Diablo III Review

[Buckles-1237]

On Steam I hit all my games with this same review and I realized that I’ve never been able to review a Blizz game because they don’t let you do it anywhere, so I’m just gonna put this here.

10 Questions:
1. Does this game require an account?
Yes, It requires a Battle.Net account. (0)
No, but there are additional features when using an X account. (0.5)
No (1)

2. When I click on the shortcut, does it launch the game or a launcher?
Game (1)
Game Selection Launcher (0.5)
“Launch Game” Launcher (0.5)
3rd Party Launcher (0)

3. Can I play the game without an internet connection?
Yes (1)
Yes, but multiplayer would be unavailable (1)
Yes, but some content/features are unavailable offline (0.5)
No (0)

4. Can the developers revoke my ability to play the game in any way for any reason?
Yes, technically access can be revoked, but it’s unlikely. (0.5)
Yes, ability to access multiplayer content can be revoked. (0.5)
Yes, ability to access the whole game can be revoked. (0)
No (1)

5. Is my saved game/profile progress saved on my computer?
Yes, all saved game/profile data is stored on local system. (1)
Yes, some saved game/profile data is stored on local system. (0.5)
No (0)
N/A (1)

6. Can I make a backup of my saved game/profile progress on an external drive?
Yes, external physical backup and restore is completely supported. (1)
Yes, external physical backup and restore is supported for some data. (0.5)
No (0)
N/A (1)

7. Is this a phone game?
Yes, game was made for phones then ported to computers. (0)
Yes, game was made for computers then ported to phones. (0.5)
No (1)

8. Does this game use real money for in-game purchases?
Yes (0)
Yes, but an in-game point system can also be used. (0.5)
No (1)
No, but it has an excessive amount of DLC. (0.5)

9. If the developers go out of business or the servers go offline, will I still be able to play?
Yes (1)
Yes, but multiplayer would be unavailable (0.5)
Yes, but some content/features would be unavailable (0.5)
No (0)

10. Does this game list Windows 10 as a minimum requirement?
Yes (0)
Yes, but XP, Vista, 7, 8 or “64-bit system” are also listed. (0.5)
No (1)

BONUS QUESTION 1: Is this game “early access” or “greenlit”?
Yes (-1)
No (0)

BONUS QUESTION 2: If I buy this game, but don’t play it for a year will I miss content?
Yes (-1)
No (0)

Conclusion:
Total Score = 2/10
I recommend this game. (7.5-10)
I recommend this game, but it has it’s issues. (4-7)
I don’t recommend this game. (0-3.5)

(My recommendation has nothing to do with how much I like this game. Personally I would have scored this game an 8 or 9, but that’s just my opinion.)

[Avalon-11311]

D3 is 10 years old and on life support, bring on D4 already (2023?).
D3 is a great game but I am ready for a new adventure, that is just me.

[StarElven-1630]

@Buckles-1237

3rd Party Launcher (0)

Not true, the Battlenet Launcher is not third party, it is part of the company.
A third party launcher would be Nexon, Glyph, Epic which launch games run by other companies than themselves.

[Stedia-2687]

Sorry to say but that is the worst review I have ever seen.

It has zero value as it doesn’t reflect on anything that has to do with the game -play, -quality and so on!

Your review is 0/10

No personal attack intended!!!

[DeadlyMouse-1231549]

Answering a few questions is not really a review, in the traditional sense, as there is little to no actual opinion which is what makes it a “review.” I suppose failed literature classes are in your past as well - never got an “A” on a book report?

[Cavendar-1706]

This is a weird review. Try again with these questions.

1. Is this game fun?
2. Is this game replayable?
3. Can I play this game with my friends?
4. Is there a strong community around this game?
5. Does this game have continual developer support?
6. Is there any content gating in this game?
7. Does this game have an interesting or immersive story?
8. Is this game competitive?
9. Does this game support community mods?
10. Was this game released in the 1990s or is this a modern game that takes advantage of the internet?

[Argos-1307]

Agreed! OP questions are more towards a bias than a review. It’s just like reviewing a BMW and your main questions include:
Does the car have 4 wheels. Yes
Can you use solar power: NO
Is it made of wood: NO
Can it Fly. NO
Can you pay in Monopoly money to purchase one: NO

Oh well 4 ot of 5 no’s and I’ll give a “NO Recommendation.” Although I love driving one.

[Leviathan-1945]

Ok, I’ll bite.

A review of a game, in order to recommend it or not, based off a set of questions that don’t include anything on the game play or its quality…

…suspect.

That said…

@Buckles-1237

2. When I click on the shortcut, does it launch the game or a launcher?
   Game (1)
   Game Selection Launcher (0.5)
   “Launch Game” Launcher (0.5)
   3rd Party Launcher (0)

That’s incorrect.

@Buckles-1237

4. Can the developers revoke my ability to play the game in any way for any reason?
   Yes, technically access can be revoked, but it’s unlikely. (0.5)
   Yes, ability to access multiplayer content can be revoked. (0.5)
   Yes, ability to access the whole game can be revoked. (0)
   No (1)

Answers 1 and 3 are the same thing, yet you assign different points. What game company has the right to revoke access and is likely to?

@Buckles-1237

5. Is my saved game/profile progress saved on my computer?
   Yes, all saved game/profile data is stored on local system. (1)
   Yes, some saved game/profile data is stored on local system. (0.5)
   No (0)
   N/A (1)

0 because of online saves? Besides the obvious benefit of loss prevention, you must not be familiar with, for example, the mess that D3 is on the consoles all due to local saves. Which leads to question numbers…

@Buckles-1237

1. Does this game require an account?
   Yes, It requires a Battle.Net account. (0)
   No, but there are additional features when using an X account. (0.5)
   No (1)

and

@Buckles-1237

3. Can I play the game without an internet connection?
   Yes (1)
   Yes, but multiplayer would be unavailable (1)
   Yes, but some content/features are unavailable offline (0.5)
   No (0)

…being moot.

@Buckles-1237

9. If the developers go out of business or the servers go offline, will I still be able to play?
   Yes (1)
   Yes, but multiplayer would be unavailable (0.5)
   Yes, but some content/features would be unavailable (0.5)
   No (0)

Speculation. You don’t know what Bliz would do if they had a pre-planned shut down.

@Buckles-1237

BONUS QUESTION 2: If I buy this game, but don’t play it for a year will I miss content?
Yes (-1)
No (0)

It’s negative points because the game is developed? So you rate immediate abandonment above development?

---

You imply that you’ve run this review for other games, meaning you have undoubtedly already received similar criticisms for your methodology. Yet, you present this.

Totes Sus

[Jazz-2357]

Question 10 plus the choice of answers is wrong.

[N4M3L3ZM4K3R-1289]

It’s more like a product review than a game review.

[StarElven-1630]

@Buckles-1237

When I click on the shortcut, does it launch the game or a launcher?
Game (1)
Game Selection Launcher (0.5)
“Launch Game” Launcher (0.5)
3rd Party Launcher (0)

According to “your own definitions”

The BattleNet Launcher is both “Game Selection Launcher” (It offers selection of every Blizzard game) and also a “Launch Game” Launcher (It offers a Play Game button).

It is not and never has been however a 3rd Party Launcher.

[Shivan-11800]

@Buckles-1237

Developers shouldn’t have the ability to remove my access to the game. (it’s wrong)

Well, even if you feel it’s wrong you agreed to this be taken away at any time for any reason in accepting the EULA.

[dmkt-1267]

This looks like pre-purchase research. Let us know when you’ve played the game.

[MissCheetah-1661]

@Buckles-1237

If you read between the lines of the review you get this…

It did not take any reading between lines to get the point of your “review”. You don’t like online games, anti cheat protections, server side saves, etc. You likely consider them anti consumer.

IF that is all you care about, go for it. There are still games out there that are made for your preferences.

Just don’t call it a game review. It is a business model review really.

I do give you 1/10 for your “review”. The formatting is very nice.

[DeadlyMouse-1231549]

@Buckles-1237

I’m using my own definitions here.

Of course you are. Justification is not sacrosanct in retrospect, innit?

[Beefhammer-1932]

I know someone in this thread who agrees to things without reading them.

[Beefhammer-1932]

That “core” of your review reveals nothing about the game so it is completely useless as a game review.

[Joat-1701]

@StarElven-1630

According to “your own definitions”

The BattleNet Launcher is both “Game Selection Launcher” (It offers selection of every Blizzard game) and also a “Launch Game” Launcher (It offers a Play Game button).

It is not and never has been however a 3rd Party Launcher.

It is a launcher. Period. If you click the icon, it doesn’t launch the game. It launches a secondary program. It doesn’t matter which company makes the thing. He never specified “3rd party launcher.” What matters is that it forces you to take an additional step and launch an additional program which serves the dual purpose of loading anti-cheating spyware and hawking the company’s other games to you.

And the anti-cheating software is only necessary because they’ve converted to a mandatory online experience, and the software is needed to protect the company’s server infrastructure. If there were an offline option, such a thing would not be needed. And of course the advertising needs no explanation as to why it’s superfluous.

@Shivan-11800

Well, even if you feel it’s wrong you agreed to this be taken away at any time for any reason in accepting the EULA.

You don’t have a choice. You either accept their terms or you can’t play the game you paid for. That’s not a choice, it’s an ultimatum. The instant the industry started selling you a license instead of your own copy of the game, you lost control over your purchase. You don’t own anything. You rent access to the game. That’s it. You have nothing permanent, and they control the terms of how you can interact with the product you paid for. Whereas with older games, I owned a physical copy of the game. I could install it on any machine I wanted that met minimums and play. I owned that copy of the game. I could open it, modify it, look at the source code. They couldn’t take it away. Now, I have no such right.

Do you believe this is a good thing?

@DeadlyMouse-1231549

@Buckles-1237

I’m using my own definitions here.

Of course you are. Justification is not sacrosanct in retrospect,

It’s his review. It’s completely his liberty to define what criteria he thinks are important and review accordingly. I write plenty of reviews on Steam myself. I also use a format similar to this. My questions are different, but that’s the right of the reviewer to define what’s important to him and what’s not.

He’s clearly concerned with consumer rights, which gamers effectively no longer have much of. 10 years ago, this post would’ve been cheered enthusiastically by gamers. We’ve ceded many of our “rights” (quotes because “rights” are what the contract states they are) to an industry which we have to just trust. It’s a larger trend that’s frankly pretty scary because it’s a slow erosion of the concept of private property. It converts people into renters instead of owners and I don’t think that’s a good trend that we become comfortable with the idea that we never own anything; some megacorporation owns it all and grants us access in its own benevolence. That’s a lot of trust that shouldn’t be granted to any large group of people, especially not a corporation which is just a legal entity designed to make money.

Edit: As StarElven pointed out, I didn’t read the answer Buckles selected which specifies 3rd party launcher. The BattleNet app is a launcher, but not from a 3rd party. It still does both of the things I cited as problematic, running additional software and advertising. It is one of the better ones that I’ve run into. The 2K one is far worse, runs code when it doesn’t need to, and crashes games.

[StarElven-1630]

@Joat-1701

He never specified “3rd party launcher.”

@Buckles-1237

3rd Party Launcher (0)

He absolutely did specify 3rd Party Launcher. Period.

[Joat-1701]

Serves me right for reading the question and not the full text on that one. He should’ve given a 0.5. It’s not a 3rd party. It is a launcher. I edited my original post to correct the error. Thank you for keeping me accurate.