Diablo 3: Worth Skipping
In the world of post-release patches, video games are difficult to judge when they are young and months out of the gate. Let us hope that Blizzard is just another procrastinator.
In short Diablo III is a hack and slash game that is far from perfect, but still enjoyable at times. If you crave the loot euphoria from the last installments you can forget about picking this one up for now. If you want a mediocre, resource hungry engine that delivers occasionally entertaining gameplay and a strong lesson in day trading, this is a gem in the rough.
Lets quickly cover the things Blizzard did well. Diablo III's cut scenes are spectacular. It will be the thing all your friends talk about. The story plays on the nostalgia of the first game which is also discussion worthy. The new take on the skill tree is great and allows for on the go flexibility and encourages constant change. The achievements and challenges add little badges of honor and recognition to you play style and keep you going. The difficulty of the game is nothing to laugh at either, although this is not the rage inducing Dark Souls difficulty a somewhat casual gamer may be weary of.
Now for the less than great parts of the game. The novel physics in the game seem to hamper it more than they help it. You will find yourself asking quite often why an isometric game needs physics. The enemy AI isn't quite what is expected and tends to boil down to a lot of enemies trying to overwhelm you all of the time. The most difficult parts of the game tend to be the mobs and not the bosses, but the largest rewards tend to come from the bosses. You will find the game devours your computer's resources while the output seems inefficient. Blizzards biggest sin seems to be the amount of memory wasted on plugging the database full of items that are of little use after the first 10 minutes, and yet they remain a constant through the whole game (I'm looking at you cracked sash.)
And for a part that is really more of a general observation, the game was built around the auction house. If you expect the time vs. reward ratio to be highest while playing through the Acts then you will be disappointed. The most valuable rewards will be earned from employing a little day trading wisdom and finding low cost steals and flipping them for a higher price in the auction house. The lack of pricing regulation has developed a wild west economy that takes the thrill out of earning a sweet piece of gear after hours of grueling gameplay.
If you are looking for a multiplayer, isometric loot fest that delivers in gameplay and makes reasonable demands of your hardware, I wouldn't look any further than Sacred 2 for now. Blizzard may be able to bring Diablo III up to a reasonable standard with patches, but for the cost of the hardware and the software I would say that Blizzard has made a big dent in PC gaming's credibility.
Great Gaming Awaits.
