Diablo III

 PC
User Score
4.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 10199 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,918 out of 10199
  2. Mixed: 1,570 out of 10199
  3. Negative: 5,711 out of 10199
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  1. Portlis
    May 24, 2012
    5
    With so many fanboys either defending or bashing this game, I felt the need to give a good honest review with objectivity, so here it is... my first review.

    Briefly though, I will say that the game is overall a disappointment to me. I feel that if the game was the same exact game made by a different publisher with a different name, it would be thought of as a fun little decent game.    With so many fanboys either defending or bashing this game, I felt the need to give a good honest review with objectivity, so here it is... my first review.

    Briefly though, I will say that the game is overall a disappointment to me. I feel that if the game was the same exact game made by a different publisher with a different name, it would be thought of as a fun little decent game. Being made by Blizzard though, with the development time and resources that they've had, and the third installment of a once awesome series, it's really rather unfortunate that there are so many frustrating aspects and problems with this game.

    The good:

    Not everything is bad about this game, so I'll start out with a few positives.

    -For the most part, the cutscenes and cinematics are top notch. I really enjoyed both the end of act 1 and end of act 3 cinematics quite a bit.

    -Interacting with world objects is a nice addition. I'll never get tired of blowing up tables and caravans.

    -Achievements are a nice, fun addition. Who doesn't like achievements?

    The neutral:

    -The graphics are ok. I personally don't like the "WoWified" look , but they aren't BAD either. This is obviously a matter of personal taste, but I certainly wish they had gone more the route of Diablo 1 and less WoW.

    -The music is once again, ok. It's better than Diablo 2, but after 15 years I would have figured that they could come out with something better than or even on par with Diablo 1 music and it falls short there. -If you're like me, you will wish that they had gone back to the "demonic / creepy" dungeon crawler feel of D1 and less of the cartoonish, somewhat boring overland exploration of D2. Again, this is a personal preference and fans of Diablo 2 will likely be content here.

    -The auction house. Personally, I'm a fan of it........ if it would ever work (more on this later). I realize that this is once again a personal preference, but I don't see the downside. It's nice to be able to sell your loot, buy upgrades, and "playing the AH" is a game in and of itself. I don't even mind the real money aspect (coming soon) because lets face it, people were going to do it anyway.

    Crafting- I'm a hardcore crafter in every MMO I play. The addition of crafting in D3 was a good thought, but it doesn't really meet my standards. Maybe you feel differently.

    Story- It's not awful, but I was expecting more.

    Classes- I'm not terribly upset with them, but again I feel they could have done more. Where's the Paladin from D2? The classes seem generally ok, but I can't help but feel as though they took a step back when they certainly should have been taking giant leaps forward.

    The bad:

    Unfortunately, the bad is pretty much everything else.

    -Character customization is non-existent. Every level 60 (which is stupidly the max level) of any particular class will be exactly the same in both looks, skills, and stats as the next. They will perhaps be played differently, but there's ZERO customization.

    -To go along with the previous point, you can't assign any skills or stats. Want more STR or INT? Sorry, it gets automatically assigned for you. Completely boring.

    -Online DRM. This point has been beaten to death, so I won't go much further into it. I'm actually ok with the always online system to a degree, the problem is.....

    -Their servers suck. I realize it's still a new game, but this is a company with ridiculous assets and they KNEW what their server loads would be. Its inexcusable to have as much server disruption / lag / downtime as they have had. -Despite the auction house being a perhaps fun addition, it's constantly down or bugged. Seriously, it's the most flawed, frustrating system in any game I've played in a long, long time.

    -Difficulty. It's face roll easy the first couple times through. The only possible way to die is lag. In the hardest settings though, it's nigh impossible - especially for certain classes.

    -There's next to no character progression. Many of the best skills in the game are some of the very first skills/runes you get. It never feels like you're actually getting stronger because of new skills, only because your gear will get better.

    -And that brings us to gear. Whoever designed the gear/loot system in this game needs to be fired... immediately. For a game based almost completely on the gear grind, I don't think they could have possibly done a worse job implementing it. The only stat that matters on weapons is damage/dps, because almost every skill scales off of it. Even Sorcs / Witch Doctors will use maces and axes because their ranged skills are based only on DPS. Frankly, it's beyond stupid. Items are boring and bland. Legendary items are just a mish-mash of mediocre stats thrown onto an item. I could go on and on..

    Overall, it just feels like a dumbed-down mediocre game compared to what it could and SHOULD have been.    … Expand
  2. lowallyn
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Remember when Andy could 1 shot you in normal? her name as the maiden of anguish wearing her S&M outfit either whipping you to death or slowly poisoning you to death earned her that name. The fear of Duriel slicing you up, while maintaining that hard shell that kept you ruining in a claustrophobic place that added atmosphere. same with the maggot pits, real fear was felt in there. Diablo 2Remember when Andy could 1 shot you in normal? her name as the maiden of anguish wearing her S&M outfit either whipping you to death or slowly poisoning you to death earned her that name. The fear of Duriel slicing you up, while maintaining that hard shell that kept you ruining in a claustrophobic place that added atmosphere. same with the maggot pits, real fear was felt in there. Diablo 2 had more diverse and interesting enemies throughout the level, the subversion the rangers from the first game and creating blood raven into d2 was cool and d3 has none of that. Objectively better tone, story, and gameplay that contributes the the user's happiness in diablo 2. This game makes you sit through 3 levels of tutorial making me waste 2 days trying to get to inferno. server issues suck too.… Expand
  3. TacoMan3Billion
    May 24, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Good:

    Graphics are fair enough, nothing groundbreaking, but not what I would describe as bad.

    New skill system is fairly innovative and interesting.

    The Bad:

    Always-on DRM. Can't play this game without Blizz's servers up and a broadband internet connection.

    The storyline is indescribably bad. Diablo walks into heaven and single handedly destroys it, and mounds and mounds of angels because evidently God doesn't care too terribly about his home being wrecked. And then Diablo then dies to a group of up to 4 nephelim (nephelim being somebody who has human and angelic parents), so: Angels > humans, Diablo > Angels, One Half Human-One Half Angel > Diablo. Makes perfect sense.

    The controls, while being very similar to Diablo 2 are not at all optimized for the new skill system and there are no options for click-for-everything. As a result, especially for ranged classes, controls can feel clunky, especially in combination with the horrendous lag. Which brings me to my next point;

    The lag is terrible thanks to the fact that 90% of the game is done through server-side processing. The game client installed locally on the user's computer does little more than contain the graphical assets and display them for the user. Movements, abilities, monsters, and all other operations performed in the game are processed by the server and as a result, have never seen a ping below 250ms. According to Blizzard this is A-OK (the latency bar stays green until you hit 300ms, at which point it will turn yellow). So at minimum, anything you do takes 1 quarter second before it ever actually happens. This leads to dying many times to monsters you thought you had plenty of distance away from.

    Sadly, the boss battles are all boring. The only one that was of any interest to me was Belial. Diablo was pathetically easy. Just left click on him and hold down. That's about all there is to it.

    Sad thing was, that even with the new skill system that few of the skills are ever really required, most of the time you can just left click your way to victory which really made the game feel very bland.

    All in all, I bought Diablo 3 with low expectations since Blizzard hasn't been known as of late to produce quality material, yet sadly even my low expectations were let down. Diablo 3 is not worth $60 in even the most remote respect.    … Expand
  4. ryunp
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Every aspect of failure now live was spotted half a year ago by some keen minds familiar with real game design. Nothing was ever done about it. A real slap in the face. (link: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27832813210&sid=3000&pageNo=1)

    I, along with everyone else, deserve $60 back. This should NOT have made it to the consumer market. It offends me I paid for this false    Every aspect of failure now live was spotted half a year ago by some keen minds familiar with real game design. Nothing was ever done about it. A real slap in the face. (link: http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27832813210&sid=3000&pageNo=1)

    I, along with everyone else, deserve $60 back. This should NOT have made it to the consumer market. It offends me I paid for this false advertising.

    There is no substance in this game. There is no replay value. This software is terrible. No deep thought was invested into design of item/skill mechanics. Gameplay is mundane and monotonous. There is no rewards/profit system even fundamentally to keep players motivated. I fail to see how this Starcraft 2 mod (Diablo 3) made it past testing phase.    … Expand
  5. smeggles
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Big letdown. It has 40 hours of meaningful gameplay - inferno difficulty is nothing but a scam to get people to buy gear off the real money auction house. It's so hard the only strategies are not fun, and no amount of gear changes that. The game is an infinite treadmill of terrible past the first 40 hours. Do not buy.

    The item system is extremely dull and oversimplified. Dick and    Big letdown. It has 40 hours of meaningful gameplay - inferno difficulty is nothing but a scam to get people to buy gear off the real money auction house. It's so hard the only strategies are not fun, and no amount of gear changes that. The game is an infinite treadmill of terrible past the first 40 hours. Do not buy.

    The item system is extremely dull and oversimplified. Dick and Jane books are more interesting.    … Expand
  6. eulogy
    May 24, 2012
    3
    This game is okay, but it is nothing like Diablo 2. It has been modeled around being sustainable income for Blizzard.

    Currently the only way to be able to farm gear that is worth anything is to use the gear that is worth anything. The only reason people are able to do so right now is because they abused overpowered builds, but they have since been nerfed so nobody else can farm it.    This game is okay, but it is nothing like Diablo 2. It has been modeled around being sustainable income for Blizzard.

    Currently the only way to be able to farm gear that is worth anything is to use the gear that is worth anything. The only reason people are able to do so right now is because they abused overpowered builds, but they have since been nerfed so nobody else can farm it. Inferno in this game is difficult because of boosted enemy damage and hp, not a change in actual challenge. It's one big gear check.

    Since you can't make gold without farming good items to buy good items in order to farm good items, you'll need to use the Real Money Auction House when it comes out.

    It's one big ploy for your money, gents... just wait for Torchlight 2 or go play something else.    … Expand
  7. FlamingGamer
    May 24, 2012
    2
    People on here seem to want to rant and write novels about this game. Short and sweet, here it is:

    1. No offline single player. I travel and want to play on the plane, overseas, etc. Not an option. The freezing, lag and kicking off is unacceptable for what's supposed to be a single player game. If you want to make a multiplayer only game then advertize it as such and don't do it to    People on here seem to want to rant and write novels about this game. Short and sweet, here it is:

    1. No offline single player. I travel and want to play on the plane, overseas, etc. Not an option. The freezing, lag and kicking off is unacceptable for what's supposed to be a single player game. If you want to make a multiplayer only game then advertize it as such and don't do it to an anticipated sequel of previous offline games.

    2. Where are the really great items I've collected? Oh their gone because I've been hacked. Great job Blizzard. Wouldn't be an issue if you took care of issue 1.

    3. Awful story, even worse than the light story from the previous games. At least they were compelling.

    4. Good for people who simply enjoy getting stuff and killing things. Perfect game for greedy, idiotic American manboys. This game will be a huge hit, make tons of money and ruin gaming for about 10 years. Those of us who enjoy story, action, suspense and tension will have to suck it up for a while. It's the Kim Kardashian of games; all hype, no substance, makes tons of money and you can't figure out why.    … Expand
  8. andrix10
    May 24, 2012
    10
    This game is awesome, i played a monk until lvl 43 then started a barbarian and got addicted to the game once again, and im for shure gonna lvl my barb to 60 and pass inferno with him.This game would be a masterpiece if not for the online, but its still a really really good game.
  9. Friar
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Gameplay: Plays ok, when you can play it. It plays like a diablo game. Not much different here. Graphics: background graphics are actually pretty good, different but good. Char models I feel could have been done better. Story: meh, predictable.
    Classes: Overall good. I like the diversity and the classes skills. Disappointed that there is no "assassin" class, expecting this and a knight    Gameplay: Plays ok, when you can play it. It plays like a diablo game. Not much different here. Graphics: background graphics are actually pretty good, different but good. Char models I feel could have been done better. Story: meh, predictable.
    Classes: Overall good. I like the diversity and the classes skills. Disappointed that there is no "assassin" class, expecting this and a knight class to be in the first expansion. Not thrilled about the glyph system either, that was just copied over from WoW. Would have rather seen them go a different direction here. Would probably give the game a 6-7ish on the above points. What kills it for me is the always on DRM (I'm sorry, "achievement tracker/auction house access"). Game lags/rubberbands/disconnects based solely on B.NETs servers. You will ALWAYS be at the mercy of blizzards servers. Want to play when you don't have access to the 'net, to bad. I will never buy a game that has an always on DRM scheme (review based off the beta/starter edition).    … Expand
  10. RIP-Diablo
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Such a HUGE disappointment. Even when I watched the trailers I thought it was way too much WoW about it, yet I still bought it. They deleted the possibility to distribute the stat points by yourself, there's not even a strength or dexterity requirement on the items anymore. Your spell damage is based on how great your WEAPONS damage is! Yeah, that's right, I'm not joking. There isn't evenSuch a HUGE disappointment. Even when I watched the trailers I thought it was way too much WoW about it, yet I still bought it. They deleted the possibility to distribute the stat points by yourself, there's not even a strength or dexterity requirement on the items anymore. Your spell damage is based on how great your WEAPONS damage is! Yeah, that's right, I'm not joking. There isn't even a skill tree anymore, instead, you gain a new skill/rune ability every level, which means that all characters of the same class will have an equal skill-setup in the end. The items are boring as hell, both by stats and look. PvP will be implented, but in arenas like WoW, with health globes popping up now and then. Bye, bye free dueling from Diablo II. If you liked everything about Diablo I & II, don't buy this game, it will disappoint you.… Expand
  11. Smallzii
    May 24, 2012
    1
    ........ 1/10 OVERALL score. This game is LITERALLY terrible. fun game to play, yes. but not for long. the internal story and shallow thought that put this game together is mediocre. and with 10+ years? all they did was make Diablo 2 for those with IQ of 50 or below and add better graphics and new characters...
  12. 114328
    May 24, 2012
    3
    This is my first review but this game was so awful that I had to write one. The amount of customization given to Diablo 3 in comparison to Diablo 2 is extraordinarily limited with an "auto-pilot" skill system that immediately inputs skills for you therefore removing player choice. The graphics are not that impressive for this generation nor is the storyline. After playing forThis is my first review but this game was so awful that I had to write one. The amount of customization given to Diablo 3 in comparison to Diablo 2 is extraordinarily limited with an "auto-pilot" skill system that immediately inputs skills for you therefore removing player choice. The graphics are not that impressive for this generation nor is the storyline. After playing for approximately 50-60 hours of the game, the game is repetitious with limited replayable upon hitting maximum level along with the real money auction house soon to be implemented making some players wonder how it will affect the game. Don't believe the "Critic Reviews." Some of em' show no sign of playing the game such as "Diablo 3 is an odyssey in a cruel and dark world. Its epic and violent story is yet again upon us. And we shall all tremble." The launch was always pretty bad but I did not factor that into my review due to the effort Blizzard had put, they even refunded my Digital Copy of Diablo III with full cooperation.… Expand
  13. Siso
    May 24, 2012
    2
    10 years and 60â
  14. Doreamon
    May 24, 2012
    0
    This is the biggest disappointment since Duke Nukem Forever. I put about 30 hours into this game and had enough. This game is bland, tasteless garbage thrown together by yet another corporate entity, surrounded by hype, purely for profit. I'm a D2 veteran and this game isn't worthy of being called Diablo 3 - Diablow 3 sounds more fitting. This is a dumbed-down game catered to WoWThis is the biggest disappointment since Duke Nukem Forever. I put about 30 hours into this game and had enough. This game is bland, tasteless garbage thrown together by yet another corporate entity, surrounded by hype, purely for profit. I'm a D2 veteran and this game isn't worthy of being called Diablo 3 - Diablow 3 sounds more fitting. This is a dumbed-down game catered to WoW subscribers and casual gamers. So many people have already mentioned the countless problems with this game so I'm not even going to waste my time trying to rehash that.

    Luckily, I was able to get a refund after dealing with the neverending hold for Blizzard Billing & Support. Don't believe the hype or the critics (who are payed to make good reviews) and save your money for something more worthy.    … Expand
  15. animal
    May 24, 2012
    2
    This game is OK but the always-on DRM absolutely ruins it for me. DRM for multiplayer games is to be expected, but forcing you to always have a connection to the blizzard servers in order to play a single player game is ridiculous. What if you have a laptop and want to play it somewhere with poor/unreliable wireless signal quality or no wireless signal? You can't. When playing a singleThis game is OK but the always-on DRM absolutely ruins it for me. DRM for multiplayer games is to be expected, but forcing you to always have a connection to the blizzard servers in order to play a single player game is ridiculous. What if you have a laptop and want to play it somewhere with poor/unreliable wireless signal quality or no wireless signal? You can't. When playing a single player game on my desktop I'll be running through a field and then in a flash my position will reset to where it was a second or two ago when the server last synched, its totally jarring. Sometimes when this happens I'll be surrounded by monsters and instantly die. I'll be pretty far into a dungeon and my connection will get dropped and I'll get booted back to the game lobby and have to repeat the level. All this is even if blizzard allows you to log in to their servers to begin with, hope you don't want to play your game when their servers are down or at capacity! I'm still having lag issues on my desktop over a week after release, I'm not whining about the launch-day issues that they improved upon over the first couple days, and this may in fact be my ISPs fault rather than Blizzard's. Blizzard really should have given you the choice of an open or closed system like they did in Diablo 2, this design decision to require a constant high quality internet connection at all times killed my enjoyment of this game. As to the gameplay, its pretty much what you'd expect, an updated version of diablo with new classes and skills. Graphics are decent, voice acting is good and the monsters the game has allowed me to see so far have been interesting - I like some of the vomiting zombies and giant bloated corpses that explode into a mass of worms, I like how you see monsters climb up the sides of cliffs and climb in through windows before joining the combat, creative stuff like that is good. Story is decent, kind of a rehash of the original story so far but it makes me nostalgic when they drop names like "king leoric" in the story. I'm one who doesn't really want a long story in an action rpg so the story is at just about the right level for me. Gameplay however seems dumbed down from predecessors, not nearly as much character customization as I would like and my only deaths so far have been due to lag. $60 for this is an insult, should be $20.… Expand
  16. Moonlighter
    May 24, 2012
    10
    This is one of those times I really think people should be paying more attention to critic reviews than to player reviews. Too many people seem to be too emotionally invested in the series and wanted Diablo 2 HD. And because that's not what they got they've started a smear campaign against Blizzard and Diablo 3. Most every decision made by the developers for the game has been a positiveThis is one of those times I really think people should be paying more attention to critic reviews than to player reviews. Too many people seem to be too emotionally invested in the series and wanted Diablo 2 HD. And because that's not what they got they've started a smear campaign against Blizzard and Diablo 3. Most every decision made by the developers for the game has been a positive one from a game design standpoint. It has made the game more accessible to more people, increased flexibility and customization, improved the community, and overall improved the entire game over its predecessors. I would challenge anyone to find someone new to the series, sit them down, and have the new player compare Diablo 2 to Diablo 3 where the person would not chose Diablo 3 over 2.

    Common complaints: The story isn't great. - This is true, the overall storyline isn't bad, but the writing certainly isn't top-notch. I'll admit this is one area Diablo 2 beats Diablo 3. Graphics aren't gritty enough - I don't see this one. There's plenty of bloody bodies all over the place. Piles of corpses, torture equipment and gore aplenty, in some areas more than others. But it's always fitting the setting. And this is true in D2 as well. If you really compare screenshots from both games side by side, you'll find less difference here than many seem to claim. Yes, the art direction did change, and Blizzard Irvine has more of a Warcraft/WoW mentality than Blizzard North had. But even with the change in art direction it's still reasonably true to its predecessor. Others claim it's cartoony, certainly a matter of opinion and up for debate, but I don't find D3 significantly more cartoony than Diablo 2 was.

    Always on connection - Considering how full of hacks and dupes Diablo 2 became from it's offline nature. I'm really glad for this. An internet connection is pretty much ubiquitous anywhere you go anymore. Any hotel worth staying at has internet. Any of my friends or family's places have internet. The coffee shop down the street has internet. My supermarket has internet. There's really very few places I could go to get away from it. And certainly anywhere I'd want to play D3, I'd have an internet connection available. This is simply no longer an issue for the vast majority of people in a developed nation. It also comes with the perks of always being able to see your friends' games and being able to hop in and join them. Or chat with friends playing WoW or SC2. I'm not really sure if I'd call it DRM, but as far as DRM goes, this is pretty innocuous. There are many far worse examples of DRM out there to be found.

    Skill/Attribute distribution is gone. - Awesome, now people can't screw up their characters because they didn't go to some website to read about strategies that are valid in Hell difficulty. Fact was, even with the skill/stat distribution, by the time you reached the end game, nearly every viable build had the same stat allocation, and most classes only had a couple viable skill allocations. The people who think this was a good idea either never played at the highest levels, or did, and just wanted to stand out as being somehow better than someone new to the game who simply didn't know better. No one should ever have to re-make a character for it to be viable just to play at higher difficulties.

    No character customization - This one partially ties in with the last point about abilities and skills. I think I've made my point there. For everything else though, Every Diablo 3 class has more abilities (considering runes for the most part significantly change an ability's effects and visuals), every class can be both genders, Every major piece of armor shows up visually on your character. You can dye your armor. The customization in D3 is terrific, it's just all done through gear and ability selection. There are more viable builds for every class in Hell/Inferno in D3 than there are for each class in Hell in D2.

    I like the graphics, I enjoy the music and sound design. I like the art design. I enjoy the game. I enjoy the mechanics of the game. I love the multiplayer, and easily hopping into games with my friends. My wife enjoys the game. My friends all enjoy the game. I've not heard a single complaint from any of them outside of an occasional lag spike. At the time of writing this review the User Score for D3 is sitting at 4.1, and not a single person I know on my friends list (all 20 of them) would rate this at less than an 8. I realize that's anecdotal evidence at best and a statistically insignificant data sample, but I feel it's still pertinent. Ignore the whiners with the sense of entitlement that didn't get what they wanted. Diablo 3 is a lot of fun, and well worth the money.    … Expand
  17. ftnirp
    May 24, 2012
    0
    -Item system that is geared towards extreme scarcity of good equipment in order for Blizzard to reap the benefits of their cut of the Real Money Auction House.
    -Always online DRM for a game that should have an offline single player option.
    -Horrible Diablo 3 account security (notice I said Diablo 3, not Battle.net) that Blizzard denies exists and places blame on users instead. -Story that    -Item system that is geared towards extreme scarcity of good equipment in order for Blizzard to reap the benefits of their cut of the Real Money Auction House.
    -Always online DRM for a game that should have an offline single player option.
    -Horrible Diablo 3 account security (notice I said Diablo 3, not Battle.net) that Blizzard denies exists and places blame on users instead.
    -Story that basically throws away the events of the last game and retconning in order to have a plot that involves the original Lords of Hell.
    -Being hand fed skills and abilities as you level creates a game that lacks depth and lasting power. -You will be done with this game in about a month because you have nothing left to do unless you care about beating the hardest Inferno difficulty. Which you will not be able to do unless you spend hours upon hours farming for equipment decent enough to get through it or buying it off the auction house.    … Expand
  18. Basteal
    May 24, 2012
    7
    Diablo 3 can be considered a solid effort and a worthy addition to the series if we ignore a couple of details. The first, and most important being, the time spent in development was ridiculously long. In fact, Im sure this series was ignored for the majority of the "10 years!?!" everyone loves to harp on about.. and rightfully so. Considering the lack luster graphics and identicalDiablo 3 can be considered a solid effort and a worthy addition to the series if we ignore a couple of details. The first, and most important being, the time spent in development was ridiculously long. In fact, Im sure this series was ignored for the majority of the "10 years!?!" everyone loves to harp on about.. and rightfully so. Considering the lack luster graphics and identical gameplay/storytelling format to the preceeding Diablos, I don't think any time paradoxes would have manifested if this game had come out one or two years after diablo 2. Its not technically impressive in the least. Next we have the infuriating online play requirement. Its bad enough that when my internet goes down, unless I can flip steam into offline mode, I have no games (that I've.. you know.. paid for) that will run. And now I have a shiny new game, which classically was primarily single player, with the same online requirement. This fault by no means stands out, most games these days are doing the online required thing, I just expected something different from Blizzard. And there it is, the main problem with Diablo 3.. its not different. Blizzard has always been a game company we've expected great innovations from. No rushed release dates, its done when its done.. usually the product was worth the wait. Not this time. Diablo 3 is a carbon copy of previous diablos in almost every reguard. Potions are instant, Skill points don't exist.. thats pretty much what we waited 10 years for. Graphically, and play control wise, this Diablo feels about 8 years overdue, and it seems like that isn't lost on most people. Rather than an eventual triumph and rebirth of one of the most legendary gaming series, Blizzard has done little more than skate by with a game sorely lacking in innovation and techincal improvement. (Repost with proper metascore)… Expand
  19. SIckTired72
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Long gone are the day when you buy a game, pop in the cd/dvd, install and play.

    My Diablo 3 installation hell went like this 1. Pop in the dvd, setup installation files got stuck at 1/3 of the way and again at around 90%. 2. After solving #1 per solution suggested on http://eu.battle.net/d3, I'm now stuck on the installation screen folder "invalid installation options, please try    Long gone are the day when you buy a game, pop in the cd/dvd, install and play.

    My Diablo 3 installation hell went like this
    1. Pop in the dvd, setup installation files got stuck at 1/3 of the way and again at around 90%. 2. After solving #1 per solution suggested on http://eu.battle.net/d3, I'm now stuck on the installation screen folder "invalid installation options, please try again" and still stuck here ever since.
    3. Hop onto http://eu.battle.net/d3 again seeking a workaround but website is under maintenance.
    4. I still can't install the game, let alone queue into battle.net.

    Way to go Blizt, you just made it on my list. You farked up even without the help of Electronic Farts!    … Expand
  20. Joshua_Northey
    May 24, 2012
    10
    This is an excellent game with exactly the production values you have come to expect from Blizzard. I have not encountered significant problems logging on, the lag spikes have been short and tolerable, and other than that I have no complaints. The game itself is exactly what I expected and I expected great things.
  21. redpikeman
    May 24, 2012
    0
    I spent 10 to 15 hours playing on the trial, leveled a Monk, Demon Hunter, and Mage to 10, killing the Skeleton King with each. I started a barbarian, but I just couldn't keep playing. If you like having input on how your character progresses ala stat point distribution or skill points, this is not the game for you. The character levels on its own, and you are given six slots to chooseI spent 10 to 15 hours playing on the trial, leveled a Monk, Demon Hunter, and Mage to 10, killing the Skeleton King with each. I started a barbarian, but I just couldn't keep playing. If you like having input on how your character progresses ala stat point distribution or skill points, this is not the game for you. The character levels on its own, and you are given six slots to choose which skills to use, and which runes to attach to the powers to alter the skill. Skills are doled out as you level in a pre-planned fashion. That's it for customization. It's a simple system, and if you like that sort of thing, you'll love this game. I know some people love the "streamlined" system and thinks it's an improvement, and I'm glad those people can enjoy this game. I didn't, however, and I couldn't feel connected to my character as a result of having no input on how it leveled. That issue, coupled with the internet DRM, is why I give the game a terrible score, and why I won't be purchasing it. The combat plays like Diablo, and the music is Diablo, but that's where the similarities end for me. Do yourself a favor and play the trial before buying this, to make sure its the kind of game you want. I was expecting something completely different. Otherwise, I suggest pre-ordering Torchlight 2, as you'll get Torchlight 1 for free to scratch your Diablo itch while you wait for T2 to come out this summer. Consequently, Torchlight 1, a game with a far lower budget released in 2009, has held my attention just as long as Diablo 3, and I'm still enjoying it. I think that says something about Diablo 3 and it's level of quality, at least as far as players who were expecting the ability to customize their character in a similar way to the previous two installments of Diablo.… Expand
  22. Xenophen
    May 24, 2012
    10
    You people are on freakin crack. You let a game get you all hyped up more than even the best game out there should. This is a great game. Great story. I get the feel for diablo 3. I like the new system. I like the new features. Don't expect some orgasmic trip, but if you want a great video game, Diablo 3 is for you.
  23. barth_desade
    May 24, 2012
    7
    I just started playing Inferno level and I need to say that apart of normal level the game is OK. On normal level I died three times, all of them because I felt asleep. But multi even on the normal level was different story. No wonder you need to have an internet connection - there is no other way to play that game, and come on, who in times of tethering don't have an internet. However DRMI just started playing Inferno level and I need to say that apart of normal level the game is OK. On normal level I died three times, all of them because I felt asleep. But multi even on the normal level was different story. No wonder you need to have an internet connection - there is no other way to play that game, and come on, who in times of tethering don't have an internet. However DRM is not there to protect us really, my fiend had been hacked twice already. All other issues are understandable - if you making a game so looong graphic engine become pretty old so you cannot expect fireworks. Performancwise the same it was a little behind - it was overheating my Q9400 (i'm playing BF3 on max and I had never had any issues).
    I gave the 7 points only for playability, especially with friends and on higher levels of difficulty. I was afraid it will be worse than D2 (after beta I had that view). Fortunately the skills system is better than in D2 and let even casual players like me having fun (unlike D2 or starcraft2).    … Expand
  24. darn2R2
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Nobody at Blizzard played through Diablo 3 or they all suck at RPGs. Jay Wilson (lead designer) claimed it would take at least a month to finish the game. People finished it on the hardest setting in less than 3 days. Their lack of RPG knowledge is reflected in the gameplay. The rampant bugs and server issues speak for themselves.
  25. baTonkaTruck
    May 24, 2012
    10
    This is the best computer game I have ever played. I am appalled and disappointed at all the spoiled brats here giving the game a zero because the world wasn't hand-crafted just for them. They don't speak for true gamers who love to play instead of flame. The graphics are incredible, the sound design is engrossing, the music fits the level design and moods.. I enjoyed the story veryThis is the best computer game I have ever played. I am appalled and disappointed at all the spoiled brats here giving the game a zero because the world wasn't hand-crafted just for them. They don't speak for true gamers who love to play instead of flame. The graphics are incredible, the sound design is engrossing, the music fits the level design and moods.. I enjoyed the story very much, the cutscenes are chilling. But MOST IMPORTANTLY: The game FEELS like Diablo. It's impossible to describe. My characters feel extremely powerful, but yet vulnerable. In the higher difficulties, I always have that feeling the original Diablo gave: I'm scared about what I might find around the next corner, but I have the courage to try. A+ Blizzard, you guys are amazing. Yes, there are some technical issues, but a release of this magnitude? That's to be expected. Those spoiled kids here, without maturity, patience or a decent handle on reality will give this game a low score. They do not represent the overwhelming majority of people who are loving this game right now.… Expand
  26. Herponmyderp
    May 24, 2012
    3
    I'm over 20 hours into the game and I am severely disappointed. The game has some upsides like: the storyline (nothing amazing, but still good), the controls (very simple to grasp and entertaining), the animations (feel powerful/quick), quickly joining friends games, and the skill system (easy to change and experiment with).

    However, the bad FAR outweighs the good. - First is connectivity    I'm over 20 hours into the game and I am severely disappointed. The game has some upsides like: the storyline (nothing amazing, but still good), the controls (very simple to grasp and entertaining), the animations (feel powerful/quick), quickly joining friends games, and the skill system (easy to change and experiment with).

    However, the bad FAR outweighs the good. - First is connectivity (DRM). I'm OK with it being online, but they need to stabilize the servers. I have a higher-end, very solid system with high-speed cable internet and I still get disconnects, huge latency spikes, and game crashes (2 of which have caused me to lose loot from a boss).
    - Second (related to DRM) is the hacked accounts. While many users are at fault for hacked accounts, this would never be an issue if there wasn't DRM required.
    - Third is the graphics. They are decent and I understand that they are marketing to all systems and not just top-end, but they look worse than WoW which is almost 10 years old. How can we have gorgeous games like Skyrim out there with games still being released that look like D3!?
    - Fourth, huge lack of features. Can't break apart chat channels, disorganized friend's listings, terrible searching/sorting capability of AH, etc. There are so many of these basic features they could have ported over from WoW and they would have been perfect but right now they're just garbage.

    This game feels like an Indie game that was developed in about a year or two, not a big 'box office' hit with 8+ years in the making. Fun, but a long way to go to be a 'good game'.    … Expand
  27. Thehuntsmen5434
    May 24, 2012
    6
    51 Wizard on Hell mode right now. Story is way too short, really nothing else to do but kill monsters. Auction house ruins any reason for grinding since you can just buy the best stuff. What are people's arguments against this? "Well, that's always been Diablo." Come on, that's your excuse for looking past these gigantic flaws in this game. That its supposed to be something it was 1251 Wizard on Hell mode right now. Story is way too short, really nothing else to do but kill monsters. Auction house ruins any reason for grinding since you can just buy the best stuff. What are people's arguments against this? "Well, that's always been Diablo." Come on, that's your excuse for looking past these gigantic flaws in this game. That its supposed to be something it was 12 years ago? People are so blinded by the lure of this ULTIMATE CHALLENGE, and INSANE LOOT. When all it is, is just a increase in numbers. Is there a difference between hitting for 5 against a monster that has 25 life, between hitting for 50000 against a monster that has 250000 life. There isn't, and that's what Diablo does when it increases its difficulty.… Expand
  28. omensin
    May 24, 2012
    1
    My experience with D3 has been a sort of deja vu of when I first picked up D1. It was January of 97 when I picked up D1 from a local store, I excitedly brought it home and played it for approximately 4 hours before my cd rom drive crapped out. Since you couldn't play it without the CD I never played it again. ( I didn't learn about CD cracks until much later )

    A similar thing happened    My experience with D3 has been a sort of deja vu of when I first picked up D1. It was January of 97 when I picked up D1 from a local store, I excitedly brought it home and played it for approximately 4 hours before my cd rom drive crapped out. Since you couldn't play it without the CD I never played it again. ( I didn't learn about CD cracks until much later )

    A similar thing happened with D3, my wife purchased the game in secret, which really made my day. I ended up installing it and immediately played for about an hour. That first hour was the only time I'd be able to play for several days as any attempt to login was met with error codes because the service was down. When I finally got on to play I decided to stick to 'single player' until I got a grasp on the game, however I was ( and still am ) subjected to lag that stutters my character around the screen placing me in precarious situations so repeatedly to add an extra level of challenge trying to anticipate the lag. The problem wasn't on my end and still isn't, I have access to multiple internet services both personal and a high powered business line related to my work. The latency was about the same, hanging around 300 during choppiness and spiking to 500-600 at the worst moments. The good latency was around 160, this compares to an average latency of 20-50 when just playing other multiplayer games.

    I wasn't really angry until I started noticing that I lost quest rewards due to lag, that's when I felt like I was being punished. There was no achievement to defeating a major boss, being kicked just as he dies and returning to discover all of his rare drops had evaporated. Another way I feel punished is that I'm also a casual player, I work all day and come home to unwind by playing games. This predictably is during peak times for the battle net servers which causes my incidents of lag to go up as well. I feel like I have to plan my gaming late at night or mornings in order to have a better experience.

    All of that for a game that is an inferior experience to D2:
    1. Skill system simplified, characters are not unique
    2. Resolution of graphics is low, even blurry, despite running it on high and having a great pc
    3. Story is average.
    4. Auction house is pointless, browsing it just only reminds me of my casual play style being self defeating since i don't play enough to get these amazing drops. I do not intend on paying another penny on this game.    … Expand
  29. Infrnlmajsty
    May 24, 2012
    10
    This game is beast, most of the bad reviews are from noobs who couldn't get on the first night and nerd raged. I never thought I would find a game that was more insanely fun than WoW but this game is it!
  30. Wirk
    May 24, 2012
    0
    Level 60 cap
    instanced dungeons
    Maximum 4 players No skill trees Tiered armour sets. WoW Themed Style, and art direction. Rated T for Teens. Explosive barrel sequences(rock cliffs, and bookshelves "Console **** to kill waves of enemies Slow uninteresting combat Generic air cutting effects when attacing Cut and pasted skills from WoW No stat points NO TOWNS Vanishing corpses Scripted events    Level 60 cap
    instanced dungeons
    Maximum 4 players
    No skill trees
    Tiered armour sets.
    WoW Themed Style, and art direction.
    Rated T for Teens.
    Explosive barrel sequences(rock cliffs, and bookshelves "Console **** to kill waves of enemies
    Slow uninteresting combat
    Generic air cutting effects when attacing
    Cut and pasted skills from WoW
    No stat points
    NO TOWNS
    Vanishing corpses
    Scripted events killing you instantly despite having full health
    Instantly respawning at boss fights
    3 passive skills only that you will be forced to juggle
    RMT'ing the AH. Double diming players for placing, and selling items on it
    Legalised chinese farmers
    Intrusive DRM
    Always Online
    No Offline mode
    No LAN
    No single player
    No opened world PVP
    Dumbed down for general audience, probably this is the most oversimplified and dumbed down game I've ever played besides Sims and Facebook and cellphone games

    Character customisation removed(no more skill points to distribute, no more attribute points to distribute, skills unlock automatically as you level up)
    Legalized gold selling, pay-to-win auction houses
    Scripted garbage EVERYWHERE
    GETTING KICKED OUT OF YOUR SINGLEPLAYER GAME FOR BEING AFK
    Bland, one dimensional, WoW inspired skills
    World PvP removed and the only PvP options is a WoW-clone arena (which is not even functional yet)
    Voice acting is HORIBBLE compared to D2 or any games with a budget bigger than 20 dollars.
    Timed log-outs in a game which its gameplay is based on being fast-paced (even on hardcore mode)
    CHECKPOINTS that revive you from where you are left off (how much more casual can they make a diablo game I wonder)
    Region lock, DRM that requires you to be constantly online
    LEVEL 60 CAP Surely to be raised to 70,80,90 and so on with yearly expansions that consists of cut content for only another $60!

    Retarded things that butcher the whole atmosphere such as:

    â    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best PC Game of 2012
1
#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
3
#3 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 86
  3. Negative: 1 out of 86
  1. Thunderbolt
    Aug 31, 2012
    90
    My one major complaint is that the game never feels very difficult, especially on Normal. There are frustrating moments, hordes of baddies, and increasing difficulty levels, but the same feeling of utter defeat never really happens as it did in the past.
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  2. Hyper Magazine
    Jul 18, 2012
    80
    For all the game's missteps, though, you certainly can't accuse Blizzard of phoning it in - if anything, the game suffers from the tendency to try a little to hard at times to evolve the design. [Aug 2012, p.61]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Jul 3, 2012
    80
    When it works, Diablo III is the best of the Diablo games. When it doesn't, all it does is make you mad. [July 2012, p.54]
    Read full review
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