Diablo 3 - Reviews and More

[RPGWatch]

We need to catch up on all things Diablo 3 - starting with GameBanshee's detailed review by Eric Schwarz:

Diablo III is a promise never fulfilled.

That might sound a little bit grim, but I think it encapsulates both the end product, as well as the core gameplay that the franchise has built itself around. Diablo III is a colossally polished title, that much is clear upon even just a few minutes hacking and slashing through monsters, but it's also one which is never really able to live up to its potential, just as most players who ever pick it up will be able to fully conquer Inferno difficulty.

So, while it might be an exceptionally pretty and expansive game, with more art assets, loot tiers, skill and stat combinations than most other titles on the market today, Diablo III is also unfulfilling, like a sugary snack - it never leaves you feeling satisfied, only wanting more, whether that's more loot, a more competently executed story, or a more interesting character system. For many players, it's that desire to run endlessly on the progress treadmill that will keep them going, and the experience will no doubt be flashy, pretty, and fun, but even so, Diablo III simply left wanting. For a game with a decade in development, I have to wonder if it was ultimately harmed by so many years in the making - perhaps we'd be playing Diablo V by now, as well.

I'll line-list a selection of other reviews here:

Giant Bomb - 5/5

GameSpy - 4/5

ActionTrip - 9.6/10

GameInformer - 9/10

GameSpot - 8.5/10

Joystiq - 5/5

PC Gamer - 90%

Gaming Blend - 4/5

Moving on, after reports of accounts being hacked and items stolen, Blizzard has responded with assurances of their security measures:

We'd like to take a moment to address the recent reports that suggested that Battle.net® and Diablo® III may have been compromised. Historically, the release of a new game -- such as a World of Warcraft® expansion -- will result in an increase in reports of individual account compromises, and that's exactly what we're seeing now with Diablo III. We know how frustrating it can be to become the victim of account theft, and as always, we're dedicated to doing everything we can to help our players keep their Battle.net accounts safe -- and we appreciate everyone who's doing their part to help protect their accounts as well. You can read about ways to help keep your account secure, along with some of the internal and external measures we have in place to help us achieve our security goals, at our account security website here: www.battle.net/security.

We also wanted to reassure you that the Battle.net Authenticator and Battle.net Mobile Authenticator (a free app for iPhone and Android devices) continue to be some of the most effective measures we offer to help players protect themselves against account compromises, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of them. In addition, we also recently introduced a new service called Battle.net SMS Protect, which allows you to use your text-enabled cell phone to unlock a locked Battle.net account, recover your account name, approve a password reset, or remove a lost Authenticator. Optionally, you can set up the Battle.net SMS Protect system to send you a text message whenever unusual activity is detected on your account, keeping you aware of important (and possibly unwanted) changes.

Head over for the rest of the post and links to those apps.

Gaming Blend argues Diablo 3's Launch Fiasco Proves Video Game Journalism Fails, though I'm not sure of their exact point given their own review. Likewise, The Escapist argues You Should Be Mad at Diablo III's Always On DRM, though apparently the score should still be 4/5.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun continues their critical articles with Difficulty and Dumbness and Eurogamer argues why being always online can be good - and also bad.

Finally, the soundtrack is now available on iTunes.