Review "A Promise Never Fulfilled": Gamebanshee Reviews Diablo III

[Crooked Bee]

Tags: Blizzard Entertainment; Diablo III; Eric Schwarz

Gamebanshee's Eric Schwarz has written a 6-page review of Blizzard's Diablo III. He starts it with "Diablo III is a promise never fulfilled", and goes on to say:

That might sound a little bit grim, but I think it encapsulates both the end product, as well as the core gameplay that the franchise has built itself around. Diablo III is a colossally polished title, that much is clear upon even just a few minutes hacking and slashing through monsters, but it's also one which is never really able to live up to its potential, just as most players who ever pick it up will be able to fully conquer Inferno difficulty.

So, while it might be an exceptionally pretty and expansive game, with more art assets, loot tiers, skill and stat combinations than most other titles on the market today, Diablo III is also unfulfilling, like a sugary snack - it never leaves you feeling satisfied, only wanting more, whether that's more loot, a more competently executed story, or a more interesting character system.

[...] Right now, the hack and slash genre is seeing a sudden explosion of interest, with Grim Dawn, Path of Exile and Torchlight II all providing much cheaper and, frankly, more fun alternatives - Path of Exile delivering a more traditional, grimy aesthetic, and Torchlight II sporting more depth in its character and skill systems. Diablo III is certainly good, there's no question, and it might remain unmatched in terms of pedigree, but it can no longer claim to be the definitive king of the hack-and-slash genre either. Perhaps Hell truly has frozen over.​

In other words, nothing unexpected.

 

[RK47]

And he bought his own review copy as well. Jesus!

 

[Mozgoëbstvo]

Naught to say. I just want to wait for Gameschlock's review and see how it compares (that is -153% downsides, gamebreaking bugs dismissed, +178% importance to the few pros sea listed).

 

[felipepepe]

Nice review, I just missed more about multiplayer and how harder difficulty settings feel...

And I agree 100% about how Act 3 and 4 feel rushed and unfinished...And clearly Blizzard chose to make the game simpler and them add stuff on the inevitable expansion, instead of already giving us what they achieved on D2:LOD and aiming higher on the D3 expansion.

 

[commie]

I grow tired of Mr Black's non-confrontational, please everybody reviews. Just call it out for the overhyped, overpriced piece of archaic crap that it is! A decade's work on this, a reskinned D2?

 

[Zed]

As I've stressed, it looks fantastic, it feels fast, frantic and fun to play, and it's got Blizzard's trademarks all over it...

Well I have played the game for more than twice as long and I don't agree.
The game is slow and clumsy. For instance, moving. There is a keybinding for moving (i.e. you don't do any other action but to move, which you'll need on Inferno difficulty), but it doesn't release unless you stop holding your mouse button. Invisible corners, glitchy champion abilities (walling, vortex), stupid abusable boss A.I., cast-time for identifying items, lots of linear sections with 0 combat... No, the game is fun but it's not fast and frantic. It's slow and unresponsive.

What are Blizzard's trademarks?

 

[Metro]

Good ol' Sea and his esoteric titles.

 

[sea]

Well I have played the game for more than twice as long and I don't agree.
The game is slow and clumsy. For instance, moving. There is a keybinding for moving (i.e. you don't do any other action but to move, which you'll need on Inferno difficulty), but it doesn't release unless you stop holding your mouse button. Invisible corners, glitchy champion abilities (walling, vortex), stupid abusable boss A.I., cast-time for identifying items, lots of linear sections with 0 combat... No, the game is fun but it's not fast and frantic. It's slow and unresponsive.

Perhaps "fast" was the wrong word... but it gets very chaotic, especially on higher difficulties when you have huge amounts of enemies, bosses with the "fast" modifier to look out for etc. I also had zero problems with the controls and got hung up on the environment maybe 1-2 times at most, which was probably less than Diablo II. I never encountered issues with glitchy abilities, AI, etc. either. You're welcome to disagree of course, but this review was based on my experience with the game and I can't account for your own.

That said, Torchlight II is faster, so try that if you want something that requires more twitch reflexes. Path of Exile "feels" slower to me although in reality it's probably very close to Diablo III's speed.

What are Blizzard's trademarks?

Good online functionality and features, high-budget and pretty cutscenes, obscene amounts of art assets, solid game balance and UI, silly "epic" storytelling with dumb twists, that very particular art style, etc. Diablo III maintains all of those, but as I said in the review it's also not up to the same standards as other Blizzard titles due to all the strange inconsistencies (which I chalk up to its extended development time), and is also weaker than Diablo II for it (mostly art style/music/atmosphere).

I grow tired of Mr Black's non-confrontational, please everybody reviews. Just call it out for the overhyped, overpriced piece of archaic crap that it is! A decade's work on this, a reskinned D2?

So... it's not good enough that I say it's got bullshit DRM that significantly harms the game experience (both solo and multi), got mixed mechanics changes that I don't think are an improvement over Diablo II, the item game has been made weaker, gameplay is simpler than Diablo II due to focus on MMO-style cooldown management, that classic Diablo atmosphere is gone for good, that the story completely sucks, and that ultimately it wasn't worth the 10 year wait, is not as good as the competition and isn't a worthy Diablo title? I can't in good faith call the game bad, because it's not. It's just completely disappointing.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Torchlight II sporting more depth in its character and skill systems.

Dafuq? Wow, am I ever glad I skipped this piece of decline then. Torchlight's main weakness (apart from the TF2 style), is the super streamlined character and skill systems. Are you telling me derpablo 3 has less than 4 attributes and 3 pretty much identical characters? Or is Torchlight 2 massively more sophisticated than the first one?

Yes my Beta never activated.

 

[Metro]

Torchlight II sporting more depth in its character and skill systems.

Dafuq? Wow, am I ever glad I skipped this piece of decline then. Torchlight's main weakness (apart from the TF2 style), is the super streamlined character and skill systems. Are you telling me derpablo 3 has less than 4 attributes and 3 pretty much identical characters? Or is Torchlight 2 massively more sophisticated than the first one?

Just read the plethora of opinions/info about it on one of the various threads. Why would you assume nothing has changed from TL1 to TL2 character class wise?

 

[sea]

Dafuq? Wow, am I ever glad I skipped this piece of decline then. Torchlight's main weakness (apart from the TF2 style), is the super streamlined character and skill systems. Are you telling me derpablo 3 has less than 4 attributes and 3 pretty much identical characters? Or is Torchlight 2 massively more sophisticated than the first one?

It has 4 attributes, but there is zero control over them save for items you collect. Skills unlock automatically as you play the game in a set order. You don't level up skills, but you can modify them to get new effects. Diablo 3 isn't precisely lacking in complexity when it comes to build choices or options, but you don't have control over your character's progression and there are no permanent choices to make. Torchlight 2 is basically the same as the first but the attributes are better balanced (each is important for all classes) and there are more build possibilities for each class (can theoretically play a wizard as a spellsword, Engineer class can be support/tank/brawler/nuker, etc.).

 

[Zarniwoop]

Torchlight II sporting more depth in its character and skill systems.

Dafuq? Wow, am I ever glad I skipped this piece of decline then. Torchlight's main weakness (apart from the TF2 style), is the super streamlined character and skill systems. Are you telling me derpablo 3 has less than 4 attributes and 3 pretty much identical characters? Or is Torchlight 2 massively more sophisticated than the first one?

Just read the plethora of opinions/info about it on one of the various threads. Why would you assume nothing has changed from TL1 to TL2 character class wise?

It has 4 attributes, but there is zero control over them save for items you collect. Skills unlock automatically as you play the game in a set order. You don't level up skills, but you can modify them to get new effects. Diablo 3 isn't precisely lacking in complexity when it comes to build choices or options, but you don't have control over your character's progression and there are no permanent choices to make. Torchlight 2 is basically the same as the first but the attributes are better balanced (each is important for all classes) and there are more build possibilities for each class (can theoretically play a wizard as a spellsword, Engineer class can be support/tank/brawler/nuker, etc.).

So yes, basically more of the same with improvements as everyone has been saying. And it seems Diablo 3 is indeed so super-simplified that Torchlight now offers more customisation/flexibility. Which is what I assumed, thanks.

 

[hiver]

Nice, in depth review.
Im curious what they did with the story, but i guess you didnt want to spoil it.
I always hoped Diablo will expand that area and it was a disappointment they went full bash-loot as the main thing of the game.

Didnt one of the leading Devs leave at about the time latest big changes to the mechanics were imposed?
I didnt follow much but i seem to remember there were some serious changes in the dev team and then those changes were made.

Also, did i understand correctly that weapon your character is holding is modifying spell damage? What if you drop a weapon and dont have any equipped?
The spells dont have their own damage? What?

 

[LeStryfe79]

The reviewer obviously has not played through most of the difficulties. Diablo 3 has a shit story and thus far an even shittier online service. Everyone knows this. However, the character system becomes extremely complex later on. It's far more advanced than any other ARPG I've played with the possible exception of Hellgate London. Diablo 3 feels very similar to Diablo 2 in many ways. It's hard to guess why, but I think it has more to do with the math than anything else. The biggest difference ultimately comes in the smoother difficulty curve(until inferno), and the adjustment of several annoying mechanics which existed in its predecessor. The gameplay isn't quite as tight as Torchlight's either but is more than adequate. Overall, I liked the setting, loot, and skills a lot more than I could have imagined. It's by no means perfect but it's pretty good for what it is. 7/10

 

[Metro]

When you say a $60 game's 'gameplay isn't quit as tight as Torchlight' -- a $20 game -- and couple that with the fucking disaster that is no off-line mode, RMAH, server stability issues, and now the apparent security issues... there's really no defending D3 anymore.

 

[Bulba]

I think I'll wait till PvP comes out and see whether people will find it fun... hopefully by that stage their server and hacking problems will be solved. If not I'll at least save 60$

 

[Jasede]

I can't take a review seriously that is titled like a Disgaea game.
(You're still a bro, sea.)

 

[crawlkill]

I might've liked it okay if either the plot and dialogue hadn't been so numbingly awful or if they'd been easier to ignore. y'know, with the periodic and thoroughly-skippable monologues that have defined the franchise up to this point, instead of the trips back to town and little cutscenes every ten minutes of gameplay that grind any attempt at actually forgetting yourself in the mindless action rpg clicking to a halt. and then those things -still being the case- playing on the higher difficulties, so that you have to live through the "story" -four times- if you wanna play through inferno.

it's sad when a game is made much worse by the inclusion of something instead of by the omission of something. if they just put in a 'skip all dialogue and stop mandating running back to town in between every quest' toggle, the game would be--well, still nothing special, but at least it'd have a lot of the activelybad scraped out of it.

and yeah, the pacing of acts three and four was dystopian, but I was in such despair over talk of "the sword piece," meaningless plot twists, senseless villains, constant exposition that made absolutely no sense and general heinousness that I was just glad to finish it.

also rpgcodex I hate that you fucking change my font size when I control-number that's for tabbed browsing you savages I don't care if I'm writing a post at the time

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

It has 4 attributes, but there is zero control over them save for items you collect. Skills unlock automatically as you play the game in a set order. You don't level up skills, but you can modify them to get new effects. Diablo 3 isn't precisely lacking in complexity when it comes to build choices or options, but you don't have control over your character's progression and there are no permanent choices to make. Torchlight 2 is basically the same as the first but the attributes are better balanced (each is important for all classes) and there are more build possibilities for each class (can theoretically play a wizard as a spellsword, Engineer class can be support/tank/brawler/nuker, etc.).

That's good to hear. I remember Diablo 2 before the 1.10 patch and wondering why they didn't think of skill synergy before that. It's really such a good idea, smoothing out difficulty in the beginning game versus point placement in the end game. Making it so the attributes are useful to all the classes is a similar design idea. Having uses for nearly everything you do actually makes leveling up something you need to consider, which is something a lot of action RPGs need to have. Most of the time, it's pick a class and then a build from that class and just add points per TEH PLAN. Not really that interesting.

 

[LeStryfe79]

Torchlight 2 will be a much better game, but I'm willing to bet Diablo 3 ends up being more addictive. I've been playing Torchlight since Mythos was in Alpha and had a few dozen players. Pretty sure I know my Torchlight. I'll be the first to admit that the only reason I'm playing Diablo 3 is for the RMAH. I'll probably lose my ass on it too, but the whole concept breaks the 4th wall. Back when I played Entropia Universe, I felt like a game had actually become an extension of reality. I strongly believe this is the grand dystopian future gaming has in store for us. I think it's fucking awesome, and offers the only real form of choices and consequences there ever was. This Codex exists on a foundation of games being an important aspect of life. Blizzard embracing this concept as early as they have is ludicrous to me. It's also welcome. Fuck yeah.

 

[Metro]

I'll be the first to admit that the only reason I'm playing Diablo 3 is for the RMAH. I'll probably lose my ass on it too, but the whole concept breaks the 4th wall. Back when I played Entropia Universe, I felt like a game had actually become an extension of reality. I strongly believe this is the grand dystopian future gaming has in store for us. I think it's fucking awesome, and offers the only real form of choices and consequences there ever was. This Codex exists on a foundation of games being an important aspect of life. Blizzard embracing this concept as early as they have is ludicrous to me. It's also welcome. Fuck yeah.

 

[General Maxson]

Torchlight 2 will be a much better game, but I'm willing to bet Diablo 3 ends up being more addictive. I've been playing Torchlight since Mythos was in Alpha and had a few dozen players. Pretty sure I know my Torchlight. I'll be the first to admit that the only reason I'm playing Diablo 3 is for the RMAH. I'll probably lose my ass on it too, but the whole concept breaks the 4th wall. Back when I played Entropia Universe, I felt like a game had actually become an extension of reality. I strongly believe this is the grand dystopian future gaming has in store for us. I think it's fucking awesome, and offers the only real form of choices and consequences there ever was. This Codex exists on a foundation of games being an important aspect of life. Blizzard embracing this concept as early as they have is ludicrous to me. It's also welcome. Fuck yeah.

Yes, AWESOME future awaits us in gaming because of Blizzard! Really, a dream come true.

 

[Oriental European]

Diablo III is certainly good, there's no question, and it might remain unmatched in terms of pedigree, but it can no longer claim to be the definitive king of the hack-and-slash genre either. Perhaps Hell truly has frozen over.

Fuck i hate this "king of the.../will this game threaten the king?/king is dead/new king of..." cliché in gaming press, cheap populism, lazy filler.
Also,

is certainly good, there's no question

? Then why the fuck we need this review?
Whatever, i know the answer, this post was impulsive.

 

[Gregz]

sea's title is perfect.

Fans waited 10 years for a Diablo II sequel that would improve on the franchise. They had every reason to expect Blizzard would deliver a quality product (10 years + "we'll release it when it's done" + Blizzard = win, always, right?). How wrong we were...the last 3 years should have prepared us (Blizzervision, WoW, SC2), but still we hoped...Blizzard would return to its roots. We'd be blown away by innovation, polish, and excellence as we had been so many times before...how wrong we were.

All good things must, and have, come to an end.

 

[Executer]

Well put, Blizzard has officially Biowared, as you said there was hope but the decline touches all.