Before I start this review, I wanted to say the following. I will take everything into account from top to bottom. People might say that the game truly comes to life when you reach level 60, I personally disagree and have not yet reached level 60, but with what I have encountered, I think I can give my two cents on the game. First the facts of course.

Facts

Publisher: Activision/Blizzard
Developer: Blizzard
Genre(s): Hack ‘n Slash RPG
Players: 1-4 (as of this moment; the PvP is not there)
ESRB Rating: M (Mature))
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Platforms: PC
Website: www.diablo3.com

Game Summary

It is 20 years after the events in Diablo 2. Diablo and his fellow Prime Evils have been defeated and banished from Sanctuary. The world returned to normal life after grave horrors. But a prophecy says that the End of Days will come when Justice falls from the Heavens. Deckard Cain has been trying to research heavily into this up until the moment a shooting star hits the old Tristram Cathedral where the evens from Diablo 1 were all portrayed. Leah, his adopted niece, asks of you to help find her uncle and stop the rising dead. Shadows loom once again over the world of Sanctuary and the Burning Hells are stirring again. You must pick up your weapon and fight the evil once more. Are you ready to face Terror for the third time?

The Good

For me one of the interesting parts of the Diablo games, is it’s lore. People might think that its just a simple hack ‘n slash game, but if you like the interactions and the backgrounds, there is so much more to find. The world truly feels like a coherent world, with its fair share of history if you want to find it. I talked to every single person that you could talk to, to try and find out their allegiance or position on the world. One of the most interesting characters I encountered is the Jeweler you pick up during the game. He’s a man of dubious disposition, very much looking for his gems and jewels (hence his title), or so he proclaims. There seems to be more to this particular character then that he is willing to share.

That brings me to the next point.

Part of the overall feel you get from the characters is also based on their voice. And that is truly top notch again. Tyreal, Diablo, Azmodan, the Enchanteress, Leah and even your own character’s voice are very well done.

But without good gameplay, this game would miss a lot. I played Diablo 2 for a long time and I can say, III is every bit as addictive. While I tend to play for an hour, it is sometimes difficult to stop at that hour mark. Slashing through hords of enemies like it is nobody’s business, making them explode the moment they die (I am playing a Barbarian for clarification) which resembles a Baysplosion with blood (Bloodsplosion?); its fun and it makes you go for more blood.

Random events pop up, enticing you to do multiple playthroughs and gives you useful rewards. No single playthrough is identical to another. That has always been the great advantage of the map system Blizzard has used in the past and still uses. The area looks different every time you play and you can even see at moments in the distance where you are going to.

The skills you gather during leveling are more than diverse enough to give the player a lot of options. The runes help to diversify this. For people wandering where the customization options are, don’t worry, in the option menu you have the ability to tweak things even more to your play style.

Also the co-op, when you want to co-op, is a lot of fun and the scaling works appropriately.

But the High Heavens do not shine their light on everything Blizzard has done in Diablo 3.

The Bad

Three words can describe the bad perfectly. Constant internet connection. Like Lorin and Tony heavily discussed in Axe Factor 72, this is the main beef with the game. One night(mare), during a fight which I should easily have been able to win, I froze. I FUCKING froze. I had made a leap towards an easy enemy, but mid-air the the connection paused and I was frozen. After several seconds, it unfroze, and guess what? I was dead. A group of enemies I should have been able to take down with relative ease, managed to kill me due to this nonsense. The reasoning behind it is most likely to keep the credit card data, that Blizzard uses for the Real money Auction House, safe. They are probably obliged to have such a high safety standard.

But it undercuts the entire possibility of the singleplayer part. Heck, even Starcraft 2 had an offline part. And that didn’t have an Auction house. More over, in the connection between you and Blizzard, there are so many bumps in the road; its very likely to lag. There is no way to get away from it. I want to play the story by myself. I don’t have the need to be online at that moment.

More over, Blizzard is incapable of keeping their servers properly running! Like Lorin and Tony said, we, the players, are obliged to so much, why the hell (no pun intended) does Blizzard get away with doing jack shit when it comes to their servers> Also, why, by the horns of Diablo, do they have server maintenance for the solo part? I just cannot get my head around this.

Achievements are lost as well. I played the first day up through the Skeleton King and the rest of Act 1 and when I returned the next time for Act 2: gone. Everything I had gathered was gone. For a company that made achievements big, screwing it up like this, I think someone should be fired. Someone important. Maybe Kotick? :p

Oh before people say, a lot of people have internet nowadays, guess again. By a long shot, not everyone that is interested in playing Diablo 3 has an internet connection that is good enough to play the game. It’s bullshit, plain and simple in my opinion. Hell would be proud of this action.

The Ugly

I noticed during the co-op that almost everyone I ‘pugged’ (PickUp Group) just runs through the conversations and wants to get down to the killing. For me, playing for the story of Sanctuary, this is quite annoying. I like the world, so I want to know what goes on.

What is also ugly, but not in the literal sense, remains for me the graphics. Don’t get me wrong, the game looks very beautiful and artistic, but its not Diablo to me. It’s no game-breaker or terrible annoyance, I just have a certain disconnect due to the fact that, for me, it looks nothing like Diablo 2. Yes, D2 had a stylized look, but wasn’t as overtly ‘stylized’ looking as it does now. The characters you could choose in D2 looked far more like realistic humans, uh I mean nephalem, than they do in D3. The best example I can give is Deckard Cain. To me, he looks like he has been ripped directly out of a cartoon. Not what I would have expected.

Now my final ‘ugly’ point. Blizzard has now put in 4 difficulties, (instead of 3), Normal, Nightmare, Hell and Inferno. However, when I played (on Normal) the Act 4 final boss, I had the feeling that I was playing against Andariel from Act 1 in Diablo 2. It felt much easier to fight this end boss then the Act 2 boss in Diablo 2. That doesn’t sit so well with me. I think Blizzard has scaled it down quite a lot from Diablo 2. I had a lot of difficulty when I faced Diablo in the second game on Normal. On Normal in D3, all the bosses were a, relative, breeze. Not what I had expected. It doesn’t make it a bad game, but its just something… unDiablo-worthy.

Conclusion

Does this game live up to the hype? Is it worth your money? The first question, I can say that it did; though barely. The story is far better then I expected, with a few nice twists; though those who know the lore will see it coming from a mile away, but still very well done. The gameplay is, again, super addictive, fun and fast paced. But, the game has been a let-down for me on the graphical side. However, is it worth your money? With all the online issues that the game has and will keep on having, I cannot give an answer on this. I am torn, just like Tony and Lorin are about it. The game itself is great, the tech behind it isn’t. The only thing I can say to you guys and galls, may the High Heavens stand by you in this important decision, for I cannot.

PS: for those interested in playing with me, my gamertag is: Banath1986#2333

Now, The Bad News is that DK and his family are still trying to get moved into their new home and unfortunately, we just aren’t going to be able to swing an episode of EpicBattleCry this week. I’m sure they’d all appreciate any well-wishing you can send their way as they try to get their family situated.

We hope to be back to our normal release schedule next week. See you all soon.

Buckle the F*&% UP! Its The Axe Factor! In this week’s super-sized episode, Tony joins us to discuss Blizzard‘s ongoing Diablo III issues, new media from The Last of Us, Epic Mickey: The Power of Two, and Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock!

This week:

What We’re Watching:

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – PS Vita trailer

The Last of Us – Hunter City Cut Scene

Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two – Developer Diary Introduction

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock – Developer Diary Introduction

What We’re Reading:

Opinion: Why The Problem With Diablo Isn’t Diablo

What We’re Playing:

Diablo III
Torchlight II Beta
Grim Dawn
Max Payne 3

-Download-

Vote in The Axe Factor Poll:

So this past week, Christian Svensson took to the Capcom Unity forum to inform us that Capcom was re-evaluating how DLC is done in the future. So the corporate figures at Capcom have finally realized and understood how their consumers feel about DLC. Plans seem to be in motion to change how things are done for future releases. Everyone rejoice and feel relieved that the nightmare is over.

Well…….Sort of?

Hey…. wait a minute?!?

Ah, shit!

I’ve read and re-read the original posting and it just doesn’t add up as anything to be happy about. Call me cynical, but it just reaffirms that things will still transpire as business as usual in Capcom’s DLC nom de plume. They’re not changing their DLC ways, just the way that it’s delivered. They even state so in the announcement,” how such additional game content is delivered in the future” and “unable to make changes to the way some of their post release content is delivered“. DLC practices aren’t going to change just the delivery method.

Their not changing the price gouging of withheld content practices, their just not locking it directly to my disc so I can pay them for the privilege later. Fans aren’t pissed that DLC exists or wether it’s on or off the disc or not. It’s the representation and execution that people don’t like.

For an example look at either Street Fighter X Tekken or Dragon’s Dogma. Both games are new unproven IP’s yet both games from the outset of development have side content withheld in order to make more money. The game has not even made it to the shelf or is not guaranteed or even needs extra content, so why is extra content being made before the game has even succeeded.

Money. The promise of making more money.

Instead of strengthening the title in order to get the best possible product out there, your getting a parsed out product with incremental additional purchases for something that was conceived and produced as a whole. Instead of making Dragon’s Dogma the best the product it can be so that consumers will buy it and want to buy more, content is being made and withheld behind a pay wall weakening the full experience. This is digital panhandling.

DLC can be done responsibly and can can increase the longevity of a game, but it should be done so when you have a product that consumers have bought and want more of. Not in the anticipation of making more money on top of the initial point of purchase.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think Capcom is actually listening to the consumers or is this just a misdirection in order to soften the blow?

Via Capcom Unity, Joystiq, and Destructoid

Fear the thunder, its The Axe Factor! This week, we drool over debut gameplay footage from Assassin’s Creed III, a new combat trailer from Sleeping Dogs, discuss recent word from Ubisoft that console makers are integrating free-to-play and microtransaction capabilities into their Next-Gen Consoles, and disucss our hands-on time with the demo for Spec Ops: The Line, first impressions of Max Payne 3, and a spoiler-laden discussion on The Walking Dead.

This week:

What We’re Watching:

Sleeping Dogs: Gameplay Highlight – Combat Trailer

Assassin’s Creed III: Outsider Gameplay Debut

Borderlands 2 – Salvador Walkthrough Part 1

What We’re Reading:

Ubisoft expects next-gen consoles to integrate ‘item based model’

What We’re Playing:

Sniper Elite v2
Spec Ops: The Line Demo
The Walking Dead
Max Payne 3

-Download-

Vote in The Axe Factor Poll:

Max Payne 3 is out today, sure, but today will without a doubt go down in history as the day Diablo III arrived. Oh, and perhaps with a slight crash and burn. Within hours of its launch, [handfuls] of gamers were either greeted with Error 37, which means the servers are busy, or Error 3006, which kicks players off the server for equipping a shield to the Templar early in the game.

As of this writing, it is 9AM Eastern, meaning Diablo 3 has been out for just under 12 hours. Many have already put in a bountiful amount of hours into their quest log, while others can’t even get into a server.

So, for those who have either ditched work, school, a final, your significant other, or anything else, and have yet to get in a minute of playtime, what’s your story? For those who have played, OMG WHAT’S IT LIKE?

Look to the skies, its EpicBattleCry! This week, we rap on The Elder Scrolls MMO, EA‘s investment in next-gen consoles, and discuss if the recent analysis of Call of Duty: Black Ops II portends a declining trend for gaming overall. There is no escape, only eclairs!

Comment on the show? Battle Cry for consideration? Just got something epic to share? Hit us back in the comments!

-Audio only download-

Show Notes:
GAUNTLET
Some Elder Scrolls Online Details to Pair With That New Trailer
Report: Avengers: Battle for Earth Coming Courtesy of Ubisoft
Company of Heroes 2 Officially Announced, Coming in Early 2013
EA to Invest $80 Million In Next-Gen Development This Year

TOPIC
Has Gaming Peaked?

BATTLECRIES
Tony – New Diablo Short Film
Brent – Spec Ops: The Line Demo
DK – Top 10 Games You Should Play on NES

Let not your heart be trampled, its EpicBattleCry! This week, 66% of us point and laugh at PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, we discuss Skyrim‘s first expansion, and go around the table to discuss God of War Ascensions recently announced multiplayer and why the industry seems hell-bent on forking MP into SP.

Comment on the show? Battle Cry for consideration? Just got something epic to share? Hit us back in the comments!

-Audio only download-

GAUNTLET

Skyrim Expands With Dawnguard This Summer
Sony’s PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Enters the Arena This Holiday
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Launching November 13; Promises “21st Century Cold War”
Portal 2 Expands with “Perpetual Testing Initiative” in May

TOPIC

God of War Ascension Brings Bloody Multiplayer
Gameplay Footage

BATTLECRIES

Tony – Dead or Alive 5
Daniel – De-Pixelated
Brent – SWTOR Character Xfers coming this summer