Diablo 3 | Review (PC)

PC gaming owes a lot of its legacy to Blizzard, and particularly to the Diablo franchise.  In the latest iteration, the journey to New Tristram is just as hellacious as before since Diablo 3 claws itself a place in your psyche… and wallet.

Diablo 3 is a return to the tried-and-true formula of its predecessors but with a few quirks.  You start the game by choosing your class and sex, some other mild customization options like your banner, then you’re thrown into the game after a brief story synopsis.

Welcome... er... "Hero."

Once you start pounding the legions of demons into a pulp, though, you start to feel like you’re being guided into how you choose your characters’ skills and upgrades.  Well, that’s because you are.  Blizzard, by default, suggests a way to spec your perks and abilities.  You have to go into the options to enable free choice about how you build your avatar’s life.  This option is extremely helpful if you’re new to the franchise, but let’s be frank: we’re not new.  We’ve been waiting on this game for over a decade now.  If they would have asked you before-hand if you’d like a hand, I’d be cool with that.  Clumping everyone together in a “Better safe than sorry” category without any insight about having to go into the options to actually play how you want is definitely bothersome.

Your comrades, conversely, are indifferent to your suffering.

Speaking of bothersome, let’s talk about that always-on DRM.  I understand why Blizzard thinks this was a good idea, but a lot of people, myself and every single person I know playing included, have been kicked repeatedly during the first 48 hours of launch due to “emergency server maintenance.”  This is the same company that runs World of Warcraft; they know what to expect at a game launch.  If I’m plunking down $60 for a PC game, I want to be able to go home, put the disk in my computer, install it, and get carpal-tunnel the hard, earned way.  Instead, the servers would go down for hours at a time, returning an error when you go to sign in.  Single player is affected, and that right there is a tragedy.

Get wrecked, Skeleton King! Wait, what's that? Server disconnected? PROGRESS LOST?!? NOOOOOOOOOO

On the plus sides, however, the game is a lot of fun.  There’s nothing more satisfying than laying the smack-down on waves of zombies spewing from dynamic environments as you loot and plunder for magical treasures to ruin the days of many a demon.  Also returning are the nostalgic pains in your mouse-hand from left/right-clicking your appendage into oblivion.  In fact, I think Blizzard could be doing the world a favor by forcing you to take breaks while they “maintain” their side of things.

Also emerging in Diablo 3 is the auction house.  One of the most sought-after additions to the franchise, the AH supposedly allows you to sell in-game items for cash.  I found out how to sell something for gold, but the cash option eludes me until it comes out on May 22^nd.  I’m so glad that Blizzard has incorporated cash trading into a game that doesn’t use your authenticator, unlike World of Warcraft and StarCraft 2, which both require it to log into the game.  Note that WoW and SC2 don’t have cash markets.  I’m hoping that’s coming in a patch soon, otherwise we’ll be reporting to you soon about the first case of stolen identity via demon-hunting.

Money: coming soon to a messiah near you.

In the grand scheme of things, what did you really expect from Diablo 3?  The game is heavily plot-driven, so out of courtesy to you, I’m avoiding talking about that.  It’s an isometric dungeon crawler where things look nice and die fancy.  It just needs a bit of polishing before I call it “life-changing.”

[review title=”Diablo 3″ pros=”Fresh story, unique skills, and combat in a familiar style” cons=”In its current state, certainly feels more like a beta test” verdict=”Classic fans won’t be let down. Everyone else, however…” score=74]