Diablo 3 Review

The first 2 Diablo games were released to great fanfare and were received well by quite a bit of people. When Diablo 2’s expansion pack Lord of Destruction was released, many believed that Diablo 3 or a second expansion pack would be released soon. Little did we know that we would not see Diablo 3 until 11 years after the release of Lord of Destruction.

This new entry in the Diablo franchise brings back a lot of the same great elements from its predecessors. It features the same addicting hack and slash gameplay, the classic isometric camera angle that adds a little bit of an old school feel and a great story, on top of many other things. This game has been highly anticipated for far too long and it has led to the question on everyone’s mind — “Can it live up to the hype?” Let’s take a look at what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of Diablo 3.

Spoiler alert if you have not played through Act 1 skip the story section.

HOT

Engaging Story
Blizzard has always crafted some of the best lore in video games, and Diablo 3 is no exception. Diablo 3 takes place 20 years after the events of its predecessor. The hero arrives in New Tristram to investigate a fallen star. During the investigation you find out that the fallen star is actually a person. This stranger can not recall anything that has happened to them; they can only remember a sword that was shattered into 3 pieces.

The hero works on getting these pieces only to have them stolen by the witch Maghda who holds Decard Cain, the last of the Horadrim hostage. She is holding him because he is the only one with the know-how to put the sword back together. When he refuses to do so, Maghda captures the stranger. Cain, dying from Maghda’s torture, uses the last of his strength to repair the sword and instructs the hero to return it to the stranger. When he is finally given his sword, the stranger recalls everything. He is the angel Tyreal and he cast himself down to sanctuary to warn about the arrival of the demon lords Belial and Azmodan.

That is a very brief rundown of the story, and the game has a lot more to offer. The story, in all, provides for one epic experience.

Solid Gameplay
The gameplay in Diablo 3 is very solid, and it allows for anyone to just pick up and play. Players new to action RPG’s may have trouble getting used to Diablo’s hack and slash play style. No matter which class you pick (Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor or Wizard), you will have fun hacking or casting your way through countless demons.

When you create a new character, the game will start you on Normal difficulty. This first difficulty  is not hard and, in fact, it’s pretty easy. There is no way you should die unless there is a hiccup in your connection or you alt tabbed to look at something else. Once you beat the game on Normal, then you will be given a chance to play on Nightmare. You unlock the Hell difficulty after beating the game on Nightmare. Once you beat Hell, you will then get a crack at Inferno, the hardest difficulty available.

The Rune System
The Rune system is new to the Diablo franchise and it adds a lot of new customization aspects to your characters. Each spell has a set of six runes that when activated can provide additional damage, effects or buffs. This gets rid of the cookie cutter character builds. No one build will provide more damage. They may provide additional benefits in certain fights, though.