Originally posted by doragon86

Originally posted by Ariannae

Originally posted by doragon86

 

-The game is so ungodly easy it's rather sad. 

In D2, it was quite easy as well early on as well. In only got harder much deeper in. I believe D3 will probably be the same. 

 

 

Diablo II was not the only one in the series.

 

The problem with Diablo III is that it is straying much too far from the originality the Diablo universe had and more towards the modern Blizzard perspective of how a game should be. Activision-Blizzard is not and never will be the same Blizzard North that started the series off.

 

Now, if they had released DIII as an entirely different entity that did not directly continue the Diablo series, I highly doubt there would be many negative comments about the game. But the fact of the matter is that they attempted to continue a classic game series and have managed to destroy the soul of said classic for the sake of milking as much money as they possibly can out of their playerbase.

 

If you are/were an avid Diablo player and go into Diablo III expecting a step forward from its predecessors, you will most likely be disappointed. New players to the series, however, will probably have a blast with the game.

Indeed it wasn't the only one in the series. However, a large chunk of the diablo fanbase came into it from D2. The first Diablo was difficult from level 1. You can say that the diablo series got easier as it grew. 

Ok. Diablo 3 is straying in what ways? Of course it won't be the same. Things will always change. As time goes on, development views and ideas can change. I agree with some of the points you all are bringing up. However, I feel that some of you are wearing nostalgia glasses, and refuse to take them off. 

I've played both D1 & D2, and I have very few complaints with D3. 

I totally agree with you on that.  I keep seeing the same dumbass complaints about Diablo 3 beta.

Originally posted by eAzydaman

I agree with op. It's silly really at one point i was playing the game while talking to my girlfriend, didn't even have to look at the screen, that say something about diificulty and skill need to play. Button mashing ftw with cartoonish graphics and bland partical effects. I'm really glad i won't be wasting money on this. GW2 beta next weekend can't wait.

So, what, you didnt know it was a diablo game?

hack and slash games are always button mashing, maybe next time you should, i dont know, try knowing something abouta game before you try it.

op you forgot too mention how its just an rmt money grab game where blizzard taxes all real money auctions for profit.

Originally posted by Nobadeeftw

Originally posted by doragon86

Indeed it wasn't the only one in the series. However, a large chunk of the diablo fanbase came into it from D2. The first Diablo was difficult from level 1. You can say that the diablo series got easier as it grew. 

Ok. Diablo 3 is straying in what ways? Of course it won't be the same. Things will always change. As time goes on, development views and ideas can change. I agree with some of the points you all are bringing up. However, I feel that some of you are wearing nostalgia glasses, and refuse to take them off. 

I've played both D1 & D2, and I have very few complaints with D3. 

I totally agree with you on that.  I keep seeing the same dumbass complaints about Diablo 3 beta.

I dunno, the point of making sequels is nostalgia.

I mean they made starcraft 2 really close to the original so why not this game?

If Blizzard weren't going for nostalgia they could have easily named the game something else, and no-one would complaining (or at least almost noone).

Originally posted by warmaster670

Originally posted by eAzydaman

I agree with op. It's silly really at one point i was playing the game while talking to my girlfriend, didn't even have to look at the screen, that say something about diificulty and skill need to play. Button mashing ftw with cartoonish graphics and bland partical effects. I'm really glad i won't be wasting money on this. GW2 beta next weekend can't wait.

So, what, you didnt know it was a diablo game?

hack and slash games are always button mashing, maybe next time you should, i dont know, try knowing something abouta game before you try it.

Agreed, but if you lloked away from the screen in Diablo you were looking on your corpse when you looked back...

I think I killed 1 mouse and almost a second one as well on the first game. :)

Originally posted by warmaster670

Originally posted by eAzydaman

I agree with op. It's silly really at one point i was playing the game while talking to my girlfriend, didn't even have to look at the screen, that say something about diificulty and skill need to play. Button mashing ftw with cartoonish graphics and bland partical effects. I'm really glad i won't be wasting money on this. GW2 beta next weekend can't wait.

So, what, you didnt know it was a diablo game?

 

hack and slash games are always button mashing, maybe next time you should, i dont know, try knowing something abouta game before you try it.

I knew that but it was even more silly than usual. The bosses and mobs didn't scale well either when you were playing with friends. The old Diablo magic has gone, it has lost the appeal. As stated it wasn't nearly as dark and gritty. 

3 things really dissapointed me

1. Barely any randomatization in maps.  Which is essential for Diablo like games. I really dont understand what were they thinking here...

2. Low resolution textures. The game looks like something on x-box. Why ? Again , no answer to this. One would think that after 10 years of development they could make high res versions

3. Last but perhaps most important  - Completely dumbed down. Everything is pre-choosen for you. Skills, stats, even the runes ( that just until last week were to be something you find and embed , combine with your skills - thus creating at least some sort of customisation ) - Even the item stats are dumbed down.

     Now I understand that some people dont like metagaming, and builds. But I can guarantee you that games with no stat building , last much less for player, and get boring real fast.

Everything is simply tailored for super casual player. They could as well just put it in SOE Free Realms world, or some other kid game. Because it feels like that.

As for difficulty. There are higher difficulty modes.

But where does player skill shows, if every skill and build is auomatically gained by leveling up ?

I don't fully agree with everything you've said, but the one thing I for sure do is that the game isn't dark enough. D1 and D2 actually had me frightened while playing and ever since I saw the first screenshots of D3 I've been saying it just doesn't seem to be quite dark enough. I've been hoping it would get changed, but it doesn't seem like it. Almost everyone I've talked to seems to agree with it not being dark enough and I'm a bit surprised Blizzard didn't feel the same way.

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

First things first. I played Diablo 1 & 2 both day of releases, and loved BOTH of them. Literally played for HOURS on "Mplayer" when it was around for Diablo 1 if anyone remembers, and I was apart of several Clans in Diablo 2 for years. Ended up with 6 level 99s before quitting multiple times only to return to come near that very same count of lvl 99s in Diablo 2.

 

So let's be clear about one thing, I'm a hardcore Diablo fan & I had high, albeit uncontrolled Fanboy, expectations for Diablo 3. Despite all of the horrible videos, dev interviews, and the new Artstyle they went with I decided to still try this weekend's "Open Beta" so I could conclude 100% whether I liked the game or not. Let's also be clear, this is OPEN BETA, meaning that what you see here is a lvl 1-10 perspective of what launch will be like. There won't be any AMAZING turn of events in terms of skills, equipment, or classes before launch (most likely anyways). So crying that I'm talking negatively about Diablo III because it's "Beta" is a false argument, and generally only strengthens my standpoint.

 

Let's get to it shall we?

 

=The Bad=

-There is no "game search" window like Diablo 2 had in BattleNet. You cannot search for "Baal Runz001!!!" etc etc. It's a "quick join" system based on where your character "roughly" is in the storyline for multiplayer gameplay, or at least that's what this Open Beta is like. However, to be clear my Closed Beta friends claim there is no deviation between what is shown here and what they've had access to. If you want to play with anyone you actually know you HAVE to use their "Friend" invite system for private games. Want to make new friends like you did in Diablo 2 via public games that had a title to peak your interest? TOUGH LUCK!

 

-You can no longer choose where to put your attribute points. Blizzard "helped" us by choosing for us.  (ie: you cannot allocate attribute points where you want for a specific build type)

 

-You can no longer choose from a MASSIVE skill-tree system for thousands of different "Builds" like in Diablo 2. You "unlock" skills based on level progression, and the ONLY deviation between characters of a similar class is 90% gear and 10% of what they've chosen to use on their SIX skill-slot bar.

 

-Dungeons are barely random, and barely deviate from different instances. Through 4 different playthroughs, and 9 different public games, I knew ALMOST exactly where to go, and the literally "pulsating" beacon on the minimap for a quest just made everything completely pointless. What's the point in exploring anymore?! Atleast in Diablo 1 you could get lost for hours looking for a specific door or item. Diablo 3? NOPE

 

-The minimap is too small a LOT of times, and when you want the map "blown up" via the TAB key it becomes an "interactable" interface. Meaning you can't click-to-move in a new direction with the map up. You can only click-to-move then hit TAB and keep moving while holding down the button. Not available in combat obviously as you need to move around a lot. (ie: The map is no longer just a "transparent" overlay, you can drag it with your mouse which is simply a poor design choice).

 

-As meantioned before, Pulsating Quest Markers. Need I say more? (I couldn't find a way to disable these, however someone may know, but that defeats the purpose either way?)

 

-The game is so ungodly easy it's rather sad. In my 4 different playthroughs from 1-10 I NEVER died once. I even NEVER had to pop an hp-pot. At LEAST in Diablo 2 even in the "normal" difficulty you died a couple times unless you were an uber-elitist who knew 100% what they were doing. HP pots were mandatory, and you never cryed foul even if you got one of those crappy ones. An HP pot generally meant life or death most of the time! Diablo 3? NOPE!

 

-Mana regenerates too quickly, and the horribly LONG cooldown timers on skills make the "Mana Pool" almost worthless. What's the point of a ManaPool to begin with if it generates within seconds in time for my spell to be done from its cooldown? The ONLY way I found to deplete my ManaPool was with "Hold" abilities that allowed me to physically drain it to 0, only to have it go back to 100% within SECONDS. What happened to Mana Potions & a slow regen?!?! Was that too "slow" for Blizzard's "New" combat tastes?

 

-Itemization is a laughable joke now. You no longer have to LEARN how the game works, or how certain combat techniques worked better with different weapons/abilities. You LITERALLY just look @ a giant "Dps" number or "Armor" number that has everything totaled up for you and you equip the larger number. A crying shame from even Diablo 1's system, let alone Diablo 2.

 

-The game simply isn't "Dark" enough. Diablo 1? Forget about it! In Diablo 1 you actually worried about what was in that REALLY dark room with the barred doors! Could there be archers in there with flaming arrows? Oh crap, I'm low on HP pots, better go back to town and stock up! Diablo 3? WHO CARES! Just burst right into the WELL LIT "dungeon" type room with night vision goggles and mow everything down with your mini-gun in time for martinis :D! Seriously, what happened here?!

 

-Uninspired classes lead to dull gameplay. "WitchDoctor", "Wizard", "DemonHunter (WoW-ref much?)", and "Monk" just quite simply do NOT belong in Diablo 3. I feel like different universes have been smashed together to form Diablo 3, and it's not a good thing. The "old" classes fit MUCH more than these new additions, and Blizzard has only hurt the Diablo franchise even more because of this decision. They SHOULD have "Branched" the old classes out more and fleshed them out to something more unique & sustainable. Instead, they decided to go BACKWARDS to a time where environment means nothing for class types.

 

-Finally, the "Art Style" completely detracts from the immersion within the Diablo universe. Quite frankly, it fits for a top-down version of Warcraft. I can't even begin to explain this one. I put it at the bottom of the list because Diablo 1 & 2 had a relatively straight forward progression in its ArtStyle from super-gritty to reasonably demonic & gruesome. With Diablo 3 it's gone from Demonic & Gruesome (Diablo2) straight to Massive-Shoulderpads, horribly low polygon counts, and sub-par 6th grader crayon drawn playdoe looking models that I've seen better done in a Capstone Art-Class. Seriously, I keep asking this question, but WHAT HAPPENED?!

 

 

=The Good= (spoiler, there's not much :< )

+The Audio in Diablo 3 are faithful recreations that harken back to Diablo 1. It's been quite awhile since I heard that old "bow draw" that skeleton archers & the Archer Class from Diablo 1 used to sound like. All of the drops for items, equipment, gold, quests, etc also harken back to Diablo 1 rather than 2. Something I felt was appropriate.

 

+Constant Lore "pick-me-ups" that, again, Harken back to Diablo 1 in the beginning of the game to catch "new" people to the Diablo franchise up with what happened in Diablo 1 (since it was all the way back in 1998!). I suddenly feel REALLY old....

 

+Lore connection between what happened to many of the characters you met from Diablo 1. Such as that crazy witch who'd constantly sell you wierd potions that restored mana as she lived out of a weird shack :P! 

 

+Old enemies return from Diablo 1 in Act-1 that give you a MASSIVe nostalgia trip. I'm literally reinstalling Diablo 1 on a Virtualized Windows98 right now on my win7 machine JUST so I can play Diablo 1 again :D!

 

+Barbarian returns as a strong front runner class. Albeit EXTREMELY linear and "tough" to play in the beginning first 10 levels. I'm told the class "branches" out into a full on face-smasher like in Diablo 2. However, MANY of the other classes quite simply don't live up to the Barbarian in terms of "fun" or "Fit" within the realm of Diablo. Seriously, one of the major gripes I hear about Diablo 3 is that they ONLY kept the Barbarian from Diablo 2. Hardcore fans created petition after petition for MANY of the "core" classes to return from Diablo 2 to Diablo 3 only to be completely shot down by Blizzard with a firm "NO". Granted this was supposed to be a (+), but it was worth mentioning. 

 

 

 

Personal Score: 5.2/10

Take from this what you will. Many will still buy it because there's either nothing decent to play at the moment, or because they'll buy anything Blizzard releases regardless of quality or consistancy.

 

Sincerely,

Faded

Gee... I thought it was a stress test, you know, like they said...

And for the last sentence...sigh... What about the people that are going to buy it because they enjoy it?

I would agree with most people that it's just lackluster. It suffers a lot of the same problems Dungeon Siege 3 had. Looks like its time for everyone to go pick up Hellgate.

On a side note, to the people who think that the beta is not enough to really form an opinion ; I say WTF. Really?

The 10~ levels we played are EXACTLY like what the rest of the game will be like, just more of it. The skill system won't get better. The dry empty feeling wont be filled with more monsters. 

Customization is a joke, at the very minimum give me face/hair/tattoo choices!  But hey, at least its an improvement on the previous games; at least you can choose your sex lol. <--- that's meant to be sarcastic, it's not a condoning statement. 

Without falling too much into rant mode, I feel really bad. My friend and I both downloaded the beta, but he didn't have a chance to play it. He went ahead and pre-ordered it anyway and now he's kicking himself - hard. 

Is it just me, or are my expectations too high?

EDIT: Oh, and the graphics are not nearly as awesome as their system demands might have you believe.

After playing the beta today I came away not that impressed. The gameplay experience was fun enough in the Diablo/hack and slash theme but it just doesn't feel like a game I want to spend $60 on. It did bring back that Diablo feeling for me. One thing I wish they had not kept from the previous games is the point and click movement.

Originally posted by Lobotomist

3 things really dissapointed me

 

1. Barely any randomatization in maps.  Which is essential for Diablo like games. I really dont understand what were they thinking here...

The randomization isn't much different than D2, i'll reserve judgement until i get to the bigger game.. i've played to much of the beta and kinda know how its gonna pop most of the time.

2. Low resolution textures. The game looks like something on x-box. Why ? Again , no answer to this. One would think that after 10 years of development they could make high res version.

Well for one its beta, i don't know if they have higher res planned or not. Regardless it looks on par to games made post 2010. Game runs smooth and isn't an eyesore.. a happy balance but options are great.

3. Last but perhaps most important  - Completely dumbed down. Everything is pre-choosen for you. Skills, stats, even the runes ( that just until last week were to be something you find and embed , combine with your skills - thus creating at least some sort of customisation ) - Even the item stats are dumbed down.

Attributes really were done one way in D2 and thats the right way. You did the bare minimum stats you could and dumped it all into Vit. You level up and get more skills and rune choice.. the combinations eventually get very large which open up a large room of customization. Item stats are as much "smart" as they were in D2, not sure on your complaint with this.

     Now I understand that some people dont like metagaming, and builds. But I can guarantee you that games with no stat building , last much less for player, and get boring real fast.

WoW has no stat building and it obviously has some magical staying power that mmorpg.com forumers can't figure out.  People get bored rerolling all the time.. i don't have my enchanter to level my 5 new characters a weekend anymore. 

 

Everything is simply tailored for super casual player. They could as well just put it in SOE Free Realms world, or some other kid game. Because it feels like that.

I wish this mentality would stay out of D3.. but it won't because you're still going to buy the game. I myself will buy the game and apparently enjoy time with my inner child.

 

As for difficulty. There are higher difficulty modes.

But where does player skill shows, if every skill and build is auomatically gained by leveling up

Ignorance is bliss? You have alot of choices to make with the skills and runes you gain, they may not be perm which is what you want but they are locked in combat, events and arena. You also can't switch skills if you want to keep your PvE bonus. There is plenty of player error to be had and skill will show when the game is live. 

Originally posted by adam_nox

Why report on stuff we've known forever, like the art style, darkness, etc, even the skill system has been known for a while, that it wasn't going to be skilltree based?

 

Those horses have been beat to death, bliz isn't changing any of it clearly.  So move onto other things.

Because it's a review, not a wishlist?

Blizzard made their design choices, whether or not the fans wanted them. Now the game is about to launch, and they're allowing us to play it. Why is it no longer acceptable to review games nowadays? It's almost comical how many times I see arguments like 'wait until the full game to judge', which basically amounts to a mindset of 'buy the game first, then decide if it's good'. No wonder so many people complain about getting duped, or cheated with newer video games. Too many people give these games a free pass, especially if they have a well established IP.

Personally, I find his critique to be rather spot on. Plus the game is open to everyone atm. So it's not like you all can't just go see for yourself. But, I too was a huge diablo fan. I'm skipping this one; there's just too many other games that do it better.

Originally posted by Loke666

Originally posted by Nobadeeftw

Originally posted by doragon86

Indeed it wasn't the only one in the series. However, a large chunk of the diablo fanbase came into it from D2. The first Diablo was difficult from level 1. You can say that the diablo series got easier as it grew. 

Ok. Diablo 3 is straying in what ways? Of course it won't be the same. Things will always change. As time goes on, development views and ideas can change. I agree with some of the points you all are bringing up. However, I feel that some of you are wearing nostalgia glasses, and refuse to take them off. 

I've played both D1 & D2, and I have very few complaints with D3. 

I totally agree with you on that.  I keep seeing the same dumbass complaints about Diablo 3 beta.

I dunno, the point of making sequels is nostalgia.

I mean they made starcraft 2 really close to the original so why not this game?

If Blizzard weren't going for nostalgia they could have easily named the game something else, and no-one would complaining (or at least almost noone).

Yea, some nostalgia is understandable in a sequel. However, the feeling I'm getting from many of the posts proclaiming their dislike of the game is that they just want D2 again. It's like seeing movie's sequel, and complaining that it's not exactly like the first. To a degree, it's not really supposed to be exactly like the first.

Starcraft 2.... well you got me there. However I think that has to do with how rigid RTS games are when it comes to development. You don't have much room to diverge. 

Hah, if Blizzard had named it something else, folks would still complain. I daresay almost to the degree currently seen.

Imo you are wearing some seriously rose tinted glasses amigo.

We get to play 1/3rd of act 1, on normal.

Of course it is easy.

I'm willing to bet D3 is gonna be superior to D2 in pretty much every way possible.

An interesting write-up, but I am going to still wait n see. I can cope with changes so it is good to know what has changed. However, I think people grumble just a bit too much about games anymore.

I am interested in how they changed skills/runes. I think there could be a lot to play with there as far as making builds (and to me, other than exploration of random dungeons that was the main enjoyment for D2). In my view, 10 levels won't be enough to grasp the system fully for how each class will work out. If Blizzard has done a good job of development, this should branch out as you level and then taper as you become more specialized. If it is as truly linear as you fear it might be, then yeah, there isn't going to be much longetivity to the game.

The not-dark-enough comment is interesting. I can agree with lack of darkness in a dungeon crawler being a problem. It is my main complaint about TL1, a game I love otherwise. Even though a lot of people got maphack that eliminated darkness completely in D2, I think it is a good thing to have.

     Path of Exile..... that is all.

Originally posted by Nailzzz

     Path of Exile..... that is all.

YOU ARE A WISE MAN +10000

I wonder if this Open Beta will hurt Diablo 3 sales. I for one, had the highest of hopes for Diablo 3, yet after today... I'm not so sure.

I won't rehash all the spot-on things the OP said, but I will say "I expected... more."   For such a large following for such a massive franchise, I think Blizzard did a great disservice.  It makes me sad really.   I get into the game, immediately turned off by the graphics.  I don't necessarily mean the 'art-style', but the actual overall quality look of the game is not something I'd expect from a 2012 release on a massively high end system.     (played all High @ 2560x1600 for reference.)

I guess I can say it ran well at least.  But even the 'polish' Blizzard puts so much stock into really isn't there.  The menus, the overall everything of the interface just looks dated.  

The classes don't seem to 'fit' and lack a lot of imagination.   The world seems to be schizophrenic as well.  Going from oddly dark exteriors..  to neon lighted interiors?!?!  

I knew there was trouble when I got kicked off the servers eairlier around lvl 6 on a Wizard and had very little desire to log back in and continue playing.   (I did finally make it through to 'the end')

The only real saving grace the game has right now is no subscription and co-op play.  I can see killing a little time here and there with a long distance friend in game, but I don't see much long term appeal.  Especially with the massive lack of randomization in the maps.

This is all personal opinion by the way.   This could be 'the second coming of video games' for some of you, and for that, I'm happy for you.  But for me, I'm just an old gamer looking for something, and this isn't at all what I had hoped it would be.

Originally posted by Nailzzz

     Path of Exile..... that is all.

QFT.

It's sad that PoE is coming out so close to D3...it's going to get stomped, and it's far superior to D3. FFX-style passive grid, and a FFVII materia system? So tasty. It's worth dropping $10 to get into the closed beta.