Diablo III

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The majority of console titles being released nowadays are either first person shooters or sandbox games. Isometric Action RPGs, a genre so basic, so essential, I never thought would become scarce, hasn't seen a decent release on the current console generation in almost 7 years. Not one. Back in the PS2 era, the golden age of console action RPGs, we had the holy grail. Baldur's Gate: Dark alliance, and its more than worthy successor, Dark alliance II. The genre was so in vogue, even the Everquest universe brought a worthy contender to the table with the release of Champions of Norrath, and Champions of Norrath 2: Return to Arms. Oh, those were the days. I used to sit on the couch with my girlfriend (nowadays my wife) and play together for hours on end. Just us, exploring dungeons, marveling at the prospect of a dropped piece of armor or sword, which we would immediately pick up and analyze in order to compare to the one we were wearing. Since the current generation of consoles was released, we have waited, and waited, and waited for a worthy successor of one of these games. And there hasn't been any. There have been flops like Sacred, or Dungeon Siege's console version but none that were remotely decent (with the exception perhaps of Lord of The Rings: War in the North. Technically NOT an isometric RPG but a brilliant coop action RPG game nonetheless, which filled somehow the void we carried as gamers for over 6 years). Enter The Lord of Destruction.

The wait is finally over. Diablo III is that game. That worthy successor to Baldur's Gate: Dark alliance we had waited for (for more than half a decade mind you). From the moment you pick up the controller you can tell Blizzard nailed this port. It doesn't even feel like a port. It's like the game was designed with this control scheme in mind from scratch. Movement is fluid, combat satisfying. Everything is there. The search for better and shinier loot is just as fun as it was back in the PS2 with Baldur's. The co-op action is flawless. Minimap, skill trees, chests, weapon racks, everything you may have possibly missed is there, and then some.

If there is maybe one department where the game takes a hit vs. the PC version are the graphics. They're not bad. They do feel a bit...cartoonish. But they're totally current gen. You just can't compare the graphics of a current PC (even a mid-range one) with the graphics of a game, running in 720p on a console like the PS3, released 7 years ago, and already on it's way out. If you have never seen the PC graphics, these will look totally OK to you. Nothing to write home about but not bad by any stretch of the imagination. And my only other gripe with the game (now, this is a minor thing and I'm definitely nitpicking), is that I wish 2 players playing local co-op could enter their inventory at the same time instead of player 1 having to wait while player 2 compares 10 different kinds of armor in order to be able to enter his inventory, or at least, there should be an option to enable this. I'm rocking a 55 inch screen, there's plenty of room for both player's inventories. If a player has a small screen they could disable this option. The upside is when my wife is going through her inventory, I get to see everything she's carrying and sometimes a weapon or piece of armor catches my eye so she gives it to me and viceversa so it's not like it's super boring or anything like that. Like I said, I'm definitely nitpicking. This game is seriously awesome. I can't wait to see what Blizzard does with this game on the PS4. Even if it's just a graphics overhaul, I'll buy the PS4 version in a New York minute and play it all over again (Heck I intend to play the PS3 version all over again several times). Just take my money Blizzard. Keep releasing games like this on the console and keep taking my money. And I hope this game sells like hotcakes so publishers realize there IS a market for this genre on the consoles, and that gamers like us will buy anything you release in this genre as long as it plays this nicely.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love first person shooters as much as the next guy, but sometimes a gamer needs a break from that. No online lobbies, no 8 years olds yelling at the top of their lungs threatening to quickscope me or anything like that. Just me, my girl, the couch and the dungeons (wait, that sounded a bit kinky. But I digress). Sometimes you just want to sit on the couch with a friend, relax, and just have some fun. Sometimes, we need to get back to basics. And what a glorious playground Diablo III is for that purpose. Welcome home Lord of Destruction. What is thy bidding my master?

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Of course this game is going to get bouts of negative reviews. Because it sucks right? No. No it does not.

Diablo III has been a huge subject of gaming controversy since its release last year on PC. A lot of people were sorely disappointed and as a result, the Diablo fanbase has turned into a giant swarm of hate. And thus, because this is Diablo III, the negative reviews are piling up.

Please ignore the negative reviews. They are not credible. Why? Because even if someone hates the PC version of D3 for completely legitimate reasons, THIS IS NOT THE PC VERSION. The console version of Diablo III is not a mere port of the PC game.

This version has been touched up and fine tuned specifically for consoles. Not only that, but every single PC patch that was released to enhance the original game has been include in the console game's content. Thus, the console version is a far more polished game and is undoubtedly a five-star experience.

The two biggest topics of controversy on the PC version (the Real Money Auction House and the Always-Online connectivity) have been completely removed from this version of the game. Now, the main reason for this was because neither of those things were even possible to replicate on consoles, but nevertheless, they are gone. And because of this, there is no more lag or server errors. And the loot drops have been fine tuned and enhanced since the Auction House can no longer be used to buy better gear.

Believe me, I've heard the countless stories about how much of a let down the PC version was. I'm not saying that I don't believe the players who have the PC version that it isn't a let down. But to come onto a product page of a revamped version of the game and give it a 1 star rating just because you are upset at Blizzard is not only childish, but it's about as silly as those people who negatively review products because of a late delivery from their mail provider.

Enough. Diablo III is a great game. If you hate it, more power to you. But don't review this one poorly just because you're offended by Blizzard's mistakes.

(Now if you ACTUALLY hate the console version for legitimate reasons, then that's another story...)

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As ports from PC to systems go, there haven't been too many successful examples. Most games suffer from trying to take the PC/Mouse controls and set them up on a system controller. Or suffer from the limited graphic capability on systems. (Or are like Starcraft on the N64, one of the very worst PC to console ports of all time, and the last time Blizzard tried to do this).

I'm happy to report, Diablo III bucks this trend in a BIG way, and is a must-purchase for RPG and loot fans.

Controls can't get much simplier then what Blizzard accomplished on the PS3. Move with the left stick. Look around with the right. Attack buttons are mapped to the face buttons on the controller. No gaming mouse required! You'll get into the flow of battle and wonder how you ever survived using a gaming mouse or keyboard; it's that intuative.

Naturally, the graphics do take a hit, but it still looks better than you would expect a port has any right to.

Another thing you will notice is the Inventory interface is a little clunky, but that's a minor gripe.

If by some chance you've never played any Diablo games, it's a very simple concept. Slash and hack anything that gets in your way. Mix in a little magic. Grab the loot that drops at random. Rinse and repeat.

The bottom line is this game has at least 30-50 hours (or more) of gameplay and if they release the PC expansion as DLC you can take another 5-10 onto it as well.

As I stated in the open, most PC to console conversions are poor or worst, a complete abomination of the game. Diablo III is neither of those, and if you're the type who love Borderlands for the loot, you will adore Diablo III as well.

The grades:

Presentation: 8

Graphics: 8

Controls: 9

U/I: 7

Replability: 10

Overall: 9/10

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Whew, it has been a long wait! I thought Dungeon Siege 3 would be the best we could hope for on the PS3. This is a terrific game from the company that invented the "Diablo" genre. I have not played it on my Macintosh and I am glad that I waited. A few pros and cons:

Pros:

*Multiplayer is great with no dumbing down of secondary (not player 1) players.

*Eight difficulty levels within each "Master" difficulty level (Normal, Hell, Nightmare, and Inferno) that can be changed at any time.

*Lore is audio based as well as text based.

*No two button finger maneuvers for effects. I have never seen a game do the button mapping better.

*Intelligently designed-this is an understatement.

*Fun (another understatement).

*Random dungeons, leveling up, and replay-ability.

*Thank goodness we did not have to wait for the PS4 version.

Cons:

*Local multiplayer only allows one player at a time in their wonderfully engineered and easy to understand inventory screen.

*Expansions will be delayed for the console.

*No in-game keyboard chat like Diablo 2.

I love this game-it does so much right and is a kick in the pants to play. My two recommendations for future patches:

1.) Allow 2 players in inventory at the same time.

2.)Allow USB keyboard chat.

Thank You Blizzard for bringing this masterpiece to the Playstation 3--I appreciate your outstanding product.

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I've been burnt so many times in the past assuming that every new release of a well known franchise would be pure gold. I've been wrong so many times, but this time, I feel like I hit the jackpot. I played Diablo II on the PC years after it had originally been released and I loved it. I love working with others to accomplish a common goal, whether that be taking down a tough boss, making money (in game currency) or getting shiney new armor. I had always wanted a game like this on consoles and none of the "diablo" clones measured up. Well, now that I have the real thing, I can only hope for another sequel! I avoided the pc version of Diablo III because of the many well known issues people have complained about (loot system, AH, etc). When the console version finally came out, I baught it on day 1 because I had heard they were fixing the aforementioned issues and played with my girlfriend. Speaking of which, she is in no way a gamer but was able to follow my directions and help me out quite a bit. When I asked her if she was having fun, she said "the two of us taking down hordes of enemies side by side was exhilerating". My honest opinion is that this game feels polished, addicting, plenty of character/skill options and playing with friends or complete strangers over the internet so far has been a pleasurable experience. It just seems like a no-brainer for those that enjoy this kind of game on consoles.