06-17-2012, 11:18 AM
I would argue that no game in the hack-and-slash genre has met the standard set by the original Diablo. In my opinion, this is the most stagnant genre ever, as while others have grown stagnant, they at least had titles that beat their originators. Before anyone calls it, Roguelikes are different to Diablo in the fundamental real-time aspect 
Use the FPS genre as an example. Few would disagree that a whole lot of crap comes out these days, but it was not always like that. Doom was way better than Wolfenstein 3D. Quake had it all over Doom. Half-Life redefined the genre. There were many new benchmarks. What has stood up tall and taken the title from Diablo?
Diablo II arguably redefined the standard, but can you really say it was a better game? Diablo III has had an arguably smoother release than Diablo II (ignoring the server issues on launch), but only time will tell if it is remembered as a better or worse game.
Use the FPS genre as an example. Few would disagree that a whole lot of crap comes out these days, but it was not always like that. Doom was way better than Wolfenstein 3D. Quake had it all over Doom. Half-Life redefined the genre. There were many new benchmarks. What has stood up tall and taken the title from Diablo?Diablo II arguably redefined the standard, but can you really say it was a better game? Diablo III has had an arguably smoother release than Diablo II (ignoring the server issues on launch), but only time will tell if it is remembered as a better or worse game.
May the wind pick up your heels and your sword strike true.