that play the same games as you/I do, making the constant internet connection more of a hassle than anything.

 

[GigaHz]

I just beat the game on Normal at a leisurely pace, not spoiling myself with any information that would change my experience.

In all honesty, like many have said here, it is hard to think of it as a true sequel to Diablo 2. This comes as a real shock for me, considering that I thought Starcraft 2 was handled exceptionally well.

Don't get me wrong, the game would definitely appeal to those who haven't sunk some serious time into the first two games. Unfortunately, since I have and despite trying to go into the game with an open mind, I didn't find it very satisfying.

There are many turn offs that have been complained about ad nausem. Always online, auction house, unstable servers, errors, lag spikes, drop outs, skill system, normal is too easy, etc and they are all legitimate complaints.

What bothers me is that even if some of those kinks were ironed out, this game doesn't 'feel' like a Diablo game. There is something fundamentally wrong with allowing the player to hotswap skills whenever they want. It really kills the uniqueness of your character, short of the gear you've managed to acquire.

Being that all classes are designed to function on their own quite well, group dynamics are almost completely lost. I feel as if once I have found the right combination of skills, my teammates are only used to down monsters faster. Mind you, I haven't played much of Nightmare (thankfully, the difficulty seems to have been brought up to a tolerable level) so I'm not sure if my class will start feeling truly vulnerable at a later point. Here's to hoping that it will become more vulnerable and other classes will start to show their true value eventually.

Speaking of vulnerability, I'm finding it unnerving to play with a Hardcore character. Not because of the tension that is associated with dying, more of the tension associated with the servers being a mess, allowing me to die easier. It has happened once already. I got a Monk to a respectable level, I port into a quest zone and I get killed by a wandering elite I didn't even get to see until it killed me. Lag? Glitch? Doesn't matter. There's a difference between dying due to my own incompetence and dying due to server incompetence. I'm not going to climb the risky ladder only to be bullshitted out of progress.

The problem with Diablo 3 is that it can't be looked at as its own game, not with that magical 3 in the title. If it was, I don't think it would be as well received because beneath the brand loyalty, the game is surprisingly shallow and bland. It's a damn shame, because the artwork and sound design are absolutely phenomenal (as is usually the case with Blizzard). The plot and gameplay, while functional are just that: functional. Diablo 2 was not a perfect game by any means, but for its time it was exceptional. Diablo 3 is not terrible but I imagine that it wont have the staying power of the previous title... Just a hunch.

 

[sanquin]

Diablo 3 is a very standard, totally unoriginal hack and slash dungeon crawler rpg. Sure, what is there is good. That's what Blizzard is known for. Taking tried and true concepts and doing them really well. But that's about it.

What deters me from buying it:
-Always having to be online.
-Which results in problems playing even if the battle.net problem stems from a different game like WoW, since they're all connected to the same battle.net.
-Which results in possible lag even with a good connection.
-Which results in Blizzard keeping ownership of their game, not you. Because without their login server, you can't play.
-Which can result in full servers, leaving you unable to play your SINGLEPLAYER game.
-It's price. I mean really...60 dollars for basically Diablo 1 (or 2?) with updated graphics?
-Torchlight 2

Why Torchlight 2? Well compared to Diablo 3:
-Better combat, if TotalHalibut is to believe.
-Loot/item drop system that feels more rewarding.
-Far more customizable skill/stat system.
-8 player co-op instead of 4.
-Mod support.
-Only 1/3 the price.
-More monster variety.
-No need to be online, but still multiplayer and also LAN support.
-Retirement system allowing you to replace a max lv character with a new one, whom will get one item from your old with increased stats, benefits from the old one's fame, and starts with increased stats themselves. (Not a major point, but still.)

 

[Ryotknife]

D3 is an okay game, 7-8 out of 10 at most. it does not live up to diablo's image or even blizzards image. it is by no means a bad game, in fact i will probably sink quite a few hours into the game despite its many many MANY flaws.

although like ive posted in other D3 threads, the thing that rages me the most is not the online or DRM (both of which are quite annoying for various reasons) or the noticeable lag (thank god i play an indestructable monk) but rather the itemization.

granted thats a personal opinion. im level 37, wearing level 18 magical (second lowest quality) pants. i just spent about 3-4 hours of gold and 8 hours of mats making about 15 level 35 rare (one tier above magical in quality) pants, all of which were DOWNGRADES. and not just for my class, these items would be terrible for any class.