Joystiq: It took four or five levels to realize something was different. I was playing the Diablo 3 open beta last weekend, merrily leveling my monk up, when I noticed that half the time a gained level just happened, without me needing to do anything. Sometimes I could choose new skills, yes, but I wasn't given five points to distribute to my core attributes like Strength, Vitality, etc. There's a little bit of text that notes which attributes have improved, but that's all. Diablo 3 isn't the only major recent role-playing game* to downplay the importance of its characters' core attributes. Mass Effect 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, both released within six months of Diablo 3, avoid core attributes entirely.
There are Starfield Skyrim Easter eggs in the game that brings back one of the most famous lines in gaming history.
GF365: "Oftentimes, video games have characters who are antagonistic and really not very pleasant. Here are some of the friendliest characters in games where you might not otherwise expect to find them."
Some games endure despite the average player wishing they could skip that first hour - here are five annoying video game openings in otherwise classic titles.
I liked the Red Dead 2 opening, certainly didn’t feel like a slog to me, but I enjoyed that whole game so for those who were just expecting ‘GTA but with cowboys’, that was probably not the opening they expected, and Red Dead 2 wasn’t the game they were hoping for …
First game that came to mind when I read the title, was Watch Dogs 2, because you’re expecting an open world sandbox game in sunny colorful San Francisco, and instead that opening has you crawling and sneaking around an incredibly boring office building …
Watch Dogs 2 is a decent game but not really a classic. The opening is awful though. You got that right.
I loved the RDR 2 opening hours the first time but going back to restart it is where the rub lies for me.
Yeah, I agree it’s not a classic, but it was the first game I thought of where I really thought; Why would you make that design choice!? If you’re gonna do a thing like that in order to teach the player some basic sneaking controls, at least make the location a bit more interesting, like an abandoned theme park or gorgeous temple or whatever, but now the gameplay was restrictive and boring, but also the location itself.
@Yi-Long Definitely true re the worst possible choices being made for the opener of Watch Dogs 2. I did enjoy WD2 overall but that intro is baffling :-D
"Skyrim and Mass Effect 3 don't include attributes at all"
Skyrim has three actually: health, stamina, and magicka.
It doesn't discredit the entire point of article, but just wanted to clarify.
"Diablo 3 seems to be built on a model of giving the player fewer choices, but making those choices more interesting and relevant than the cookie-cutter builds of Diablo 2."
Oh god could journalists be even more whipped ? I get that d3 is still going to be a riveting game , but could you at least stop rpetending everything is rosy ? I can get that from someone working on the game , be it at PR or development , but "journalists" ?
How is having less choice that matter going to help having less cookie cutter builds ? You just removed half the chance of creating something unique , for the sake of not being able to screw up .
"Unlike core attributes, skill systems allow for consistent player adaptation and character growth. The player can take an active role in how their character grows stronger, instead of simply watching. "
Bullsh*t . For starters it was never core attributes OR skills points , the game had both . Dumping one means you are even less active in the choice , and will like before most likely just follow the currently popular and known to be efficient builds for your classes .
You are even more a spectator than an actor now .
Just admit that stats are dumped because the masses dont like looking and wrapping their heads around numbers (while ironically they do it all the time and increasingly more in sports games) and be done with it . Instead of trying to convince that it's all for the better
Yay! It's the era of the Lowest Common Denominator!
I'm withholding judgement on this until I get my copy and play, because I hate to make a big deal out of things that I don't know. However, I'm happy that they are trying to solve the problem of the stats effectively being pretty meaningless. Since most people went for the cookie cutter build with their stats to get 'optimal' builds, it actually discouraged experimenting. I don't know if this will work or if I will like it, but I'm glad they are trying something.
You guys check out grim dawn yet? It's one of the good contenders to D3