Quote:
Originally Posted by Kunikos
You seem to have an axe to grind with the game, so I'm not really taking you seriously.
You could make the same complaint (hitting a button repeatedly) about every schmup or real-time rogue-like ever made, but yet they are still popular and continue to be made. However, a real Diablo 2 player would note that it's a little more involved than just clicking a mouse button since you have to use the F-keys to toggle between more useful skills as the situation demands (leap, whirlwind for barbarian, corpse explosion, wall of bone, for necromancer, etc) and know when to make a strategic retreat or use doorways, etc to block monsters from totally surrounding your character, use potions, etc.
As for story, I would have to disagree. I think there is more there than a lot of games out there (does Halo 3 really have any more interesting stuff going on?), and the cinematics do a great job to convey the story. From watching the gameplay videos it looks like they have taken the best bits from what they learned in World of Warcraft and what was done with other Diablo-alikes such as Titan Quest, Sacred, Divine Divinity, etc, plus other games in different genres. They are scripting a lot more with voiced conversations and it looks like they even have in-game conversation "cutscenes" which zoom into your character and an NPC while they talk.
PS When does a game have to have a "redeeming value" other than being a fun waste of time?
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Okay, my criticism is a touch hyperbolic. But really, I played a lot of Diablo 2, and one night it just clicked that I was playing the game obsessively and not have any fun. The game's only real selling point is that it's addictive. It's basically crack... seems awesome the first couple of times you hit it, but after a while you're playing just to play... it's not fun, and there's no redeeming value.
In retrospect, I can't think of one specific awesome moment from that game. I can remember epic Counterstrike battles, or great online races I've run... but all Diablo 2 reminds me of is being up in the middle of the night wearing out my mouse buttons to get a virtual jewel to jam in my virtual sword.