Diablo 3 Review

Diablo 3, Blizzard's latest iteration to its 16-year-old series, was eagerly awaited by many fans.

Such hype and fanfare creates very high expectations for a game, especially when it's made by a company that is known for releasing games "only when they're ready."

I'm glad to say that the famous Blizzard polish, which has earned them tens of millions of fans worldwide, shows with Diablo 3.

Now, I'm not talking about their online servers, which have honestly been extremely disappointing. There have been massive connection problems worldwide, and has caused ire amongst many, including me. Even though such problems are quite normal for a new game, Blizzard should have been prepared, since you NEED to be connected online to play. It's not too much to ask, considering they've been dealing with server problems on launch day since World of Warcraft, which was first released in late 2004.

Fortunately for Blizzard, once you do get into the game, it's a really fun experience that I believe was worth the wait.

Within the first few minutes, you're already thrust into the familiar hack and slash action that the Diablo is known for... and it just feels right. Both series veterans and newbies won't have a problem picking up the game, as there aren't that many controls to worry about. You start off with a few active skills, and slowly accrue them as you level up. They keep it simple, and it works.

Now, some purists may be annoyed by the fact that you no longer need to plan out your attribute upgrades ahead of time, as they are done automatically for you. However, I think the simplified system actually works to Blizzard's advantage, much like Skyrim's simplified system didn't hurt its gameplay.

In Diablo 2, you were basically stuck with a character build, as you would lock yourself into a certain path with the attributes and skill trees that you chose. This is no longer the case in Diablo 3, because of the new skill and skill rune system. Basically, you unlock skills at certain levels, and then later unlock runes which add different effects to skills. This means that by switching equipment and runes, you can change your character build on the fly. This flexibility allows people to try different builds out without having to start a new character, and also lets them change their tactics according to the given situation.

When put into practice, this system actually ensures that you can easily tailor your character to your own style. I play as a Barbarian who uses massive two-handed weapons, and I've come across friends who use a shield, and others who wield a weapon in each hand. The skills we used were different, as were our preferences for gear. Personally, I think that makes the system good enough, though I'm sure there are those who disagree.

Continued: It's all about the combat.