[BioGamer Girl intern Meghan Schubert checks in with her thoughts on Blizzard's newest release, Diablo III.]
At long last, after years and years of hounding Blizzard, it’s finally here. Yes, I was one of those people at the midnight release…but only because I was taken captive by several friends. Thanks to Blizzard’s wonderful Annual Pass promotion, this girlie got her Diablo III (and super sweet World of Warcraft mount) for free. Hey, don’t give me that look! My mount brings all the blood elves to the yard.
Anyway, all joking aside, let’s get down to business shall we?
In true Diablo fashion there are 5 classes to chose from: the Witch Doctor, the Barbarian, the Monk, the Demon Hunter and the Wizard. Unlike Diablo II where each class had a set gender, you can actually choose to be either male or female this time around. Fun, fun!
The Witch Doctor may seem like Diablo II’s necromancer, but his skills are more associated with voodoo magic and dark, shamanistic spells. These spells require Mana, any spell users source of magic, and tends to regenerate at a slow pace.
The Barbarian is built for battle. These blood hungry beings tend to jump headfirst into hordes of undead and use Fury to power their skills. Fury can be gained by attacking enemies, taking damage, or using certain abilities that generate it. They can either dual wield, use two-handed weapons, or equip a one-handed weapon and shield.
The Monk is a melee based fighter who uses Spirit and holy based attacks to defend and ward off enemies as well as cripple them with their bare hands. Spirit can be gained using various attacks, much like the Barbarians Fury, but it does not degenerate.
Demon Hunters (my personal favorite) are your typical ranged attack class. They use bows and crossbows as their main weapons and also have a variety of traps to help ensnare and hinder enemies. These hunters use both Hatred and Discipline to power their attacks. Hatred is a fast regenerating resource that is used for more powerful attacks while Discipline regenerate more slowly and is used for defensive abilities.
And last but not least are the Wizards. They can be considered the new and improved sorceress of Diablo II. Wizards use Arcane Power to attack with the elements and also have the ability to slow down time and teleport, making them a formidable foe.
The newest installment’s HUD (head’s up display) and inventory menu stay true to the old Diablo fashion. Your skills are listed along the bottom of your screen with both health and one other respective source of energy (i.e. Fury, Mana, etc.) on either side. The inventory menu may also be extended to show the player’s attributes. Nifty, right?
Other new features include destructible environments, the use of weapon runes to make items more powerful and the creation of new and powerful items via Artisan crafting/salvaging. So before you go selling that thick cloth tunic, see what you can get out of it first!
And remember scrounging around for health pots after a grueling battle? Remember not finding any and being miles away from a way point? Well look no more my friends because Diablo III’s enemies now randomly drop health orbs! These orbs actually speed up gameplay a bit as it nullifies the need for a potion bar and replaces it with your skill bar.
As with any MMO, you need to be connected to the internet. Blizzard’s Battle.net service makes multiplayer possible as players can join in each other’s games for more exciting and challenging gameplay. The only downfall of this? You need to be connected at ALL times, including the single player mode. While not terrible this can be taxing for those of us who have a temperamental connection (like yours truly).
All in all I can’t really say anything bad about Diablo III. The graphics are gorgeous, the random encounters and co-op play are gratifying, and did I mention how I
loved the Demon Hunter class? Now as long as Blizzard can keep their random “maintenance errors” under control it’ll be as good as gold!
Overall rating: 9/10
Meghan Schubert, 2012-05-17
Anyway, all joking aside, let’s get down to business shall we?
In true Diablo fashion there are 5 classes to chose from: the Witch Doctor, the Barbarian, the Monk, the Demon Hunter and the Wizard. Unlike Diablo II where each class had a set gender, you can actually choose to be either male or female this time around. Fun, fun!
The Witch Doctor may seem like Diablo II’s necromancer, but his skills are more associated with voodoo magic and dark, shamanistic spells. These spells require Mana, any spell users source of magic, and tends to regenerate at a slow pace.
The Barbarian is built for battle. These blood hungry beings tend to jump headfirst into hordes of undead and use Fury to power their skills. Fury can be gained by attacking enemies, taking damage, or using certain abilities that generate it. They can either dual wield, use two-handed weapons, or equip a one-handed weapon and shield.
The Monk is a melee based fighter who uses Spirit and holy based attacks to defend and ward off enemies as well as cripple them with their bare hands. Spirit can be gained using various attacks, much like the Barbarians Fury, but it does not degenerate.
Demon Hunters (my personal favorite) are your typical ranged attack class. They use bows and crossbows as their main weapons and also have a variety of traps to help ensnare and hinder enemies. These hunters use both Hatred and Discipline to power their attacks. Hatred is a fast regenerating resource that is used for more powerful attacks while Discipline regenerate more slowly and is used for defensive abilities.
And last but not least are the Wizards. They can be considered the new and improved sorceress of Diablo II. Wizards use Arcane Power to attack with the elements and also have the ability to slow down time and teleport, making them a formidable foe.
The newest installment’s HUD (head’s up display) and inventory menu stay true to the old Diablo fashion. Your skills are listed along the bottom of your screen with both health and one other respective source of energy (i.e. Fury, Mana, etc.) on either side. The inventory menu may also be extended to show the player’s attributes. Nifty, right?
Other new features include destructible environments, the use of weapon runes to make items more powerful and the creation of new and powerful items via Artisan crafting/salvaging. So before you go selling that thick cloth tunic, see what you can get out of it first!
And remember scrounging around for health pots after a grueling battle? Remember not finding any and being miles away from a way point? Well look no more my friends because Diablo III’s enemies now randomly drop health orbs! These orbs actually speed up gameplay a bit as it nullifies the need for a potion bar and replaces it with your skill bar.
As with any MMO, you need to be connected to the internet. Blizzard’s Battle.net service makes multiplayer possible as players can join in each other’s games for more exciting and challenging gameplay. The only downfall of this? You need to be connected at ALL times, including the single player mode. While not terrible this can be taxing for those of us who have a temperamental connection (like yours truly).
All in all I can’t really say anything bad about Diablo III. The graphics are gorgeous, the random encounters and co-op play are gratifying, and did I mention how I
loved the Demon Hunter class? Now as long as Blizzard can keep their random “maintenance errors” under control it’ll be as good as gold!
Overall rating: 9/10
Meghan Schubert, 2012-05-17