Our resident pony, DarkPony, returns with another blog entry, this time focused on the action-RPG Path of Exile.

Despite the huge differences in resources, funding and man power somehow PoE has much more in common with Diablo 2's core values than Diablo 3. And the things it does different ... are actually improvements on the formula. It transcends the hack & slash model at times and has some aspects in common with games like the original Guild Wars.

Of course, the PoE beta is a bit rough around the edges and there is a distinct indie odor to it; a smell you pick up as soon as you visit their website; "Eew ... 90's style frame borders!". This also is prevalent ingame with a similarly retro'ish UI design which feels a bit oversized and clunky at times. Also there are no voice-overs for the few npc's which can be interacted with and some minor bugs and glitches here and there, but none of those things really got in my way of becoming very compelled by this game and playing it non-stop for hours.

Read more of DarkPony's The Disgruntled Pony: Path of Exile: a first, thorough look.

PoE = PoS.......IMO.....YMMV.....

PoS huh?

Did you work all day on that response?

Its a good game.

Some video would be nice too.

Originally posted by Trionicus

Some video would be nice too.

I'm not much of a video reviewer myself and I really enjoy writing them. Also if I did voice overs you guys would notice my Dutch accent. Wits wood be reelee embarissing. But there's plenty of other folks who are.

I did my personal homework and checked youtubes of the game, looks pretty neat, i can't wait to try the open beta of the game, though their passive skill tree is a real confusion luster if you don't understand what the nodes are for, i've did some personal research by checking a couple builds on their classes forums to make sure i understood it as exactly as possible.

Though the gender-lock really nags me, i wish they wouldn't have done that.

I did a weekend beta this past weekend. It was quite enjoyable. The graphics are really good. Now I played Diablo3 today, very similar gameplay, graphics actually I would give to POE. There was more texture to the environment. I kind of thought D3 would of had stronger graphics. D3 definitely has a story line and a very good story line but that makes it more linear. POE has a story, now what I have played it is not as strong and sometimes I felt lost, but it gives you a more open world feel. Truthfully, what I have played, D3 harkens back to original Diablo, and POE reminds you of D2 with the ... Oh well, I digress. It was fun, I helped the developers out with there purchasing a quest pak or whatever they call.

There will be voiceovers for all the main quests. 

The passive skill tree is not as intimidating as it appears at first glance. Each of your characters have a spot on the website where you can plan out your future builds based on your present skillset, which is very helpful.