Diablo III
Reviewed By Luke "Lukaz" Withoos
Over the years there have been many popular video game series. Many of these have come and gone with brief enjoyment, the odd sequel, and even the occasional spin off. Some games succeed, some games fail; but the rare few form legacies that span decades; bringing gamers back to relive the games that they have known and loved just waiting for that ever spoken about sequel. Many games come to mind for this.
First person shooters like the Half-Life series, Doom, Quake, Halo, Call of Duty and Battlefield have formed the backbone of the genre; spanning generations of gamers. Although nothing seems to stop Blizzard Entertainment; even when their games aren’t played for decades. Their games have inspired gamers, developers, artists, and observers alike, so it is not surprising that the latest installment for one of their most popular series sold out on store shelves globally.
The game I refer to is Diablo III. The current pinnacle of Blizzard’s achievements in the gaming world.
Diablo III was released on 15 May 2012; a full 11 years after the release of the Diablo II expansion set “Lord of Destruction”; the last of the series prior to this title. Fans of the series globally flocked to stores and online to pre-purchase, reserve and even pre-install Diablo III in the lead up to the opening date. Including these purchases, Blizzard recorded over 3.5 million sales of the title in the first 24 hours of release and over 6.3 million sales in the first week.
As top selling as this game was upon release, it was not free from controversy. The biggest pain point for purchasers of Diablo III was the much-debated digital rights management system (DRM) that was employed by Blizzard to prevent game piracy. The DRM requires players to connect to a server to load up the game and commence play. A system rarely seen by role-playing games that are not persistent worlds; such as another Blizzard title World of Warcraft.
As a result of this DRM, gamers who pre-purchased and pre-installed Diablo III experienced a great deal of difficulty just to play the game; having to wait hours to login, much less play. The resulting error dominated forums and message boards, putting Blizzard and the Diablo III development team in a negative light to video game critics everywhere. The error itself has led to internet memes and was even the first predicted phrase in the Google auto-search functions; after the term “err” was entered. I do of course refer to the infamous “Error 37”. The second prediction was “Errol Flynn”. Go figure.
Although this error was fixed within a matter of hours (and with further works underway to improve performance and prevent this error appearing in the future), the damage was done for many Blizzard devotees. Many returned to stores to obtain refunds; many simply shelved the game, ready to return only when Blizzard had resolved the faults.
Those that did wait patiently for the faults to be fixed were rewarded with a spectacular world that brought back memories of a world where nightmares were made.
Diablo III has had not only a facelift graphically, it has now changed many elements of gameplay that allow players to customise their character to an immeasurable amount of possibilities. The largest change is the change in available classes. The only playable class that has made a return to the world of Sanctuary is the Barbarian. He is joined by the Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Wizard and Monk. Once a class is selected, the player can also choose the sex of the character; an opportunity that previous installments were unable to offer.
Further customisation is given to each player’s banner. As the game is online based, it is possible to join your friends in Sanctuary and work cooperatively to complete the game and defeat the inevitable evil that Diablo is known for. The banner is an important mechanic in cooperative games, as players use their banners to instantly teleport to the ally whose banner is clicked by a player, wherever that ally may be in the game world.
Familiar concepts have returned; such as skill trees. While these skill trees are represented differently and all types of skills are different for each class, many well-known RPG concepts are used; such as Barbarians harnessing rage for their attacks and Wizards spending mana for their spells. An inventory is used for items while weapons and armour can be equipped to make your character powerful enough to take on entire armies… alone... even in cooperative games.
The greatest change that Diablo III brings to gamers from previous releases is the use of number keys for additional attacks. Where the previous games used the number keys for the use of potions to regain health and mana, Diablo III allows the player to use number 1-4 to assign abilities alongside the abilities assigned to the left and right mouse buttons. This brings much more involved and much more intriguing character customisation options that will keep players coming back to try different “builds”; assigning different abilities to improve their character’s performance.
The plot remains true to the previous installments; with the story commencing in New Tristram; the village that was built for the people nearby to Old Tristram; the town where the first Diablo game was set. As Old Tristram was destroyed in Diablo II, returning to the destroyed town shortly after commencing the game was predictable, but not worthless. Within the opening minutes, you are also introduced to Leah; the niece of Deckard Cain; a pivotal character from all of the previous Diablo titles. As with Diablo II, the dotty old man has gone missing; with the first part of Act I searching for him.
Diablo III consists of 4 acts; as if you were spending a night at the theatre. Act I and Act II are the longest acts; where a story is built to explain the upcoming evil that will appear to destroy all of mankind; a concept you would expect from a game using the name of the ultimate evil. All acts take players through different areas of Sanctuary; across continents and even to… well… somewhere you’ll have to play to see.
For me, I found the gameplay fantastic. The concepts and execution of these mechanics are fantastic. They are everything I want from the gameplay of a Diablo game. The story; which I play most games for; was somewhat lack lustre.
The twist (and there’s always a twist these days) was predictable and uninspired. I knew much of what was going to happen just based on the interactions with different characters. The most impressive part of the storytelling (and most personal, I feel) were the fully rendered cut-scenes between each act. Aside from looking fantastic with great writing for the voice talent, I feel that these cut-scenes captured the desperation of the characters and the depth of the oncoming destruction.
Hardcore fans of the Diablo series and followers of other Blizzard products will love this game; there’s no doubt about that. However, for me, I feel that the story was dry and after completing the game, I am not inclined to return and play on a harder difficulty.
All things considered, this game is a must-buy for any PC gamer with an interest in the RPG format. It is a great game, but it all comes down to personal enjoyment to determine the value of this game.
I will say one thing though. There is a cow level.
Game: Diablo III
System: PC
Developer/Co-Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
