Windows Diablo 3

Tried a lot over the last 24 hours to get in and so far no luck.

I have never played any of the Diablo games before so was interested to see what it was like. Hopefully they will extend the beta, as I would like to try it before I decide to buy it or not (currently on pre-order just in case).

 

Had a few hours earlier today, got in first time! (wooo) Considering the pre-order, I don't play many games these days but it's strangely addictive...

 

Just pre-ordered it a local store that has promised to be cheaper than local competitors on day of release. At least I know I'll have it the day it comes out and won't be at the mercy of the postman!

 

Played (and beaten) the beta. As addictive as always but I'm not sure about the levelling system.

Still, I may pre-order....

 

yeap i beat the beta too, today

 

Is it me but was the beta really short and too easy? I know I played it on normal difficulty but I think I was in trouble just once - and I haven't played Diablo in *many* years.

 

played and enjoyed it, didnt die once

cant wait for this to come out, can see it taking over my life a bit

 

Well, tried on and off all weekend but never managed to get in - now it seems they are taking the beta servers down. Not sure what to do with my pre-order now as I was hoping the beta might help me decide.

 

not sure why you all had issues i managed to play fri, sat and sun without much issue. Except for when they took the servers down on sat for a couple of hours

all you had to make sure was Americas server was used + keep trying to login/start a game if you get an error code. I had to click start game over 20 times at one point but only took a couple of minutes to get in.

ran through the beta with 4 chars (bard, wizard, demon hunter and a little bit with witch doctor) was a good laugh.

PROs
addictive as ever (loot loot give me more god damm loot)
fast paced
i liked the no skills lock in as it let me try different combos out
crafting adds a nice dimension but kinda feels a bit like gambling (d2) with an extra step involved.
graphics are good sort of a Gothic cartoon style. (i can see why they did this as i dont think minimum specs will be high, personally i would have like a bit more seriousness to it)
Destructible stuff adds some more immersion
sounds are awesome both music and noises
co-op is awesome and the social menus and joining games was very slick.

CONs

too easy although im holding my tongue with this one as it was only the beginning and first boss. D2 is much of the same at the start with few enemies and no massive bunches.

randomness seemed thin on the ground although this could just be because of the beta so im not sure.

Lag but again this could be beta although i wasn't impressed that 200-250ms ping was apparently GREEN on the network meter.

more side quests although again this is only from testing the beta so im hoping more random quests and side story quests pop up in the release

 

Played all weekend and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Maxed Barb, Wizard and Witch Doctor and got Demon Hunter and Monk to 11.

Demon Hunter was my least favourite of the five with Barb way out in front. You can feel every swing.

These three weeks can't come fast enough.

I don't at all think the beta was too small. Obviously I wish it was longer because I'm greedy and want more content. And as for the questions raised about how easy it was..... Just wait until you get to Hell and Inferno. The resistance debuff on you and buff on the mobs make for much more challenging game play.

 

I agree completely. Doing the jar event and killing 30 monsters with a single swing is awesome beyond words.

That being said I was suprised how much I liked the witch doctor. The amount of hurt you can put out with soul harvest + dire bats is scary.

Overall I loved every minute of it.

 

I'm still ambivalent about it. I remember with the 2 previous games I couldn't resist going back for another go but while I did consider it on Sunday evening, I didn't play again.

Now it could be that ennui brought on by 30+ years of playing videogames is dulling my addiction but in my defence I would say that I've been hooked by a number of games in the last year - heck I played Skyrim so much I stopped playing anything else for a while.

Maybe I just expect more from my AAA games nowadays. Some level of strategy/manual dexterity/really involving story/real character development/real feeling of freedom. In the last 2 years I've played some really great games, and each one has required far more than D3 beta. Borderlands, Red Dead, Demon Souls, Skyrim & Witcher 2. Each has offered something different and amazing. I really don't know what they could have done with the Diablo franchise in the last decade but I suspect "more polished" was not what I would have come up with - especially when you see how far the competition has come in the same time. I have to say this to Blizzard: "WTF?". Part of me thinks D3 is a massive waste of a great franchise that, like Starcraft, has refused to grow beyond its original design document.

In the end I suppose D3 "is what it is". You point, you click, you hope that the next kill or chest will reveal a magic item you can use. Fun? Yup. But for how long? In some ways it is just so 1996: it's not about the journey, it's about repeating something fun and addictive.

I know I will enjoy D3 but whether I would get enough out of it to pay pre-order prices, I don't know. Especially as I have a massive backlog of top games waiting to be played (both Batman Arkham games are next on my list). Maybe I should see if I can find my old copies of D1 & 2. After all, if indie games have taught us anything, graphics aren't that important. gameplay is all. And if the beta is anything to go by, the gameplay in D3 has changed little in the past 15 years.

 

FYI, this is still £27.91 at tesco using the code GAME5

Just pre-ordered for a friends birthday on the 16th! Should be a nice surprise.

 

Yep, I just preordered too. Code still works.

 

Yey - just managed to get in - looks quite good - it's a bit more sedate than I had imagined so I might keep my pre-order going now!

 

Completed with all but the Barbarian, didn't get a chance to max any out though, everytime I completed it with a character the server wouldn't let me log back in with it.

 

Yeah, my theory was that it was something they put in place to allow other ppl to log on. A relog fixed it.

 

Completed with the Barbarian and put about an hour in on the Monk. I enjoyed the barbarian far more, the Monk was too tame compared.

Changed my preorder from Zavvi to Tesco, that voucher was a great find.

 

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