Another Old Favorite Returns —by Chris Trumble
DIABLO III
Most game publishers love recycling their best-selling IP, but very few have perfected this process the way Blizzard Entertainment has. Of course, Blizzard has had the advantage of massive streams of recurring revenue from World of Warcraft for many years now, and as a result hasn’t had to churn out yearly or even biennial sequels the way many companies do. The venerable developer has been working on the third installment of one of the biggest PC game franchises ever made for more than a decade now, and the time
was well spent. Diablo III breaks little new ground, either in terms of its story or gameplay. But it does take the time-tested isometric-dungeoncrawl- bolted-to-a-random-loot-generator concept to new heights, thanks to a level of polish evident in every aspect of this game that’s simply staggering. Blizzard knows its strengths and willingly plays to them in everything from the game’s UI and menus to the predictably gorgeous CG cutscenes and excellent sound design. The story finds Tristram, the unfortunate town where the events of the first Diablo game unfolded, plunged back into darkness when what appears to be a falling star shoots deep into the earth inside the cathedral, waking the nearby dead in the process. Your character shows up to investigate this phenomenon and quickly becomes entangled with the town’s plight as you take up quests to assist its inhabitants. As you discover the true nature of the falling star, greater mysteries are revealed, leading up to (non-spoiler alert!) an eventual confrontation with the titular lord of darkness.
Diablo III’s slightly retooled character class selection provides a nice variety of play styles, and within each class waits an addictive progression of abilities that you unlock as your character gains levels. As each new ability slot becomes available, you must choose which of the abilities you’ve unlocked to populate it with (you can change back and forth anytime), and you can modify the abilities themselves with skill runes that also become available via progression. The result of all of these customization options is a wealth of opportunity for players who enjoy experimenting with differing skill combinations and tinkering with various skill runes to find skill sets that fit their particular style of play. It’s also important to note that each class has skills that work better in solo play than in a party and vice versa. Of course, no discussion of any Diablo game would be complete without talking loot. As Blizzard’s site points out, “Diablo is all about the drops.”
Some players will find this truer than others, but at the end of the day, the compulsion to progress in levels and through the game’s story is at least partly fueled by a desire to uncover new, shinier weapons and armor. Weapons serve as stat decks even for casters,so no matter what class you play, better loot equals a more effective, cooler-looking character.
Like its predecessors, Diablo III revels in itemization; unlike the previous installments, however, Diablo III provides an auction house feature where you can go to cut out the middleman (the game’s RNG drops and/or in-game artisans who can craft items for you). You can sell your items or buy from others in either a gold auction house (where you bid and buy with in-game currency), or a real-money auction house, where you bid and buy with dollars. Whether or not paying real money for in-game stuff is your bag, Diablo III is a finely crafted, highly engaging game that offers many, many hours of solo and multiplayer fun.
Most game publishers love recycling their best-selling IP, but very few have perfected this process the way Blizzard Entertainment has. Of course, Blizzard has had the advantage of massive streams of recurring revenue from World of Warcraft for many years now, and as a result hasn’t had to churn out yearly or even biennial sequels the way many companies do. The venerable developer has been working on the third installment of one of the biggest PC game franchises ever made for more than a decade now, and the time
was well spent. Diablo III breaks little new ground, either in terms of its story or gameplay. But it does take the time-tested isometric-dungeoncrawl- bolted-to-a-random-loot-generator concept to new heights, thanks to a level of polish evident in every aspect of this game that’s simply staggering. Blizzard knows its strengths and willingly plays to them in everything from the game’s UI and menus to the predictably gorgeous CG cutscenes and excellent sound design. The story finds Tristram, the unfortunate town where the events of the first Diablo game unfolded, plunged back into darkness when what appears to be a falling star shoots deep into the earth inside the cathedral, waking the nearby dead in the process. Your character shows up to investigate this phenomenon and quickly becomes entangled with the town’s plight as you take up quests to assist its inhabitants. As you discover the true nature of the falling star, greater mysteries are revealed, leading up to (non-spoiler alert!) an eventual confrontation with the titular lord of darkness.
Diablo III’s slightly retooled character class selection provides a nice variety of play styles, and within each class waits an addictive progression of abilities that you unlock as your character gains levels. As each new ability slot becomes available, you must choose which of the abilities you’ve unlocked to populate it with (you can change back and forth anytime), and you can modify the abilities themselves with skill runes that also become available via progression. The result of all of these customization options is a wealth of opportunity for players who enjoy experimenting with differing skill combinations and tinkering with various skill runes to find skill sets that fit their particular style of play. It’s also important to note that each class has skills that work better in solo play than in a party and vice versa. Of course, no discussion of any Diablo game would be complete without talking loot. As Blizzard’s site points out, “Diablo is all about the drops.”
Some players will find this truer than others, but at the end of the day, the compulsion to progress in levels and through the game’s story is at least partly fueled by a desire to uncover new, shinier weapons and armor. Weapons serve as stat decks even for casters,so no matter what class you play, better loot equals a more effective, cooler-looking character.
