[4/1/2014] Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls

[veristic]

Game: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls

System: PC

Emulators: N/A

 

Summary:

 

 

Well I pre-purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition for this expansion and have since completed Act V and killed Malthael with my Monk (check out my battle.net profile).

I do like the changes they made to Patch 2.0.x. They changed or removed a lot of the affixes champs and elites come with to make them more approachable but not necessarily easier. I mean, who really likes puddles of poison that lasts minutes at a time literally covering every inch of the entire room you're in, while trying to fight a mob on the highest difficulty? They got smarter about it. Also, loot 2.0 is better with useful drops now and then, and with the addition of the Mystic enchants, you can potentially turn any item into a great one if you're lucky.

Adventure mode seems to be where its at, however, and since they removed the Real-Money and Gold auction houses, a source of income isn't simply from countless mind-numbing farm runs anymore but the game is actually tailored toward achieving rewards for "farm-like" runs involving simple quests where you can earn a decent amount of gold and loot. When you complete these "Bounties" in each act, and obtain enough "Rift Keystones," you can open a portal to the "Nephalim Rift" which are randomized leveled dungeons with each level a different location that can run up to ten levels deep. After killing a certain percentage of monsters, a boss appears who will drop loot once killed.

The problem I and many people had with Diablo 2 and early versions of Diablo 3 was that if you didn't have friends who were already geared to the teeth, or endless free time to farm for 18 hours straight in the hopes of getting a good drop, then you were stuck at the bottom of the barrel trying to survive the higher difficulties, which sucked.

Adventure Mode really tries to address the hack-n-slash robotic gameplay that D2 was and D3 was turning out to be. Instead of constantly remaking games in certain acts and running around waypoints to find certain dungeons to farm, beat enough champions and elites to earn five stacks of Nephalim Valor, then try and kill a Boss over and over, Blizzard have given us game-oriented content including NPC's and quest lines with actual in-game rewards covering all five acts. This is the best decision they made so far, aside from removing the auction houses, IMHO. Also, you can travel between different acts like using waypoints in a single act during Adventure Mode instead of having to exit the game and remake the settings, which makes Diablo 3 feel like more of an open world environment.

I think Blizzard has gotten smart about making changes to the interactive gameplay coupled with the reward system through Adventure Mode for contemporary gamers that don't want to play like zombies, grinding day in and out just for the possibility of some imaginary reward ... or hoping to achieve a level of "faceroll" to do Infernal Machine runs on Inferno 10 (difficulty level has changed also) through gear that costs billions, literally, billions of gold to obtain.

I am also glad we don't have to play through the Campaign four times just to meet "end-game" content (thank god for that).

Crusader class is by far the most rewarding part about the expansion. I'm almost level 40 with mine right now but so far it has been a fun experience. Though I don't understand why they chose not to just keep it a "Paladin" when they are essentially the same class ... albeit the lore is different. I mean, the Barbarian of D3 is nothing like the Barbarian of D2, and they kept him a "Barbarian."

If anybody plays, let me know. Add me as a friend on battle.net, my tag is: veristic#1399. We can make a clan! Anybody interested???

Oh and a heads up; DO NOT kill Malthael until you're 70. First time he is defeated you are gauranteed one or two legendaries (I beat him at 69 :/).

Controls: 9

Gameplay: 9

Graphics: 10

Sound: 8

 

Overall Score: 9

 

Grade: A

 

Overall, I give this game a thumbs up!

Edited April 3, 2014 by Alpha

[Alpha]

Great review! If you could kindly revise your review to follow our 1Emu Reviews forum: http://www.1emulation.com/forums/forum/36-1emulationcom-reviews-reviews/ ... this would indeed be the first 2014 video game review! So pretty much just follow the pinned threads and add some photos and I'll move this thread there.

[ken_cinder]

No offline play...no buy, I said that when they announced Diablo 3, and I'm sticking to it. Won't even buy the console version because of it too.

 

They can piss on people and tell them it's rain all they want, their reasoning off no offline single player is nothing short of BULLSHIT.

[veristic]

Hmm why do you want offline play though? I mean playing campaign mode in a private game is as close to it as it gets really and it's free-to-play online.

[ken_cinder]

I have no interest in playing online with others in most games, too many people online are giant douchebags(even those that aren't IRL), and I prefer single player games(especially those with a good story).

If I play online, it tends to be with people I know IRL in private games.

 

D3 just makes it worse, because I CAN'T play single player if say my internet is out...my laptop still works even in a power outage, why shouldn't I be allowed to play a game I paid for? With their game model, the game should be free.

[veristic]

Would it help to say you don't have to deal with the general public when playing D3? Unless you choose to, of course. Otherwise, I literally play by myself even though I log in battle.net, and aside from the few family/friends I have, it's pretty much solo. I don't even talk to other people who are online or have to hear what they say in the chat window. Basically, I don't interact with another human being at all unless I choose to.

 

But you're right, trolls and douchebags abound online, which is why I always enjoyed the private game server community. I just wish 1Emu could find a place to play something together on a regular basis, if not Diablo.

[Phased]

That would be fun... a giant 1Emu clan. We've already got the forum for it. Log in and play. Go online and post your spoils and victories.

 

That sounds like it would be too much fun though veristic. Should probably shut down that idea before it catches on

[ken_cinder]

I do run my own modded Minecraft server and UT2k4 server here(35/5 connection, quad core 16GB RAM, dedicated Debian server)...link is in my sig, minecraft address works for UT2k4 server too on default port(s).

 

It's one thing if they did things this way and it was multiplayer only, but single player requiring an internet connection is 100% DRM, and they are liars for saying otherwise.

[emsley]

Wahey!

A good old fashioned 1emu review!

Nice one.

[veristic]

I do run my own modded Minecraft server and UT2k4 server here(35/5 connection, quad core 16GB RAM, dedicated Debian server)...link is in my sig, minecraft address works for UT2k4 server too on default port(s).

 

It's one thing if they did things this way and it was multiplayer only, but single player requiring an internet connection is 100% DRM, and they are liars for saying otherwise.

Nice, I always wanted to try Minecraft but it seems ... difficult. Like complicated difficult lol.

 

I don't think there's any getting past your stance on internet rights from the way you put that, though. All I can say do is urge you to try it, at least, and anyone else interested. Free trials are always available!

[Phased]

I have since added veristic. My battletag is Phalen #1657 if you would like to add me as well.