07-03-2008, 11:55 AM
Though the issue of speed has been brought up, no one has yet touched upon the speed ratio of players to monsters. There were very few, if any, monsters in Diablo II that could not be simply outrun, long before one's Stamina was exhausted. By contrast, nearly everything in Diablo was able to move as fast as the player, although a lot of them paused or took divergent paths when approaching the player. This phenomenon contributed both tactically and atmospherically to why many (myself included) feel the original was the superior game. It is quite difficult to get yourself beyond the point of no return in enemy territory in Diablo II, but as anyone who has not yet figured out how to stair-trap The Butcher knows, he moves just as fast as you do, relentlessly, until you leave the stage or find an unblocked door, and you'd damn well better be prepared before you open his playpen.
One other point that no one has touched upon, perhaps because it is now so far outside the realm of possibility, is friendly fire, which I felt made co-op Diablo a much deeper game. Junior had far too much AoE to make it viable on any meaningful level (Frozen Orb much?), and the third seems to be following this trend.
I realize that as a money-making corporation, Blizzard needs to develop for the masses, but can we at least have our dignity here? Monsters were an absolute joke in Diablo II (late Lord of Destruction patches...I've lost most of my memory of the early patches of Classic, but from what I do remember, at least there was some credible threat there), and appear to be so from what (admittedly very little) we've seen of part three. Factors such as damage, cooldown, and area of effect should diminish as the others go up, not increase simultaneously until it's possible to right click and wipe out the screen.
And one final, and relatively minor, nit: whatever happened to items with drawbacks? Without getting into the outright useless-aside-from-variant-play Useless Bow of the Pit style items, what happened to the Constricting Rings and Gotterdamnit'sdarks? Situational power contributes to tactical decisions. If nothing else, they at least force some equip thoughts instead of "Yep, the new one is better than the old one in every way...I wonder how much Griswold will offer for this POS I no longer need?"
If the AoE-fest continues as it appears to be planned, I'm not sure this one is on my buy list. I suppose if enough old friends do it, I will too, simply to have another medium with which to hang out, but that can and has been as simple as terrible muted TV shows ripe for dubbing, or random excerpts from newspapers.
--me
One other point that no one has touched upon, perhaps because it is now so far outside the realm of possibility, is friendly fire, which I felt made co-op Diablo a much deeper game. Junior had far too much AoE to make it viable on any meaningful level (Frozen Orb much?), and the third seems to be following this trend.
I realize that as a money-making corporation, Blizzard needs to develop for the masses, but can we at least have our dignity here? Monsters were an absolute joke in Diablo II (late Lord of Destruction patches...I've lost most of my memory of the early patches of Classic, but from what I do remember, at least there was some credible threat there), and appear to be so from what (admittedly very little) we've seen of part three. Factors such as damage, cooldown, and area of effect should diminish as the others go up, not increase simultaneously until it's possible to right click and wipe out the screen.
And one final, and relatively minor, nit: whatever happened to items with drawbacks? Without getting into the outright useless-aside-from-variant-play Useless Bow of the Pit style items, what happened to the Constricting Rings and Gotterdamnit'sdarks? Situational power contributes to tactical decisions. If nothing else, they at least force some equip thoughts instead of "Yep, the new one is better than the old one in every way...I wonder how much Griswold will offer for this POS I no longer need?"
If the AoE-fest continues as it appears to be planned, I'm not sure this one is on my buy list. I suppose if enough old friends do it, I will too, simply to have another medium with which to hang out, but that can and has been as simple as terrible muted TV shows ripe for dubbing, or random excerpts from newspapers.
--me