Nothing puts a big, fat wedge between two sides of the gaming community than a AAA title that's taken 10 years to release.  Unless it's Duke Nukem Forever.  We all agree that we hate that one.  

No, I'm talking about Diablo 3 of course.  

It just so happens that I quite like the game, and I would like to share my views in some way, shape, or form.  To do so, I decided the best thing to do would be to pick apart a negative review of the game.  My reasons for doing so aren't to try and "prove myself right", or prove the writer of this other article "wrong" -- this is opinion, after all, and there is no right or wrong.  No, it's more because I needed talking points, and this article provides them to me.  It's also an effort to show you that there's always more than one viewpoint when it comes to...well, anything, really.  

The article I'm dissecting can be found here:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/18/how-diablo-iiis-solo-experience-reveals-a-hollow-game/

I very much recommend reading RPS often.  It is a very good PC gaming website.  

Let's start with the second paragraph.  The original articles contents will be in blue.  My comments will naturally be in my native orange.  

Diablo III is mostly very slick. It’s a very decent game. The first three hours are very gratifying, a sense of having everything done right. It’s an aRPG born of decades of experience, streamlined and minimalist to the point of diamond-like perfection. But much like a perfect diamond, it bears a lot in common with a bit of glass. That all-encompassing need to Just Keeping Clicking is there, the sense of continuous, satisfactory progress is in place. You’re never not improving your equipment, skills and crafting abilities. It’s the concept of Diablo, and of a decade’s Diablo clones, refined. But with absolutely nothing new.

So, the first argument against Diablo 3 made here is that it didn't do anything new.  If you're going to look at the bare bones idea of Diablo, saying that it does nothing new is sort of like saying "Oh, it's a new car.  All you do is drive it.  Therefore, it is bad, because it has no other use."  I have to wonder, what else is it someone would want from Diablo?  If you do something new with it, something that alters the core of the game...well, then it's not Diablo anymore.  I, along with what I think is the majority of fans, WANTED Diablo out of Diablo 3.  And that's precisely what we got.  If you don't like that original type of game, that's all well and good.  But I don't understand how you can fault Diablo for being Diablo.  It seems silly.


As I explore Act II, I’m still bewildered as to how they could have taken so long to make a game that adds so little. The engine is pretty enough, lavishly detailed, it does the job, but remains extremely dated in concept – there’s no analogue zoom (you can uselessly zoom right in on your character, which is great for screenshots and not a lot else), you can’t rotate the camera, you can’t interact with the world while the map’s on screen, the inventory covers up the map, and the tool-tips for loot seem completely arbitrary as to whether they’ll show up or not. No, rotating cameras aren’t necessary. But it’s important to keep in mind how relatively primitive the game is, when then taking into account its failings.

Do any of these things take away from your enjoyment of the game?  I have yet to feel the need to either zoom in or rotate the camera.  Unlike when I'm playing League of Legends, I've never felt that my camera just wasn't in the right place.  I feel that way a LOT with LoL.  A lot of the times the camera feels terribly clunky to me.  I've never had that sensation in Diablo.  I suppose it would be cool to interact with the world while the large map is up, but I can't honestly say I've ever wanted to.  The mini-map is usually more than sufficient for me to find my way.  On the few occasions where I've had to bring up the large map, it was only for a few seconds.  I was able to glance at it in that time, see where I needed to go, and then continue on my way without incident.  If you're looking at your inventory, why do you need to also simultaneously look at your map?  When I'm looking at my inventory, I'm studying gear to make upgrade decisions.  I'm not also looking at where I need to go.  This is sort of like saying, "Well, I can't see the road when I pull down my visor to fix my make-up in the vanity mirror."  Well, yes, that's because you're not supposed to be driving while you do that.  And I have no idea what you are talking about when you refer to the tooltips.  They always work for me.  I realize that doesn't mean the issue doesn't exist...but that seemed like a really obtuse thing to mention.  

And they all come in the form of the always-on DRM. Yes, people are sick of the topic. But that doesn’t make it something that can be ignored. It was because the connection dropped in the solo game I’m playing that all those events in the first paragraph took place. Eventually, about fifteen minutes later, it admitted the connection was gone, and restarting yet again put me back at the last checkpoint, one dungeon and an entire map ago. And nothing – absolutely nothing – interesting lies between me and where I’ve reached twice before.

Okay, the always-on DRM is hated.  This one I can get behind, in a way.  I can completely sympathize with people who hate it, and who just want to play the game solo and not really worry about anything else.  You have my empathy.  However, I also cannot legitimately criticize Blizzard's decision.  They want their games to be part of a large community.  You may not agree with it, but that's their business model.  They want to keep people on Battle.net.  You can make all the accusations you want about them trying to leech money out of their customers, but what you -can't- deny is that Blizzard does a whole fuck-of-a-lot of things for the gaming community.  Has the DRM annoyed me?  Sure, on more than one occasion is has.  But I don't let it bother me too much because I view Diablo 3 as an online game.  If you try to argue that it's not, you have already lost the argument.  Blizzard has DESIGNED it to be an online game.  Who do you think you are to say that's incorrect?  

These failings, the DRM-based brokenness of the game, breaks the spell. While you’re able to just endlessly progress, endlessly improve, endlessly move forward, the illusion is cast around you and there’s enormous fun to be had. But in repeatedly forcing you to pointlessly repeat swathes of the game, it reveals just how little there really is.

Okay, well, now I think you're just angry about the DRM.  I've had to repeat the same dungeon on one, maybe two, occasions.  Each time, I got a new random event that I hadn't gotten the first time.  I also had different rare monster spawns that dropped rare loot that I hadn't seen before.  I found a new niche of the dungeon that I hadn't found the first time.  I don't understand this complaint at all.  It sounds like you're trying to justify your hatred of DRM by taking it out on the other aspects of the game.  Granted, that doesn't mean that I'm saying server issues are okay.  Certainly they are not.  You are more than justified to complain about them.  

But what does Diablo III actually add to the franchise, and even to the genre it created? The skills are made more simple, but in doing so actually end up feeling restrictive. Switching off those limitations only seems to confuse things. The inventory is less of a Tetris-frustration, but in that regard just means you portal to your base, sell all, return, and it plays no meaningful factor. (And the Act II base is hopelessly poorly laid out, meaning running to the one merchant is a bore, and the nearby town a chore.)

I've got no issues with the skills.  I have the auto-setting disabled, and I put things where I want them.  It's rather intuitive.  I don't find things too simple or restrictive -- each time I level up, I enjoy pulling up the skills window and analyzing each new thing to see if there's something I want to swap out.  Sometimes I replace an old ability with a newer one.  Sometimes I bring an old ability back because the newest rune makes it seem more interesting or fun now.  Sometimes I move things around.  I think maybe on one occasion I didn't make any changes at all, but I still sat there for about ten minutes thinking it over.  It was FUN.  Might it be too simple for some gamers?  Sure, I suppose.  I'm not exactly what you would call hardcore.  

In regards to selling things, well I never just simply sell things.  I disenchant my blues and yellows that I'm not going to use, I stash the items that I feel I may use on other characters, I craft some new gear with the materials I received from disenchanting, I craft some gems that I'd found along the way, I make sure I have enough health potions, and then yes, I sell some things.  I sell some things after listening to the amusing things the merchant has to say to me.  Since I find all of this to be rather fun, I would say it plays QUITE the meaningful factor.  

Also, you lose a bit of validity from me when you say running to a merchant is a bore.  That tells me that you don't particularly care for this type of game at all.  I love just running around the game world.  You never know what you're going to find.  

Monsters don’t attack in interesting new ways. While what almost everyone wanted was a click-fest, it would have been nice for there to be a reason for having those extra skills. I forget they’re there until I reach the toughest bosses, and then just hammer randomly. I think I’ve died four times thus far, playing solo, and try as I might can find no way to increase the difficulty to anything halfway interesting. I mean, I’ve 87 health potions in my inventory – what are they even for? The game drops so much health in every fight that it’s mostly impossible to get hurt.

As I've said before, I don't think a majority of people waiting for this game wanted anything other than Diablo.  Despite that, however, I actually question whether or not you were paying attention to how monsters attack.  There are arrows and fireballs to dodge.  There are axe swings to sidestep.  There are knockbacks to avoid.  There are lines of wasps to run away from.  And some of the times, avoiding these attacks will cause the monster to become stunned, disoriented, or otherwise open to more attacks.  There are some monsters that move incredibly fast, necessitating the need for a snare or slow of some kind.  Some explode upon death, necessitating you stay away from them until they do.  Some spawn more monsters after they die.  Some, you have to focus quickly before they finish channeling their super-oh-I-don't-want-that-to-happen spell.  Some need to be focused because all they do is stand there and spawn more monsters, or they resurrect the ones you're killing.

Are we even playing the same game here?  

And in regards to not getting hurt, I guess you're just too epic at this game.  Surely better than myself.  I'm playing on the first difficulty, and this game does tend to have teeth.  I've found some parts of it to be quite difficult.  I've died a few times, but moreso I've ALMOST died quite a number of times.  And it's thrilling when that happens.  

The only novel enemy attacks I’ve noticed are the waspy dragonfly things, who just fly away from you, meaning if you’re not playing a ranged character they’re just tedious to fight. And there’s the beasts that cast fear on you, constantly taking away your controls, which has been fun in this many games: none.

Oh, you mentioned the wasps!  Cool.  And I forgot about the guys who fear you.  See, there's another in the list!  More to the point, however -- I guess I just don't understand how you can say the game is too easy in one paragraph, and then complain about fast wasps and monsters who fear in the other.  I suppose I can understand you just not liking their abilities.  But with so much VARIETY of monsters, contrary to what you might think I suppose, there are bound to be a few that you don't like.  I guess what I'm trying to say is...you can't have it both ways.  

The other huge problem is loot and shops. I’ve bought almost nothing from a merchant, since their goods are always generations poorer than anything I’ve looted. And worse, weapon drops haven’t meant anything since the merchant I helped out in Act I sold me weapons literally twice as powerful as I’ve found since. The balancing here is utterly dreadful, and that’s perhaps the most crucial thing for an aRPG to get right.

I simply find this to be untrue.  I'm consistently replacing gear, no matter where I get it.  I've bought things from vendors.  I've crafted things.  I've gotten drops.  (Lots and lots of drops.)  And I'm always getting new things.  I love having to analyze every good drop I get, or every good item the merchant has, and finding out if I really want it.  And furthermore, the stuff the merchants have is random and changes often.  So again, I find your comments here completely untrue.  

Of course, people will argue that to solo Diablo is to miss the point. Two responses to that. Firstly, the game does offer a solo game, and is designed to be played that way, so it’s absolutely vital that it be balanced and worthwhile. And secondly, and perhaps more crucially, of all the points above the solo aspect really only affects the difficulty levels – the rest remains an issue no matter how it’s played. Oh, and if you’ve not had server issues, others have, and that doesn’t make server issues okay – kind of a crucial one to remember there.

Well, since just about the only thing I've really agreed with you on so far is the server issues, I'd say I'm doing alright!  

And yet, all these gripes, all these issues, I’d likely have just clicked past were the game not so woefully and deliberately broken. It’s fascinating to realise just how important the spell is to Diablo, and quite how damaging it is to have it broken. What’s revealed is a hollow game, that in no way fills in the gaps with the frankly abysmal writing. Of the three companions so far, none is even tolerable, and my monk is a sanctimonious moron. My NPC accompaniment repeat their lacklustre lines of nothingness with the sadness of a dementia patient, half the time talking at the same time as a book I’m reading. And as I face repeating the same damned map for a third time, watching my characters stagger about trapped in lag despite my strong, steady internet connection, I just start thinking about Grim Dawn and Torchlight II, and how much I can’t wait to see what they add to the genre. Because as far as I can tell Diablo III, as fun as it is when the spell lasts, has added little more than wantonly stupid DRM.

Abysmal writing?  This has to be the most ludicrous statement I've ever read.  The story has me ENTHRALLED in the game.  Most of the time, even though my wrist and eyes hurt, I keep playing because I want to see what's going to happen next in the story.  I want to fight the next boss because the story has me WANTING to see that demon dead.  I find the companions charming -- especially the Templar who I keep with me solo just about all the time.  I love listening to them banter in town with each other.

I would have called your article very well done if it weren't for this last paragraph.  In it, you manage to do a lot of damaging things.  First, you pretty much hit home that the reason you don't like Diablo 3 is because of the DRM, since it's about the fifth time you said so.  This makes all your other arguments weak, because everyone is going to assume they're just fluff to add to your DRM complaint to make it seem more justifiable to call it a bad game.

I don't necessarily blame you, however.  With the way Torchlight 2 markets itself (cheap, no DRM, mod support), it's not hard to see why you'd feel the need to plug their game in your Diablo 3 article.  This is despite the fact that the reason Torchlight was so well regarded was because it didn't change ANYTHING and kept it bare bones SIMPLE, which are precisely the things you are criticizing about Diablo 3.  And with how long Diablo 3 was in development and how much hype was behind it, it's oh-so-easy to pick it apart and bring it down.  It probably feels rather satisfying to do so, as well.

There's one other thing I'd like to mention, and it's actually something in support of always needing to be connected to Battle.net while playing the game.  (Shock, horror, get ready to lynch me!)  I like being able to pull up my friends list and see who is playing D3, just in case I might want to join them or simply to ask them how their making out in their progress.  That's pretty cool.  (Jab, jab, poke.)

That's all I've got.