Diablo III Hands On

[Odlus]

The advertised PvP aspect of the game? Well, it just went to hell and snug itself between devils buttcheeks. You can't have competitive PvP if You "buy power" through RMT. Diablo is not and never was a game of skill, it's game of gear. Want to win in PvP - shell out few hundreds bucks. Hurray.

I don't really want to get into this petty shit-storm, but I do want to comment on this because I'm seeing it a lot.

Blizzard has said since they first started talking about D3's PvP that is NOT going to be "competitive." They said it's never going to be "balanced" and they have absolutely no desires to make it into an "esport." Anyone who's been dreaming of climbing through the ranks of any "competitive Diablo 3 PvP scene" was kidding themselves; it's not going to be anything more than a sidegame put in for when people decide they'd rather kill each other than play co-op in a co-op game (which is how Blizzard has always described Diablo 3, which is also why they disabled the ability to go hostile in the first place).

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Like Torchlight 2 is going to be amazing in any way. Lol.

I don't know, the original didn't have a great deal of replay value, but it was a surprisingly polished and functional hack'n'slasher in the post Diablo 2 generation - not as good as Titan Quest, but certainly better than any of the Dungeon Siege games (ugh). Particularly good considering the devs are basically just indie. Having said that, Torchlight II could be better because most of the things that didn't convince me to play the game through any more than once (no multiplayer, few character choices, samey skills) are things they're apparently addressing in the expansion, so put that on top of an already solid game and you have something that could be more than just decent. The thing is, previously I thought they were being ambitious trying to compete with Diablo III, but Blizzard, benevolent and all-knowing gods that they are, have been kind enough to create them an entire market for a Diablo clone that DOESN'T have real-money trading, DOESN'T forbid LAN or offline singleplayer, and (I could be wrong about this) DOESN'T give the modding community a giant middle finger.

 

[katsabas]

From the moment I decide to fork cash over for a new game instead of illegally cracking it and downloading it, like the majority of people do this days, Blizzard thinks it's a good idea to chain me down by having me be online all the time to play.

How is that logic?

The game sounds really really good and I liked Diablo II and SOD but why do I have to be online all the time to play? DRM is becoming a nuisance TO THE WRONG CROWD! Like James said, DRM only lasts about a week after the game is released. IF that.

Also, I do not know a lot about the Auction House, but if it equips people willing to pay with better weapons than the ones who can't or are unwilling to pay, then that is simply not fair.

 

[AsurasFinest]

Oh it is 'Cool' to hate on things Popular. Blizzard is Very Popular. So is Activision. Therefore, popular is bad and any game that must come from either developer will be bad. All because it is the popular thing to do.

Here we have someone who is woefully unfamiliar with the trajectory of corporate America. It's all about the sales. Depth is the enemy of mass appeal. If something appears obtuse or confusing, even temporarily, the never-ending quest for profit demands it be "fixed".

Trainwreck, that whole paragraph was just a simple jest on the Escapist Community (A simple jab at all the threads exclaiming "I Hate CoD!" When, with further analasis, shows they have never played the game, they are just going with the crowd and saying "I hate [Game Name Here]!").

Noone was acting like that in this thread. Your arguments hold no water here at all because of that simple fact and you insulted anyone in the thread who didn't like the game based off what we know. All you've done is filled this thread with replies against people, all of which had nothing to do with whatever the hell it is your talking about

Take that argument to a thread like the one you listed and not to one with legitimate complaints about the DRM, no mods and the real cash auction house.

 

[Speakercone]

Blatant cash-grab auction house, mods prohibited, always-online DRM and now no actual skill trees? Is Blizzard trying to piss people off?

I'd say they're succeeding.

Snu Snu? Really?

I found it clever in a cheesy, pelvis crushing, mind is willing but the flesh is spongy and bruised kinda manner.

someone just won an internet

 

[John Funk]

Blizzard functions separately from Activision. Any and all decisions relating to the game's design is solely on Blizzard's part.

Lol I'm surprised that anyone still buys that shit. They're owned by Activision. They answer to Activision's shareholders. So of course Activision is going to have a voice in what they do. Anyone telling you otherwise, Blizzard included, is pure PR speak.

Activision owns Vivendi Universal, which in turn owns Blizzard. Every company always answers to their shareholders, but the final say is always with Blizzard. Does this mean that they don't get some advice from Activision's financial department? Of course not, but Blizzard has the final say.

All that I am saying that Blizzard is not the holy angel who's getting his wings smeared over with black, corrupt oil by Activision. They have made plenty of dubious decisions even before Activision came into the picture.

Wrong way around. Vivendi owns Activision.

And I agree. Blizzard is made of grownups, people. They can make decisions you don't like on their own. Bobby Kotick doesn't have to always be an evil puppetmaster.

 

[Ascarus]

I don't care about the DRM. I don't care about the 'real money' auction house.

i just want the damn game to be released already.

 

[thespanner]

Sigh... Did ANY of you read/listen to any of the reasons why they did it?

This.

Players shouldn't be saddled with an unplayable character in the mid to late game (how many players gave up transitioning from normal to nightmare, for example?) because they didn't plan precisely how to spend all the skill points they would acquire from the moment they began the game. It's unreasonable to expect players to understand how all the skills are going to play based only on how they are described.

Yes, some people are going to grind through fifty playthroughs to hone their build, but there are plenty of others who will play once, or a small handful of times, and shouldn't be denied the opportunity to properly experience the gameplay for the whole amount of time they choose to play.

(By the way, if you guys really want to be cynics you should complain about this shift to advanced-build-customisation-through-runes in the context of the introduction of the real money store, given that runes will presumably be tradeable.)

 

[Marudas]

I'd like to post something meaningful to contribute to the discussion on the pros and cons of Blizzards various choices (some I understand, others make me sadfaced), but I can't help but unconditionally love Diablo 3. I had so much fun with Diablo 2 that I almost feel like I have to at least try Diablo 3 before I condemn it.

So all that goes through my head is

Spoiler

 

[Weaver]

The more I hear about D3 the more I'm certain I won't buy it. I'm glad the author of the article can overlook the fundementally flawed decisions surrounding this game (like region locking) but I simply cannot. They are deal breakers for me.

 

[BenzSmoke]

I was considering getting Diablo III, until the news about the constant connection DRM and lack of mods came out. Now I'm not even thinking about it! I shouldn't need an internet connection for offline play! Seriously, if they want to take away mods then why even have it on the PC?!
[small]...the auction house is kind of a cool idea though.[/small]

 

[Ewoc]

So....how boring was it to level since you didn't have any character development points to put into your character?

 

[Ympulse]

Draconian DRM. Legitimized item sales. Homogenized gameplay.

Vote with your dollars, folks. Not your words.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Mmmm, I gotta say, the skill thing DOES concern me...I would need to see and hear more to get it I suspect. I mean sure it's simplified but... wheres the customization?

 

[LorienvArden]

I hope all rage and "preorder" cancelling keeps going until release. By then, the player base will be refined down to a nice, pleasent bunch of people who don't give a crap about all the meaningless things everyone else is getting their knickers in a twist over, and will just want to have fun playing the game solo or with other people. The less whiners the better.

While I agree with that, I do hope that a major wave of cancelling preorders and a hopefully slow start in sales would occure. That might motivate them to implement some changes that the majority of players call for.

From the interview, I like how the skill system is supposed to work. I liked the Guild Wars style of "only so many skills at once", and beeing able to change the way skills work through runes sounds really fun and, dare I say it, innovative.

 

[Soods]

When has Blizzard failed us? Every game they've made in the last 15 years has been perfect. Show some trust please!

 

[Olrod]

But how many of those 15 years were they their own company and not a subsidiary of Activision?

 

[Azure Sky]

This.

Players shouldn't be saddled with an unplayable character in the mid to late game (how many players gave up transitioning from normal to nightmare, for example?) because they didn't plan precisely how to spend all the skill points they would acquire from the moment they began the game. It's unreasonable to expect players to understand how all the skills are going to play based only on how they are described.

Yes, some people are going to grind through fifty playthroughs to hone their build, but there are plenty of others who will play once, or a small handful of times, and shouldn't be denied the opportunity to properly experience the gameplay for the whole amount of time they choose to play.

(By the way, if you guys really want to be cynics you should complain about this shift to advanced-build-customisation-through-runes in the context of the introduction of the real money store, given that runes will presumably be tradeable.)

Mhm, I remember my Orb-sorc vividly enough.

I also remember having NOTHING BUT FKN COLD BOLT till level 30... =(

Or even a Hamm0rdin/Avenger, Those had even less offensive power pre 18/24 respectively.

And don't even get me started on a Bone-Necro, fkn teeth. =(

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Don't buy this game for 60 new. Blizz will realize they are making so much money on the RMAH that they will sell the box for something trivial for $5.

You can bet on that.

 

[walrusaurus]

We hear tell men used for Snu Snu!

best name ever