As someone who has been dreaming of Diablo 3 since it was first announced, lurking the website daily i feel as if the game does not retain its original image or feel the series used to have. I am not going to attempt to bash the game or create a hate thread, im going to state general facts of the game and the series.

1. Graphics (not this again)

Diablo 2, one of the most popular levels in the game by its general design and wow factor
http://0.tqn.com/d/compactiongames/1/0/X/2/diablo210.jpg

Diablo 3, new updated graphics engine, the same used to create world of warcraft, and starcraft II is reused here. Now blizzard did this in its previous games as sc2 and d2 used the same graphics engines which there is nothing wrong with but the feel of these games has changed drastically.
http://ninjalite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/diablo-3-screenshot6.jpg

D3, has a lighter tone than the original 2 games, that much is obvious but what is hidden is how that changes the gameplay. Graphics dont make a game, but in d2 the darkness of a cave or prison and being surrounded by monsters from hell who also looked dark and scary changed the vibe.

2. Gameplay
Gameplay essentially remains at the core of what D2 was, and i feel like they have done a good job in keeping this with the series.

3. Level design
D3 does a horrible job at this from what we have seen so far. Most of the levels look like they were copied and pasted and renamed. You see this in the cathedral, also in D2 you would spend a good amount of time trying to find the right way to go and it made you feel accomplished when you get out of that damned place. In D3 i didnt see much of this it felt like the levels were just meant to be ran through.

4. PvP
The best part of D2 was the fact you would just sit in town and duel, we didnt need capture the flag or 3 on 3s (although they did happen), D3 has lost this and turned it more into a tournament style of fighting than what it used to be, and while it wont be out when the game is released blizzard isnt know for changing a design like this.

5. Monster design
Blizzard north was amazing with the bosses they designed, they scared us, and made us fear Diablo. I didnt ever expect i would run into a fluffy marshmellow man like you will in D3.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/06/3thousand-pounder-summoned_530x298.jpg

6. DRM/Offline play
D2 had 2 different online game modes and a single player mode D3 has 1 single player mode and 1 multiplayer mode.

Open B.net anyone?

Open B.net was horrible for anyone that ever played it, filled with hackers and hacked items that were always insanely over powered and stupidly named but it was fun and kept some playing, doubt well see this in diablo 3.

7. (OPINION) Blizzard has changed.

http://www.grindinggear.com/?page=staff
scroll to the bottom of this page, looks a little like the original blizzard team doesnt it?

Blizzard is not what it used to be. The games they produce now are geared towards a different audience, the belief that the "WoW formula" worked once and it must end eventually. Games like path of exile are giving us vets what we wanted and blizzard refuses. We asked for a Diablo themed ARPG and instead we get this instead. The same can be said about starcraft 2, we wanted a SC2 and what we got was starcraft, cartoon graphics, shitty balance issues (the original had them but not nearly as bad as sc2), and a horrible battle.net Diablo 3 will be a continuation of this. Diablo isnt a sequel, its world of warcraft with a top down view, 6 skills, and graphics that look like hell. PoE may not be the greatest graphics but they are far from outdated, the gameplay is better, feels better, and whats we true diablo fans wanted.

The real Diablo fans will not buy Diablo 3, the rest of you who are saw the add on the world of warcraft forums and will but it because its pretty.

Originally posted by dubyahite
I'm a "real" Diablo fan and I will buy D3. Weird.

I think a more accurate statement would be "blizzard Haters will not buy D3. Because they have built up years and years of Blizzard hate and could not reconcile the contradiction"

Yeah this pretty much. I'm a "real" Diablo fan, and have been since Diablo 1. I like Diablo 3.

Originally posted by dubyahite
I'm a "real" Diablo fan and I will buy D3. Weird.

I think a more accurate statement would be "blizzard Haters will not buy D3. Because they have built up years and years of Blizzard hate and could not reconcile the contradiction"

I was thinking the opposite actually. Blizzard fans will buy D3 even though the game is lacking simply because it's Blizzard. Diablo fans are more likely to stick with games made by the actual developers of Diablo and Diablo 2 whom are no longer with Blizzard.

---

Originally posted by dubyahite

I'm a "real" Diablo fan and I will buy D3. Weird. I think a more accurate statement would be "blizzard Haters will not buy D3. Because they have built up years and years of Blizzard hate and could not reconcile the contradiction"

---

Ok you're not being a fair reviewer in any way. You also are bashing people who are fans of diablo saying they aren't true fans because they like diablo 3.. wait what hows that work?

You reviewed PvP.. it isn't out and no one has tested it yet.. what exactly do you know that we don't? You apparently had to hack and abuse the system to enjoy the game.. doesn't say alot about you as a player.

The graphic engine is not the WoW engine as its superior. They did use a different art style, I like it you may not your choice. If you want Diablo 2 graphics play it or reduce your resolution to 800x600 and lower your gamma.

I'm a hardcore D2 fan, care to challenge it?

Originally posted by dubyahite
Well, that's incorrect a well grayghost.

I'm nit a "blizzard fan" one way or the other. I played wow for a long time but I am not a fan of the game by any means.

I never liked Starcraft and was always Luke warm towards warcraft (RTS). Only really liked Warcraft 2. Diablo, however, is the only blizzard game I would conside myself a fan of.


So nice try on that one but you're incorrect also. Better luck next time.

And I'm not a blizzard hater but D3 to me just doesn't live up to the diablo name. So I'm not sure what the nice try is for because we both just made an inaccurate generalization apparently.

So better luck next time to you my friend :)

1. You handpicked a scene, and claimed that was the entire art direction of the game... we haven't even seen what act 3 or 4 hold.  Act 2 is a desert, or wasteland, of some sort.  I remember seeing bodies torn limb from limb hanging from a wall with blood pouring down the wall and all over the floor.  Definitely not the same art style as WoW by any means.

2. I would say they slightly improved the gameplay.  No more single spell spamming.  I used all 5 of my spells as a witch doctor, and used them all often.  As a sorceress in D2, all i did was spam frostbolt for the most part.

3.  Maybe you just got lucky with your levels, but some times I would go down a hall and end up nowhere near the exit, forced to backtrack.  The roads do make it fairly obvious when not in a dungeon, but did you really enjoy wandering around the map for 30 minutes?  It never felt to me like I accomplished something when I found my way to the next section of the map in the overworld.

4. Really wish PVP was in at release.  Not a fan of the Capture the flag or whatever, but 3v3 and 2v2 is fun in my opinion.  Not like you can't still 1v1 duel when you want. (once it's released, obviously)

5.  Again, hard to say with just the tutorial act's monsters...  I never really  thought the rakanishu dudes or the banshee chicks were that scary.  I'd say the butcher was probably a  good "scary" looking creature.  But you don't face him till 3 or 4 quests in IIRC.  I would imagine as more and more of hell begins spilling into Sanctuary in D3, we will see more and more horrifying demons.

6.  DRM sucks, plain and simple.  But, I've got an always on connection at home... so it's not like this will prevent me from picking up and playing whenever I'd like.  And the way you can jump in and out of friends games is great, so I don't see why you would play single player, other than when you don't have a connection... which is almost never.

7.  Overall, it feels like you're arguing basically that the game isn't diablo 2 with an upgraded graphics engine, new story, and new classes and skills.  How long would you really find that game fun?  There's plenty of Diablo-like games out there. Diablo 3 is an action rpg, done very well, with a lot of polish.  I think you'll find yourself playing through it within a month of it's release if you are truly able to stop yourself from buying it for that long.

Sidenote: PoE is a great game in it's own right, one of my favorite ARPGs alongside Torchlight, Titan Quest, and of course Diablo.  There's no reason you couldn't play both games.

Originally posted by Sanelessk and scary changed the vibe./2008/06/3thousand-pounder-summoned_530x298.jpg

PoE may not be the greatest graphics but they are far from outdated, the gameplay is better, feels better, and whats we true diablo fans wanted.

The real Diablo fans will not buy Diablo 3, the rest of you who are saw the add on the world of warcraft forums and will but it because its pretty.

 

So the purpose of that review was to promote PoE? I've never seen that before. Ever.

Look, pal, I hate d3 as much as the next guy, but this shameless promotion of PoE is getting out of hand.

I agree that D3 is much more geared towards casuals - and POE much more geared towards HC players

But I myself have not time i had once, so D3 casual pace suits me ...

My only problem is creaping suspicion about RMAH and its effects on game

Originally posted by Lobotomist

I agree that D3 is much more geared towards casuals - and POE much more geared towards HC players

But I myself have not time i had once, so D3 casual pace suits me ...

My only problem is creaping suspicion about RMAH and its effects on game

They are both single player games..  I only have a few hours a night to play and neither game is hard to get into.  The issue isn't the casualness of it.  It's the 'braindead' factor that the third title in Diablo employs compared to a more complex progression system in POE.  It really doesn't matter whether you are a casual gamer or not.  I certainly am and I actually enjoy POE better.

RMAH will not affect any gameplay.  There was plenty of third party programs to acquire gear, levels, gold from in D2.  Just because it wasn't a button you could click in the game doesn't mean that it wasn't there.  I have no interest in using the RMAH system, nor am I forced to.  This doesn't affect my wanting to play D3.

Originally posted by Saneless

As someone who has been dreaming of Diablo 3 since it was first announced, lurking the website daily i feel as if the game does not retain its original image or feel the series used to have. I am not going to attempt to bash the game or create a hate thread, im going to state general facts of the game and the series.

1. Graphics (not this again)

Diablo 2, one of the most popular levels in the game by its general design and wow factor
http://0.tqn.com/d/compactiongames/1/0/X/2/diablo210.jpg

Diablo 3, new updated graphics engine, the same used to create world of warcraft, and starcraft II is reused here. Now blizzard did this in its previous games as sc2 and d2 used the same graphics engines which there is nothing wrong with but the feel of these games has changed drastically.
http://ninjalite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/diablo-3-screenshot6.jpg

D3, has a lighter tone than the original 2 games, that much is obvious but what is hidden is how that changes the gameplay. Graphics dont make a game, but in d2 the darkness of a cave or prison and being surrounded by monsters from hell who also looked dark and scary changed the vibe.

2. Gameplay
Gameplay essentially remains at the core of what D2 was, and i feel like they have done a good job in keeping this with the series.

3. Level design
D3 does a horrible job at this from what we have seen so far. Most of the levels look like they were copied and pasted and renamed. You see this in the cathedral, also in D2 you would spend a good amount of time trying to find the right way to go and it made you feel accomplished when you get out of that damned place. In D3 i didnt see much of this it felt like the levels were just meant to be ran through.

4. PvP
The best part of D2 was the fact you would just sit in town and duel, we didnt need capture the flag or 3 on 3s (although they did happen), D3 has lost this and turned it more into a tournament style of fighting than what it used to be, and while it wont be out when the game is released blizzard isnt know for changing a design like this.

5. Monster design
Blizzard north was amazing with the bosses they designed, they scared us, and made us fear Diablo. I didnt ever expect i would run into a fluffy marshmellow man like you will in D3.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/06/3thousand-pounder-summoned_530x298.jpg

6. DRM/Offline play
D2 had 2 different online game modes and a single player mode D3 has 1 single player mode and 1 multiplayer mode.

Open B.net anyone?

Open B.net was horrible for anyone that ever played it, filled with hackers and hacked items that were always insanely over powered and stupidly named but it was fun and kept some playing, doubt well see this in diablo 3.

7. (OPINION) Blizzard has changed.

http://www.grindinggear.com/?page=staff
scroll to the bottom of this page, looks a little like the original blizzard team doesnt it?

Blizzard is not what it used to be. The games they produce now are geared towards a different audience, the belief that the "WoW formula" worked once and it must end eventually. Games like path of exile are giving us vets what we wanted and blizzard refuses. We asked for a Diablo themed ARPG and instead we get this instead. The same can be said about starcraft 2, we wanted a SC2 and what we got was starcraft, cartoon graphics, shitty balance issues (the original had them but not nearly as bad as sc2), and a horrible battle.net Diablo 3 will be a continuation of this. Diablo isnt a sequel, its world of warcraft with a top down view, 6 skills, and graphics that look like hell. PoE may not be the greatest graphics but they are far from outdated, the gameplay is better, feels better, and whats we true diablo fans wanted.

The real Diablo fans will not buy Diablo 3, the rest of you who are saw the add on the world of warcraft forums and will but it because its pretty.

 

Dang. I guess I'm not a real Diablo fan because I'm definitely buying it and I think the beta was incredibly fun.

Originally posted by DAS1337

Originally posted by Lobotomist

I agree that D3 is much more geared towards casuals - and POE much more geared towards HC players

But I myself have not time i had once, so D3 casual pace suits me ...

My only problem is creaping suspicion about RMAH and its effects on game

They are both single player games..  I only have a few hours a night to play and neither game is hard to get into.  The issue isn't the casualness of it.  It's the 'braindead' factor that the third title in Diablo employs compared to a more complex progression system in POE.  It really doesn't matter whether you are a casual gamer or not.  I certainly am and I actually enjoy POE better.

 

RMAH will not affect any gameplay.  There was plenty of third party programs to acquire gear, levels, gold from in D2.  Just because it wasn't a button you could click in the game doesn't mean that it wasn't there.  I have no interest in using the RMAH system, nor am I forced to.  This doesn't affect my wanting to play D3.

Difference is in the skill system.

While in POE you have to think hard and plan your character ahead. In D3 you can switch setup on the fly.

This means that in D3 you only level one Barbarian , and not 3 - 4 with different setups.

Less time = more casual

As for RMAH

I am afraid that any good item will be placed on RMAH and not gold AH

Basically making gold AH pointless

Originally posted by DAS1337

Originally posted by Lobotomist

I agree that D3 is much more geared towards casuals - and POE much more geared towards HC players

But I myself have not time i had once, so D3 casual pace suits me ...

My only problem is creaping suspicion about RMAH and its effects on game

They are both single player games..  I only have a few hours a night to play and neither game is hard to get into.  The issue isn't the casualness of it.  It's the 'braindead' factor that the third title in Diablo employs compared to a more complex progression system in POE.  It really doesn't matter whether you are a casual gamer or not.  I certainly am and I actually enjoy POE better.

 

RMAH will not affect any gameplay.  There was plenty of third party programs to acquire gear, levels, gold from in D2.  Just because it wasn't a button you could click in the game doesn't mean that it wasn't there.  I have no interest in using the RMAH system, nor am I forced to.  This doesn't affect my wanting to play D3.

 If you can't see any complexity that D3 employs maybe you're the braindead one? I can promise you that there will be far more thought involved in later D3 bosses and PvP than PoE could ever hope to accomplish.

Also if softcore is to easy for you then play hardcore, it has already been rumored by the devs that it is unlikely that a hardcore player will beat inferno atleast without a lot of effort.

But hey we'll wait and see, not much longer to go until D3 is out and PoE is still stuck in beta.. for god knows how long.

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by DAS1337

Originally posted by Lobotomist

I agree that D3 is much more geared towards casuals - and POE much more geared towards HC players

But I myself have not time i had once, so D3 casual pace suits me ...

My only problem is creaping suspicion about RMAH and its effects on game

They are both single player games..  I only have a few hours a night to play and neither game is hard to get into.  The issue isn't the casualness of it.  It's the 'braindead' factor that the third title in Diablo employs compared to a more complex progression system in POE.  It really doesn't matter whether you are a casual gamer or not.  I certainly am and I actually enjoy POE better.

 

RMAH will not affect any gameplay.  There was plenty of third party programs to acquire gear, levels, gold from in D2.  Just because it wasn't a button you could click in the game doesn't mean that it wasn't there.  I have no interest in using the RMAH system, nor am I forced to.  This doesn't affect my wanting to play D3.

 

Difference is in the skill system.

While in POE you have to think hard and plan your character ahead. In D3 you can switch setup on the fly.

This means that in D3 you only level one Barbarian , and not 3 - 4 with different setups.

Less time = more casual

 

As for RMAH

I am afraid that any good item will be placed on RMAH and not gold AH

Basically making gold AH pointless

 I'm not sure you understand what on the fly means, you can't change your setup on the fly in D3. You have to be out of combat, arena or event to switch anything. You have a cooldown on the ability you switch in and you lose any accumilated buffs.

So while you don't have to reroll a new toon you will probably run into a scene where you can't kill something and you CANNOT switch your skill. So you either die or run if possible.

I dont get it... If D3 is cartoony what is Tourchlight then? Does cartoony meen "not 100% realistic".. dont get it. 

I personaly dont see how RMAH is gonna affect your game at all.. If you dont like, dont use it!

Its simpel. 

I for one will not be using the RMAH for one good reason. It makes the game pointless. All Diablo is about is killing monsters and finding loot. If i bought the best loot, whats the point in playing? 

I love the fact that its there though, because if it wasnt we would see the same annoying spam from itemselling websites as in D2.. and that my friends was about the most irretating thing EVER!

I am also a Diablo vet. In fact, I am still an active player of Diablo II (rather occasionally, but still).

I participated in both, PoE beta and D3 closed beta. I have to say that from the gameplay itself, I do not find PoE any closer to Diablo II than D3 is. Maybe only in terms of obsolete graphics.

I do not want to claim that PoE is a bad game. For me, it is the next best hack n slash game coming to the market. However, it lacks the depth that Diablo has (for me). I was not really drained into the game by its lore, environment and overall feeling, while when I turned on Diablo III, I was immediately back there with that amazing feeling.

In what way is PoE more HC than Diablo...often people are referring to that galaxy like passive skill tree which may seem huge, but how many skills are there really making the game any more fun. Cant you also use reskill which means that if you screw your build, you can just make a new one with the necessity to create a new character?

Oh and btw if you say you do not like Diablo III, but you do like PoE I am happy for you. There will be a game that you will enjoy and have a smile on your face while playing. The rest of us will probably feel the same way when playing Diablo III which, in my opinion, is a great game and a true successor to Diablo II.

Also, if you really liked Diablo that much, you would probably give it a chance and try to revaluate you opinion upon playing more than just first 8 levels or something. If I was to make an assessment of Diablo II based on experience from cold plains, it would not be nearly as accurate as the one I would make upon finishing hell difficulty on Hardcore difficulty.