Now it's probably a good idea to state my biasses upfront for this one. The original Diablo was the first RPG I played on a computer, and it instilled in me a lifelong love for the genre. When Diablo II came out, I loved every second of it – even though I missed the old Wizard class I had enjoyed back in Diablo I.
Now nearly 12 years later, I am playing Diablo III. This second sequel in the series is thoroughly modernized in it's technology. The graphics look spectacular and the new classes are exciting and different from most other games. Blizzard also clearly learned from their lessons with WoW and the RealID battle.net integration is smooth and makes setting up multiplayer games easier than it ever was in the past.
That said, for all it's modernizing the game remains utterly true to it's roots. This has annoyed some people – especially avid WoW players who are used to playing keyboard piano to max out their usage of a rotation handpicked from among thousands of options. Diablo is much simpler in it's core gameplay – you use your left-click to build up a resource and your right-click to spend it via powerful moves. Generally this means you're using a selection of two moves for the whole fight. Adding a bit of complexity to the mix at least is four more moves you access via the numbered buttons on the keyboard, generally these are situational or defensive spells however. The game is isometric and the mouse is used for motion rather than for controlling the look.
The game is also built around a concept of feeling overpowered that hankers back to the FPS games of the original game's era (like Quake) which puts you into an almost superhuman position in terms of fighting. No wow player would survive an onslaught by 10 or more simultaneous on-level mobs. In Diablo III that is standard fare – you kill, a lot, fast.
So for younger gamers or those who got into gaming in the post-2000 era Diablo III may feel a bit dated. Unlike most RPG's you don't play a "your character as class X" but rather a specific member of class X living a specific history (in previous versions you could not even choose your gender as it was predefined by the class you chose).
If you were a fan of the original games though then this game is a truly fun addition to the stable. Either way I personally am glad that it didn't adjust the gameplay to more WoW-like or Skyrim-like approaches, theorycrafting and carefully constructed rotations are one kind of fun and that's well provided for, Diablo however is about being the lone hero standing against and overpowering onslaught and murdering your way through it like a god of death.
So perhaps both the biggest pro and con of the game is the same thing: it remains very true to it's roots. If you remember those roots fondly and want to relive them with modern graphics and intense storytelling (which right back in Diablo I was already a staple feature of the game) then you will love it. If you are not, then like many of my friends from the WoW world you may find it lacking and simplistic.
I have been running it on two machines my brand new overpowered Core I5 with an Nvidia GTX550 card and Caryn's machine (my former box) running an AMD Quad Core 2700 with a much older Nvidia card in it. The nice thing is that the latter runs it very well. The biggest slowdown you see is in walking speed. This seems to me to have been a calculated decision by blizzard. By slowing down the walking speed they can render and compute to the slower computer without impacting on actual gameplay – there is no responsiveness problem making the fights unfairly hard (now ask any WoW player what laggy network connections do to them in that game). The biggest downside of this trade-off is that in co-op games players don't walk at the same speed so I find myself having to wait for her to catch up all the time.
All in all Diablo III is well worth the price (which is to be fair, not quite at the top-end of what games cost these days), and an incredibly fun experience. This is not the deeply involved strategic role-playing of games like WoW or NWN. This is pure unadulterated slaughtering fun, with a nice role-playing character growth factor that scales you up to fighting ever tougher hordes of monsters.
One other core difference is that unlike World of Warcraft teaming up with other players is not nearly as effective at downing difficult enemies. In Diablo if another player joins your party, the enemies get tougher in response. There are still the advantages to be gained from mixing tactics of course but that's not as big a factor. Loot is per-person and not shared and highly random – again true to the original game. There's no losing the roll in this game. On the other hand, if your friend gets an epic drop you want more, you have to ask them trade it to you.
Diablo I was still however primarily meant for solo-play, and it's solo-game was retained through both the sequels. While the game has powerful co-op facilities and make it easy to join in with others there is no need to do so. You are ultimately living your own story as the hero of sanctuary, and this gives it one of the most complete and powerful single-player storylines in the gaming enterprize – part of the reason for the enduring popularity of the game with many people still playing Diablo 1 today and Diablo II still being sold regularly.
All in all I would give this game an 8 out of 10. It's a brilliant game, and among the best of the year, the two lost points are for not having a console version (more and more people simply don't invest in gaming pc's) and as a nod in the direction of those who are used to more modern gaming styles and simply will not find the Diablo approach to RPG's satisfying. Those who came from there into the modern style should have no problem loving and enjoying both for what they are however.
Notes: My country does not (yet) have access to the real-money Auction House so this review ignores that aspect as I cannot comment on it.
