08-16-2011, 04:01 AM
I'm reserving judgment on the impact $AH will have on my enjoyment of the game. However, I do feel that D3 has turned into a beast entirely unlike what most of us wanted it to be, and as such I have far bigger concerns about the game as a whole - the AH is the least of my concerns.
Honestly, I will buy it - probably the CE, probably on the day it comes out, knowing full well it will probably be something I regret a little (shades of SC2). I'm honest with myself about that, and I suppose one of the biggest reasons I'll be buying it is closure. The thing that always drew me deep into Diablo was the background story (laugh at that if you must). The gameplay was addictive, but it was the story that made it worthwhile. I'm not sure they'll have incorporated enough of the former for me to overlook the glaring faults in the latter. It's something I want to find out, though, so I'll be buying it, and playing it - until I no longer find enjoyment in it.
If I stood by my principles more I wouldn't be buying it, nor would I have bought SC2 (at least I've held my ground on WoW). I don't think the Blizzard of today knows the first thing about what created it all those years ago, and that's a very sad thing. Like many others, I will be looking to Torchlight II (although Torchlight did not "wow" me as it did so many others, and Guild Wars put me off hugely with their BS about unlocking PvP via PvE - Torchlight was fun, but not immersive, and ultimately more pointless than enjoyable for me, while Guild Wars just had terribly boring PvE content that made the grind into PvP unbearable). Grim Dawn is another I've got my eye on, a spiritual successor to Titan Quest (another I never really got into, probably because of a lack of adequate story to drive the Diablo-esque gameplay, at least for me).
I'm sure the economy will be plagued by the usual mishaps that occur in these situations (it's too much to ask that every in-game economy live up to the high standard set by EVE Online), but I'm going to do my best to avoid it altogether. I just hope there's enough meat to the story to immerse me as it has done in games past. Otherwise the exercise will be boil down to a quick playthrough before being shelved indefinitely.
Honestly, I will buy it - probably the CE, probably on the day it comes out, knowing full well it will probably be something I regret a little (shades of SC2). I'm honest with myself about that, and I suppose one of the biggest reasons I'll be buying it is closure. The thing that always drew me deep into Diablo was the background story (laugh at that if you must). The gameplay was addictive, but it was the story that made it worthwhile. I'm not sure they'll have incorporated enough of the former for me to overlook the glaring faults in the latter. It's something I want to find out, though, so I'll be buying it, and playing it - until I no longer find enjoyment in it.
If I stood by my principles more I wouldn't be buying it, nor would I have bought SC2 (at least I've held my ground on WoW). I don't think the Blizzard of today knows the first thing about what created it all those years ago, and that's a very sad thing. Like many others, I will be looking to Torchlight II (although Torchlight did not "wow" me as it did so many others, and Guild Wars put me off hugely with their BS about unlocking PvP via PvE - Torchlight was fun, but not immersive, and ultimately more pointless than enjoyable for me, while Guild Wars just had terribly boring PvE content that made the grind into PvP unbearable). Grim Dawn is another I've got my eye on, a spiritual successor to Titan Quest (another I never really got into, probably because of a lack of adequate story to drive the Diablo-esque gameplay, at least for me).
I'm sure the economy will be plagued by the usual mishaps that occur in these situations (it's too much to ask that every in-game economy live up to the high standard set by EVE Online), but I'm going to do my best to avoid it altogether. I just hope there's enough meat to the story to immerse me as it has done in games past. Otherwise the exercise will be boil down to a quick playthrough before being shelved indefinitely.
Roland *The Gunslinger*