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. snott971
    May 28, 2012
    3
    I have played well over 100 hours in this game so far, and I have to admit, the hype is quite overrated. Being someone who massively enjoyed both the original Diablo and Sierra's Hellfire expansion as well as Diablo II and Lord of Destruction, I'm familiar with the direction that this newest addition to Blizzard's RPG hack n slash should have gone, and where it failed to meetI have played well over 100 hours in this game so far, and I have to admit, the hype is quite overrated. Being someone who massively enjoyed both the original Diablo and Sierra's Hellfire expansion as well as Diablo II and Lord of Destruction, I'm familiar with the direction that this newest addition to Blizzard's RPG hack n slash should have gone, and where it failed to meet expectations.

    Graphics:
    Now some of you might be saying, "This is 2012, and we demand amazing graphics!" And while I don't deny this is completely valid, I do want to point out that Blizzard is in the habit of dumbing down graphics to make it more playable to those who don't have a super-power mega geek machine 9000. And, it's a valid point. Cartoon-ish? Eh, I'm not sure what people are prattling on about. Graphics are one of it's strong points, if not at least just a non-issue.

    Game Interface: Talk about an improvement! It feels simple, easy to maneuver and best of all, they didn't screw with a whole lot. I can click away and not have any issues. Smooth and easy. Which, sadly, leads me to the rest of the interface. The auction house...oh the auction house. 3 words: It fails...badly. But we'll get to that one in a bit.

    Plot:
    Oh dear, this is where Blizzard does a royal faceplant. Picking Diablo character's out of a hat and having a child write the story with them would be absolutely better than whatever nonsense the people at Blizzard bastardized. It's lazy, half-hearted and done without thought or care. It's the "that'll do" syndrome. I found myself frequently skipping scenes because frankly, I couldn't care. I can't even say anything nice about it because there's nothing nice to SAY about it. Boring, pointless, and badly done. Shame on you Blizzard.

    Game-play: This is where it gets worse; much worse. Normal difficulty through Hell difficulty is OK I suppose, being that it's not terribly challenging but you do have to progress to a degree. It's easy if not a bit boring. But Inferno, let me tell you, is nigh impossible. It's as if someone turned the hardcore mega-death switch on and forgot to warn you. If I can play my level 60 Barbarian on the 4th Act in Hell Difficulty with 3 other players present, why shouldn't I be able to solo the FIRST QUEST on Act 2 of Inferno? Reason? Because Blizzard didn't bother to notice. Frequently, Rare and champion baddies are 3 times as strong as unique monsters, and drop better loot as well. Huh? That flies in the face of logic and reason. Oh and that goes for Legendary items as well. In some cases, magic items (blues) are even better than legendary items. Should this be? Certainly not. To put it simply: The loot system is wacko-jacko. Misc: Blizzard's biggest failing, among many, was the deployment of this game. I'm honestly tired of people saying, "Oh but if you have 3 million people logging in..." I DON'T CARE. You offer a product, you better damn well support it. This is a multi-million dollar operation, not some lemonade stand. I can't tell you how many times the AH has stopped working, bugged out, or simply failed to do what I asked. They've pushed back the date on the real money auction house 2 times already, and the commodities still isn't working. Another issue, which is certainly annoying, is the DRM problem. The only advantage: stops hackers from making items out of game. Disadvantages: Required internet connection, lag issues, server creates loot (not game) so I'm not even sure you get a fair shake, and if they have to reset the servers? You lose. You lose all the time.

    Summary:
    It's bug riddled, lazy and sloppy work that's been branded amazing to clean up on your wallets. Thoughtlessness and sloppiness abounds and while it looks good and plays nice, it'll have you kicking and screaming about why it isn't better. Overall, 3/10. Nice try Blizz, maybe you can save it when your expansion comes out...but I doubt if anyone will be playing it still by then.    … Expand
  2. EcoFatalis
    May 28, 2012
    3
    Diablo 3 is a disgrace to Diablo series . Ah and no game browser or chat just destroyed the social aspect of D3 . Yes Diablo 3 has 0 social aspect in it . The loot and the wow style loot progression are really really bad idea. Equip stats are boring . The story is bad and to scripted and delivered in WoW style.
  3. fluxmulder
    Jul 8, 2012
    3
    PROS = Art style is nice. Environments are colorful and varied. Simple to-the-point gameplay. Visual and audio FX are nice. Skill and rune system works for the most part. Good for RPG newcomers who want to jump in and kill things quickly. CONS = Repetitive gameplay. It becomes a grind for better gear after the first playthrough. If you find this fun, then knock yourself out. AlwaysPROS = Art style is nice. Environments are colorful and varied. Simple to-the-point gameplay. Visual and audio FX are nice. Skill and rune system works for the most part. Good for RPG newcomers who want to jump in and kill things quickly. CONS = Repetitive gameplay. It becomes a grind for better gear after the first playthrough. If you find this fun, then knock yourself out. Always on-line requirement. There is no justification for this in a largely single player game. Even with a kickass machine and good internet connection, you are at the complete mercy of Blizzard's servers. Lag spikes. Get used to the sight of your character running around with everything else on the screen frozen, then suddenly dying. The story is abyssmal. Characters are two dimensional, no sense of pacing, predictable plot twists, and lack of any emotional undercurrent. In-game cutscenes are cartoonish and fail to convey any gravitas. Forgettable music and sound. Your character screaming "I require aid", "not enough discipline" and other such nonsense becomes aggravating, especially at higher levels. Lack of character customization. Skills/rune system is extremely limited and funnel you into a few builds per class. Many of the skills are useless. VERDICT = I was on stage 3 of the Diablo boss fight on Hell, doing very well after 12 attempts, and got a server disconnect. I uninstalled the game 15 minutes ago and am officially done. The always-online requirement destroys the core functionality of the game. Losing all your map progress due to server connection problems is UNACCEPTABLE. Again, there is NO REASON for a single player game to have an always-online requirement. If you wanted to hop into a co-op game or do online trading, fine, connect to the servers at that time. But if you're soloing by yourself, there is absolutely no reason. This, and the realization that the game is nothing more than a grind for more powerful (and ultimately meaningless) gear, has led me to quit. There are better and more meaningful games to waste your time on.… Expand
  4. Judge_Ice
    May 29, 2012
    3
    A single player game that lags, now I've seen it all... really unplayable at times. The game it self is pretty decent when it works... but having to be online to play single player just gives so many problems that it stops being fun... what a waste of great potential.
  5. kyanwan
    May 29, 2012
    3
    Over a decade in the making - Blizzard presents you with the most fantastic game release failure in recent memory. The game, is ok - however - with the anticipation of D3, the huge resources of Blizzard - the end product is unforgivable.

    The game, has potential, if it worked. In the spirit of other Blizzard titles - we have whining players, constant changes to classes, mechanics,    Over a decade in the making - Blizzard presents you with the most fantastic game release failure in recent memory. The game, is ok - however - with the anticipation of D3, the huge resources of Blizzard - the end product is unforgivable.

    The game, has potential, if it worked. In the spirit of other Blizzard titles - we have whining players, constant changes to classes, mechanics, gameplay - and inconsistent application of stats. It just has this sour taste ... reminiscent of another Blizzard title. This is Diablo, not World of Whinecraft. Diablo fans want what they expect, not an unfinished, untested game that is flawed, broken in many ways - and still a work in progress. As a Diablo fan - who has played all 3 Diablo I'm soundly disappointed by this mediocre release. Even the auction house doesn't work. Nothing works in game! I didn't expect to play a half-finished beta - served as a final product. Pathetic.    … Expand
  6. Sethalos
    May 29, 2012
    3
    1) Online DRM: Worst idea in the history of gaming.
    2) Constant single Player lag, disconnections, and Server down time.
    3) Story line is very sub par considering it took 11 years to come up with. 4) Graphics are average. 5) Terrible Skill system, offers very little configuration options. 6) Completely Linear Story line, makes replayability no fun at all. 7) Blizzard Diablo Forums very    1) Online DRM: Worst idea in the history of gaming.
    2) Constant single Player lag, disconnections, and Server down time.
    3) Story line is very sub par considering it took 11 years to come up with.
    4) Graphics are average.
    5) Terrible Skill system, offers very little configuration options.
    6) Completely Linear Story line, makes replayability no fun at all.
    7) Blizzard Diablo Forums very poorly supported as to complaints, questions, and concerns. Blue responses are late, arrogant, and biased.    … Expand
  7. dirtypeasant
    May 29, 2012
    3
    Feels like half a game. Beat it in like 6 hours. Level cap comes really fast and end-game is not exciting. I give a 3 because I feel like Blizzard (Actvision) really didn't try and just wanted to capitalize on the huge fan base. It's really a disgrace to the series and a disgrace to the company that used to represent true games. Boo Blizzard for turning to GREED
  8. mospeed
    May 29, 2012
    3
    Had to get a refund for this game. Upgraded my computer to an i5 3750 with a Z77 MB, 8GB ram, the works and I couldn't play when I wanted to because of connection issues and constant server downtime. Their EULA mentions an "offline" mode but there isn't one. You're forced to play on their servers.

    The game itself is absolutely terrible as It's a remake of a game they created in the    Had to get a refund for this game. Upgraded my computer to an i5 3750 with a Z77 MB, 8GB ram, the works and I couldn't play when I wanted to because of connection issues and constant server downtime. Their EULA mentions an "offline" mode but there isn't one. You're forced to play on their servers.

    The game itself is absolutely terrible as It's a remake of a game they created in the 1990's. If this were 1999 this game would get a 10/10 but this is 2012 and games these days have a ton more content. The fact that we're expected to pay $60 to farm and grind the same dungeons over and over again with limited customization to our characters makes me cringe. I played the game through level 38 and the story consists of angry demons fighting angry angels, it's incredibly simple. They just drew up characters who were angry for no reason. Absolutely no user beneficial creativity went into this game. It's a dumbed down version of D2 with better graphics, DRM and an auction house. They even went as far to strip features such as lobbies and offline play to suit their money driven business model. This game is absolute rubbish, worst game I've ever spent money on.    … Expand
  9. McBarky
    May 29, 2012
    3
    I created an account to simply write this review about Diablo III. I was a big fan of Diablo I and Diablo II. I remember staying up all night playing and playing to the point where my friends I passed out. Diablo I actually was a birthday gift from my friend and was simply unforgettable. Now fast forward to Diablo III. Here are the reasons why Diablo III should literally be pulled offI created an account to simply write this review about Diablo III. I was a big fan of Diablo I and Diablo II. I remember staying up all night playing and playing to the point where my friends I passed out. Diablo I actually was a birthday gift from my friend and was simply unforgettable. Now fast forward to Diablo III. Here are the reasons why Diablo III should literally be pulled off shelves and reworked:

    1. Online Only Mode - To play this game by yourself you must constantly be online. All the time. No matter what. So this means you must rely on Blizzard's servers which are having a hard time with the volume.This also means when they decide to no longer support those servers your game will most likely be dead unless some private server linking occurs and then you're dependent on them.

    2. Short - It took hours upon hours of dedicated work to beat the previous Diablos. This one takes no skill what so ever. The game is extremely linear to point of being 'race tracked' through the plot, start to finish.

    3. Lack of Complexity - There isn't much in the way customization in the game. That is to say selecting specific skill groups or where to place points to strengthen the character as you see fit. When you level up you are alerted to what is new and you can select it if you wish. Skills points are automatically placed. Just imagine Need for Speed without the ability to customize the paint on the car... Or your only choices in Call of Duty was M16 or... M16 with an ACOG. I'm exaggerating a bit, but only a bit.

    4. Atmosphere - The atmosphere of the first Diablos were incredibly dark and bleak. This one isn't exactly rainbows and unicorns, but it's definitely missing the styling queues from before. Example [spoiler kind of] when there is a reprisal of the Butcher, I expected to see piked bodies and blood splashed about. I saw some blood stains, some empty torture devices, a skeleton here and there, but not the disturbing imagery from before. The kind of imagery that made you apprehensive to put your character forward. Remember this game had gore comparable to Hostel at certain points...

    5. Story - It's just terrible. It's just so predictable and so bland. Like the corny, "This mystery man is actually... MR. WITHERS!" type of plot.

    Now to talk about the good things.

    The things I did appreciate was the male/female versions of the classifications, the new classes offered, but to the detriment of not seeing some older classes. I miss the Necromancer. *Sniff, sniff* I thought the cinematics were great and the voice acting was well done. The music was ambient and was placed nicely. There was some annoying repetition with player/companion npc banter, but nothing too bad. I especially liked the new companion interactions with new areas and new people (additional companions you find along the way). It's like the Wizard of Oz! Ha!

    Over all this game is terrible. I wouldn't buy another Blizzard game unless there was an ironclad user review that it wasn't absolute drivel. It seems like the total development time was dedicated to creating this auction house, the cinematics and the online only (DRM) with the game itself being slap dashed together. I think what bothers me the most now is the generally favorable reviews from professional critics. How did this game rate so high? Did they play something we didn't?    … Expand
  10. daemonopus
    May 30, 2012
    3
    This game is seriously under par. After the wait, this should have the "Blizzard Polish" (http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html) which was largely ignored for this game. It does NOT live up to either D1 nor D2. The skills are bland, the gameplay at highest levels is broken (kiting only). The items drops, which are what define Diablo and Diablo Grinding have beenThis game is seriously under par. After the wait, this should have the "Blizzard Polish" (http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/mission.html) which was largely ignored for this game. It does NOT live up to either D1 nor D2. The skills are bland, the gameplay at highest levels is broken (kiting only). The items drops, which are what define Diablo and Diablo Grinding have been deliberately made so impossible to come by, in favor of the AH/RMAH as an intended "feature". Legendaries do not drop, and when they do, are worse than blues of the same level, same with Set pieces. This game is utterly broken.… Expand
  11. random0110
    May 30, 2012
    3
    It's an ok single player game but it's plagued by the worst aspects off online requirements. Seriously, I've lost a fair amount of gameplay progress because they've rebooted the servers before I could save. What's so frustrating is that I thought I was buying a single player game. If I want to play an MMO then I'll go do that. I'm level 9 but I'm so aggravated about the patching andIt's an ok single player game but it's plagued by the worst aspects off online requirements. Seriously, I've lost a fair amount of gameplay progress because they've rebooted the servers before I could save. What's so frustrating is that I thought I was buying a single player game. If I want to play an MMO then I'll go do that. I'm level 9 but I'm so aggravated about the patching and server reboots I doubt I'll continue.… Expand
  12. joedalton
    May 30, 2012
    3
    The game itself is very addictive, dynamic, and there's a real challenge starting in Hell and Inferno. I think Blizzard succeeded to create this wide variety of items and characters' builds (although as many people mentioned, there's unfortunately no skill tree anymore).. but seriously,, EU servers are down each and only day off most people have in their week (wed afternoon, weekend !).The game itself is very addictive, dynamic, and there's a real challenge starting in Hell and Inferno. I think Blizzard succeeded to create this wide variety of items and characters' builds (although as many people mentioned, there's unfortunately no skill tree anymore).. but seriously,, EU servers are down each and only day off most people have in their week (wed afternoon, weekend !). What a shame they do not allow players - customers - to play their game solo and offline when they want. I really enjoy playing in coop, to me Diablo is meant to be played with some friends or joining other players... but then Blizzard should have foreseen these problems before selling this game to millions of people. Quite disappointed.… Expand
  13. luke83
    May 31, 2012
    3
    I have to buy one more licence even if my brother has bought the game. I have bought games for years and I and my bro always played them with different account or saves. Now I should pay 118â
  14. tepidmilk
    May 31, 2012
    3
    As a Diablo veteran I had high hopes for this game. I've played up to level 54 and I am half way through act III on hell mode. I am now thoroughly bored, they've turned what could have been a great Gothic horror, dungeon crawling hack and slash game into Gear Grind: The Game. The DRM, oh god the damn DRM! it has to be the worst DRM I have ever experienced, getting lag in a single playerAs a Diablo veteran I had high hopes for this game. I've played up to level 54 and I am half way through act III on hell mode. I am now thoroughly bored, they've turned what could have been a great Gothic horror, dungeon crawling hack and slash game into Gear Grind: The Game. The DRM, oh god the damn DRM! it has to be the worst DRM I have ever experienced, getting lag in a single player game is completely unacceptable and getting thrown out of a game because Blizzard needs to fix something reall quick is downright disgraceful, I feel like I am being punished for no reason other than for Blizzard to secure their potential profits. I feel an offline mode in which offline characters are forbidden to buy/sell in the auction house would have solved this problem. The story is boring and predictable and all the characters (except for good ol' Dekard Cain) are unlikable.
    The gameplay is painfully average there is little to no customization when it comes to characters my barbarian looks like every other barbarian out there. But the thing worst of all, the very worst thing! - I'm not involved with the distribution of skill points and attributes , I feel completely disconnected from my characters progression and although I like the rune system I would have liked more control over how my character grows.
    All that aside I actually had fun, at least in my first playthrough the graphics are great and the cinematics are outstanding. The combat feels meaty and the boss battles are very fun if you like WOW style bosses. The first 2 modes (normal and nightmare) are way too easy but the difficulty ramps up in hell mode and I hear inferno is just crazy dying-every-5-seconds-time which is something I would enjoy but I just can't bring myself to grind more gear in order to survive.
    So overall a nice looking click-fest of fun at least for a few hours, but is horribly let down by it's outrageous DRM practices, dumbed down character progression and predictable story.    … Expand
  15. giacdegiac
    May 31, 2012
    3
    My "conclusions" after 100+ hours played.
    Big balance problems: normal, nightmare and hell are too easy while inferno is very hard.
    Not too hard, just too much difference with others acts.
    Service: sux like hell each day you have to "pray to play".
    Their objective was to gain moneys not to do a good game.
  16. Khelbin13
    May 31, 2012
    3
    This game is the only one I thought to get the Collector's Edition for and, while it did contain some extra goodies, overall my game experience is pretty meh. I currently have a Wizard, level 60, in Inferno difficulty Act 1. Normal and Nightmare were a blast to play through, but once I reached Hell, the fun drained away. One of the main reasons is how unlikely you are to get any lootThis game is the only one I thought to get the Collector's Edition for and, while it did contain some extra goodies, overall my game experience is pretty meh. I currently have a Wizard, level 60, in Inferno difficulty Act 1. Normal and Nightmare were a blast to play through, but once I reached Hell, the fun drained away. One of the main reasons is how unlikely you are to get any loot useful to you or anyone else. Items "roll" random stats and they could be awesome, useless, or anything in-between. The same goes for Legendaries, which are so rare you get excited when you see one and then, after looking at the stats, say "WTF?" There are also champion and elite enemies in the game. With each difficulty, they get an additional ability, up to 4 in Inferno. These abilities can range from locking you in place for a few seconds (Jailer) to setting up a rotating laser beam of death. (Arcane Enchanted) Some of the combos are literally impossible to beat. An example I came across yesterday was a group of huge zombies that naturally have a ton of health with the following abilities: Jailer, Waller (Summons walls to block your path), Vortex (randomly pulls you close to them), and Arcane Enchanted. I tried for a good 10 minutes to kill them and there was no way it would ever happen. I am in no way a noob in this kind of game and I know how to use my cooldowns, but I could not for the life of me even kill 1 of the 3 mobs. This brings me to another point. There is a buff you get at level 60 upon killing a champion mob called "Nephalem Valor" which stacks to 5 and increases your chance of finding magic items. It also guarantees certain kinds of drops on bosses. The only problem with this is that if you change any of your abilities around (in a game that is pretty much based on doing so) you lose all your stacks. This is especially frustrating if you meet a champion pack you cannot get past, so you have to either restart your game, which loses your stacks, or change your abilities around, which loses your stacks. Meeting unkillable champion packs in a game is just bad game design in my opinion. There is something to be said for having an appropriate challenge, but if it's impossible, nobody will want to play anymore.

    My first play through was fun and it is nice to be able to jump into my brother's game and vice-versa, but once you get to the higher difficulties, the fun goes away and is replaced with anger at not being able to kill the 10th champion pack in a row and having nowhere to bring the pack to have them kill you so you can move past, since they don't move around after you die. Ironically, the champion packs are harder than the actual bosses. Diablo 3 is a game I really WANT to enjoy, but lately there have been a ton of server issues regarding random maintenance, crashes, etc... and with no ability to play offline, the lag can almost make it unplayable. Yesterday, the lag was so bad I had to wait 18 seconds to swing my barbarian's weapon at the target, at which point it was somewhere else entirely and the damage it would have done was taken out of my health. As a final note: if you are considering purchasing Diablo 3, my suggestion is to wait a month or 2 so Blizzard can get their act together and fix the servers to provide a more enjoyable experience. It's also frustrating to have to use the auction house feature just to get gear upgrades since nothing good ever seems to drop when you play your own character.    … Expand
  17. Heiijeil
    May 31, 2012
    3
    The game is quite expensive for the limited content it offers. This, added to the required online connectivity to play, is largely my reason for the low score. Always online would have been a good thing had it been implemented properly, but it's been two weeks and we still get terrible lag while trying to play. Plus point for a casual gamer like me: the game has been simplified that itThe game is quite expensive for the limited content it offers. This, added to the required online connectivity to play, is largely my reason for the low score. Always online would have been a good thing had it been implemented properly, but it's been two weeks and we still get terrible lag while trying to play. Plus point for a casual gamer like me: the game has been simplified that it allows me to just log in and play without worrying if my stats are correct or not. However, it still doesn't make up for the overwhelmingly negative points mentioned above, aside from the boring graphics and uninspiring loot (for a loot game at that!).… Expand
  18. Smoogle
    May 31, 2012
    3
    The game is a massive disappointment it you have ever played any of the previous versions. The character customization is lacking, and the entire game has been dumbed down. The market system has caused an imbalance to the economy of the game and made the thrill of finding in game items non-existent. The persistent server outages are unacceptable, especially considering that this isThe game is a massive disappointment it you have ever played any of the previous versions. The character customization is lacking, and the entire game has been dumbed down. The market system has caused an imbalance to the economy of the game and made the thrill of finding in game items non-existent. The persistent server outages are unacceptable, especially considering that this is supposed to be a a single player experience. The storyline and character dialog seems to have been written by a 2nd grader, and once again adds nothing to the experience. The error codes that the client returns when you are unable to login are reminiscent of games written in the 80's. In summary, this had the potential to be a great game, all the ingredients where there with the previous iterations, however Blizzard failed miserably.… Expand
  19. xMesa
    May 8, 2013
    3
    Game made around the Auction House.
    Made so player could sell other players items for real money and blizz gets a cut.

    Worst thing i played in years. And unfortunately i pre-ordered so there's some money i'll never see again.
  20. Snugbear
    Jun 2, 2012
    3
    The game itself it's not bad, it's just what one can expect from the third chapter of Diablo series. The bad it's that you PAID a lot for this game, and almost EVERY day you cannot play cause Blizzard isn't able to setup their servers correctly to let players connect and play EVEN in SINGLE PLAYER. This is frustrating. Before buying a Blizzard title think twice. And twice again.
  21. Boheme
    Jun 1, 2012
    3
    Do not deserve a better note than 3,7 :
    Connection errors, no SP, and a good amount of bugs. Played it for 3 hours after I finally got back on to their bad servers.... thank God they didn't actually put SP in. The gameplay overall is just bad and so far the story is worse than the others. Overall so far it is just trash with the Diablo name on it.
  22. Yashime
    Jun 1, 2012
    3
    I did a review, and a problem occur and i give mistankely 10 to Diablo ha ha ha ha. Impossible, i give 3 to this **** I try actualy to recover my money and i discuss with the support for the moment.
  23. Xehlwan
    Jun 1, 2012
    3
    At the surface, Diablo 3 is much better than most give it credit for. It has beautiful action, randomization enough to feel fresh, and a streamlined system. Even the lack of skillpoints will quickly be revealed to work wonderfully.

    As you put some time into Diablo 3, you will start to see a bigger problem: a lack of variation. Not in the vistas, or models of your characters, or even    At the surface, Diablo 3 is much better than most give it credit for. It has beautiful action, randomization enough to feel fresh, and a streamlined system. Even the lack of skillpoints will quickly be revealed to work wonderfully.

    As you put some time into Diablo 3, you will start to see a bigger problem: a lack of variation. Not in the vistas, or models of your characters, or even abilities. The lack of variation instead stems from the core of the game: dungeons and items. Dungeons quickly become predictable despite randomization, and items all feel the same. Sure there are different stats, but all you really care about is DPS, followed by the single predefined stat for your character, and then perhaps some health or defense.
    The problem lies in the lack of impact items have on your character. Your wizard doesn't care if he uses a staff, sword, or crossbow: only what DPS the weapon gives. There are less secondary effects than in previous games, and they mean less. In the end, the item hunt is the same no matter what class or build you are playing, and all gameplay feels the same.

    The above points only makes the game mediocre at worst. The real reason for the low score is the shoddy online mechanics. Weeks after the game launched, players still run into overloaded servers, lag, and extended downtime, with no real end in sight. A game is only a game if it can be played, and on this count, Diablo 3 stands on shaky ground.    … Expand
  24. Greatness
    Jun 2, 2012
    3
    The whole game is based on your items, there are no skill points or tech trees. If you dont use the auction house you cant beat inferno because the item drops are such crap (Legendaries as well, IF you ever find one). The whole purpose of the game is for Blizzard to maximize monetarily (they take 15% of anything you sell in the auction house).

    Also the story line is very short and you    The whole game is based on your items, there are no skill points or tech trees. If you dont use the auction house you cant beat inferno because the item drops are such crap (Legendaries as well, IF you ever find one). The whole purpose of the game is for Blizzard to maximize monetarily (they take 15% of anything you sell in the auction house).

    Also the story line is very short and you cant farm like you could in D2. Bad servers and account hacks, I will never buy a Blizzard game again.    … Expand
  25. smile0my0friend
    Jun 3, 2012
    3
    I've only played the first 2 acts, but I think that gives me a pretty good idea of the game. The atmosphere feels more like wow than Diablo, which is a major disappointment. I fixed that a little bit with the darkening filter, but still didn't feel quite right. The lack of character customization is a let down as well, yes they wanted to focus on loot for customization, but the loot isI've only played the first 2 acts, but I think that gives me a pretty good idea of the game. The atmosphere feels more like wow than Diablo, which is a major disappointment. I fixed that a little bit with the darkening filter, but still didn't feel quite right. The lack of character customization is a let down as well, yes they wanted to focus on loot for customization, but the loot is boring as heck. In diablo II and other clones your character's unique nature was based on builds, stats, and gear. Every player could tweak as needed which added a bit of depth. Diablo III only allows customization with loot. You don't have to make permanent or semi permanent decisions about your build. Now as loot is the only true unique aspect of your character, you'd think it would be relatively interesting. Not so much. It's so random that it is basically meaningless. A wand could be a strength/dex wand while an axe could be an uber weapon for int users. Even unique items or "legendary" have extremely random stats making some of them completely unusable by the intended user. Then there is the stats themselves. There are so few of them that choosing between items requires 0 thought "oh this one adds more damage or health, it must be better". There is no "should I get the item that gives you a chance to freeze enemies, or should I get the item that gives me health?" decisions. Of course there is also that huge issue of having no SP offline or mods, and the AH. The game is balanced around the ability to buy items instead of farming for them, making it a lot less exciting when something good drops, because you mine as well go buy it on the ah first. I tried playing the game without it, but you can't keep up without it due to the terrible itemization and lack of gear dropping. In general game is meh, couldn't make it past the first 2 acts because of boredom, and the entire time I would take breaks to look up better diablo clones because im in the mood for a hack n' slash but DIII was such a let down.… Expand
  26. Chilsung
    Jun 3, 2012
    3
    The game itself is fantastic. I'm impressed. The story is good (though at times can be predictable), the gameplay is fun, and Inferno is very challenging. That said, the low score is for the absolutely disgustingly terrible performance. Inability to play single player because of connection errors, authentication errors, and multiple "maintenance" periods lasting 8 or more hours. On top ofThe game itself is fantastic. I'm impressed. The story is good (though at times can be predictable), the gameplay is fun, and Inferno is very challenging. That said, the low score is for the absolutely disgustingly terrible performance. Inability to play single player because of connection errors, authentication errors, and multiple "maintenance" periods lasting 8 or more hours. On top of that the Auction House has massive errors as well that can result in the loss of hours worth of money or items. There's simply no excuse for something like this when the problems could have been easily avoided by simply adding in a single player only mode.… Expand
  27. thehappycheese
    Jun 4, 2012
    3
    Poor story elements, rubbish voice acting, reduced RPG elements, the auction house and forced online gameplay all ruined it for me. This game has the distinct feeling of a warcraft 3/starcraft 2 custom-map and all the bright colors, generic sound effects, and crappy character/in-game-cinematic animation that goes with that.

    This game didn't have the character, heart, or soul of its    Poor story elements, rubbish voice acting, reduced RPG elements, the auction house and forced online gameplay all ruined it for me. This game has the distinct feeling of a warcraft 3/starcraft 2 custom-map and all the bright colors, generic sound effects, and crappy character/in-game-cinematic animation that goes with that.

    This game didn't have the character, heart, or soul of its predecessors. I give it a 3 for the few hours of fun I did have with the core gameplay - hitting demons with a hammer.    … Expand
  28. Crazyrage
    Jun 4, 2012
    3
    Game is horrible. Blizzard should be embarrassed. Horrible story, horrible secret level. Inferno is a total joke not hard just lame. The game is clearly geared towards the RMAH so Blizzard can make BUCK.
  29. nelsor57
    Jun 4, 2012
    3
    Everything is based around the AH, you cannon progress into INFERNO unless you spend millions of gold on items, to many exploits, terrible in game lag, lots of hacking, botting, spammers... just like d2.
  30. kingskin
    Jun 7, 2012
    3
    For all those that say well its not diablo 2! they are right,its diablo 1.5 .No character customisation or build choice.

    Halfway through nightmare i just stopped and gave up.What's the point in grinding endlessly for 1 more vit,damage or primary stat.As that is all you need. The item properties are dull and dont do anything worth bothering with ( see vit,damage,or primary stat) Seems    For all those that say well its not diablo 2! they are right,its diablo 1.5 .No character customisation or build choice.

    Halfway through nightmare i just stopped and gave up.What's the point in grinding endlessly for 1 more vit,damage or primary stat.As that is all you need.

    The item properties are dull and dont do anything worth bothering with ( see vit,damage,or primary stat) Seems they took all the fun stuff out!    … 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

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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]
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