1) Gameplay and functionality:
Although it is completely fair to call into question the design decisions behind the gameplay in Blizzard games, few would question the actual functionality of a game like WoW or Diablo 3 in this case. While I remain neutral of the gameplay itself, it is hard not to notice just how well polished and optimized the combat is. Again, this is a beta, and the game itself may be riddled with bugs, but from what I've seen, for better or worse, the combat is very functional and fluent.
That said, I was saddened just by how damn easy the game was. To be fair, during the beta, players could not play above normal difficulty, so my view was rather narrow. However, "Normal" felt like a breeze. The 4 of us completely shredded through dungeons, even the last boss was incredibly trivial. Your health MIGHT drop below 50% if the enemy gets a few lucky shots in, but rest assured, there will be PLENTY of health orbs to hold your hand should you get in a tight situation, therefore, I must dock off some points.
Gameplay and functionality:
7/10
2) Story and plot:
Granted, there is nothing really "Wrong" with Diablo 3's story, my issue is the way it is delivered. It feels more like quest hub hopping in an MMO rather than a single player/co-op game. But to be fair, from what I remember of Diablo 2, the quest system was practically the same, however, times have progressed, and I was hoping for something that offered a little more immersion when telling it's story.
A few things I did like about the story was finding tomes throughout dungeons and killing monsters for the first time. After finding and picking up a book, you would receive an audible dialog, telling the player about the monster. It was a cool why to take in lore on the fly while not removing anything from the pace of the gameplay.
Story and plot:
7/10
3) Dialog and script:
Nothing about the dialog in Diablo 3 really inspired me as a player. The characters just sort of blurted out the objective after a bit of flavor dialog, if you were lucky. There were no moments in the dialog that really got me engaged, no times when the script made my spine shiver or when the characters made me WANT to help, I just did the missions the progress the gameplay, not because I was engaged with the character.
Outside the tomes you find laying around, and the info you receive about monster, there is nothing really unique about the dialog in Diablo 3. To it's credit, however, there was nothing really abominably "Bad" about the writing, just that it was uninspired and bland.
Dialog and script:
5/10
4) Technical graphics:
Blizzard seems to have fallen in love with it's home-grown graphics engine that has spanned from Warcraft 3 all the way to Diablo 3, and really who can blame them? They've had some 10 years to optimize and polish the engine, and it shows. The engine is very well built, to Blizzards credit.
That said, there is nothing really remarkable about the graphics. When you look at the game, just like every other Blizzard game, you think "Oh look, it's THAT engine again". I personally hope Blizzard takes a chance in developing a new one or at least experimenting with the current, to make it more of a technological marvel rather than a cookie cutter engine that they just slap onto their games because "Hey, why not?".
Technical graphics:
7/10
5) Art style and direction:
Let me be very clear when I say I have absolutely no problem with a company using style graphics, but I'm baffled at how bad art directors are at deciding if a style fits the setting. Diablo 3 is supposed to be a dark fantasy about hell fire raining from the sky to consume the world. . . so why does said world look like The Iron Giant?
Cartoonish graphics fit WoW because the Warcraft series was cartoonish, but what exactly is supposed to be light hearted and stylized about the Diablo series? Where is the humor that warrants silly looking models and buildings? I really don't see it.
The engine is fine, but I really question Blizzards judgment in using it in Diablo 3
Art style and direction:
4/10
6) Sound design:
Rating sound design is fun for me because it's really hard for a company to mess up the sound. Diablo 3, however, does have some issue (and positives, of course).
The voice acting is really nothing special, it even dips into "Bad" a few times, however, I can shrug this off since the dialog never inspired me to begin with and the music is well composed if somewhat bland and not very memorable.
Beside that, the sound effects of Diablo 3 were very crisp and well done. I really wished for a better theme song for Diablo, however. Something dark, something that sounded like doom was coming, something that gave audiophiles a palpable sense of dread, instead we got something that sounds a bit like Two Steps from Hell or Immediate music.
Sound design:
6/10
7) Level design:
I really have to give Blizzard credit here. I was ecstatic when I found out that the dungeon layout shifts and randomizes slightly every time you play the dungeon (which was a pretty big feature in past Diablo games) letting you never really have the same experience twice.
The areas were nice and open and there was quite a bit to explore in the dungeons, rather than just 1 or 2 corridors leading to the same area. I actually got LOST at one point. LOST... In a MODERN game... Who would have thought?
Level design:
9/10
8) User interface:
I was very pleased with the interface in Diablo 3. Granted when you see it, you will most likely think "Oh cool, it's like I'm really playing World of Warcraft". Yes the chat box is the same (which is understandable because of the Real ID system) and the crafting windows has the same layout.
I'm a big advocate of "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" but I worry about the homogenization of WoW into every Blizzard game that gets released.
I don't want to play WoW, I want to play Diablo 3 and the UI should reflect that. Of course I can't knock Blizzard too much since the interface (while a copy of WoW) is very functional and organized
User interface:
8/10
9) Production value:
From what I've seen of Diablo 3, it has all the production value and polish of a triple A RPG (co-op MMO isometric game, whatever) and they certainly get credit for this.
Something about Blizzard games that I'm happy with is the fact that while some of the features may be uninspired or rehashed, they always make sure they're very functional and that the playable does not suffer due to massive bugs.
Yes, they delay their games by years at a time, it seems, but at least in Blizzards case it shows.
Production value:
9/10
10) Overall elements:
The hour is at hand, the time is nigh and the day of judgment is upon it, so does Diablo 3 pull together and finish strong, or does the odd concoction of strange design choices dilute the purity of the gameplay?
Well, a little of both really.
I personally enjoyed playing the game once through by myself and then several times with other player, but the schizophrenic elements (À la art direction) gave me a strange feeling of the game being "Odd". Not bad, but just "Odd". Odd enough to where I can't really love it. It's a fun game and good pastime but I don't see Diablo 3 hitting anyone's classic video game shelves.
Overall elements:
7/10
In closing, I would like to say that Diablo 3 was an enjoyable experiance, and I look forward to progressing through the dungeons with my friends, but I truly believe Blizzard owes it to themselves to move on.
Games like Starcraft and Diablo 1 and 2 have achieved a legendary status in the video game industry and Blizzard will NEVER be able to outdo them with a sequel.
I'm hopeful when it comes to their new IP such as "Titan" and will keep my figures crossed that it will be a continuing trend.
Diablo 3 is a good game, but it just doesn't have "It"
Personal score:
7/10
Technical score:
69 /100
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