Gamers rip Diablo III a new hellhole on Metacritic

Diablo III has been out for less than a day, but launch issues have driven a number of gamers to find justice the only way they know how (other than increasingly ridiculous memes): negative product reviews. As of this writing, the game holds a 3.4/10 user score on review aggregate site Metacritic. Many writers of negative reviews cite the inability to play offline, especially combined with the lack of available servers at launch. Whether it’s right or wrong to review a game you haven’t played, it does make for some interesting reading for the rest of us. Here are some highlights from Diablo III’s negative user reviews.

[chaldo]

LOL its blizzard what do u expect?

[blitz0623]

It's mostly due to the fact that people stayed up late (Eastern people stayed up to 3am to wait for servers) and got a big fat FU from Blizzard when they couldn't log in to the game until about an hour and a half later.

These people are like 5 year olds who didn't get the candy they wanted

[dark-hollow]

"couldn't log in to the game until about an hour and a half later."

an hour and a half!!! oh the horror!!!!

smh what a cry babies.

[humbleopinion]

Yep, somebody misplaced "Whiners" with "Gamers" in the title. It must be the same person who misplaced "wasted their timing trolling on Metacritic with user scores that nobody even care about when looking for professional reviews" with "rip Diablo III a new hellhole on Metacritic"

[Bereaver]

Unfortunately blitz, they paid for their candy.

And as for the hour and a half? I couldn't login for about 8 hours. I went to sleep because I couldn't work up and tried for another hour and a half about 6 hours later.

But, I will let it slide. I believe the game is still worth 60. Right now, I can play.

[catfrog]

what about the asian release? no digital pre orders actually worked, they paid for it but couldnt actually play the game because blizzard didnt actually give anyone keys.

for hours there was a forum post where gms were going through person by person activating accounts until blizzard found a way to give people what they paid for.

are they like five year olds? they certainly didnt get the candy they wanted.

people are paying for a service and its being provided horribly. blizzard could have fixed these serves problems before the release but chose not to and now we're picking up the tab. im not sure why blizzard thought it was alright to have such a small stress test before the launch, they should have been advertising their open beta weekend to get at least a million people trying to log in so that we could all actually play on release.

[TekoIie]

Sooooo do we take the crown from Bioware "fans" and give it to Blizzards fans???

[reznik_zerosum]

some kids can always bring the score down,game will sell in millions with them or without them

[popup]

Despite the sheer lunatic amounts of cash that they have milked from the poor World of Warcrack addicts, Blizzard have ambitiously attempted to curb piracy on this game by punishing those who paid $60 for the experience and making the single player game online only!

Sound easy to live with? How about when you get disconnected during play, you only retain cash and items and have to fight all the same monsters in the same section again because it has to quit the game rather than wait for a reconnection!!

So I had to replay 20 minute sections twice or more so that they could ensure that I was a legitimate player of the game and that I had paid for it. Trouble is, I don't want to play it any more now. Every step is a paranoid one now.

Ironically, I can watch someone playing it on Youtube. No $60 fine, no disconnections, reliable (thanks to editing out Blizzard's bloopers) and best of all, it is free!

This is why I am largely a console gamer of mainly exclusive titles these days. You get a polished and reliable product that is exactly as the developer intended. No if's or but's, just the game.

I know the issues will eventually be sorted but if you are going to release the game in so many regions on the same day then you should plan to have the hardware in place to support it. That is basic intelligence surely and why the fans have been so vocal. They should have released each region staggered and explained why.

[V0LT]

It's an AH with a game built around it. It's nothing but cash cow.

[SegataShanshiro]

The game has checkpoints.........CHECKPOINT S????? WHAT THE HELL DO THEY THINK WE ARE? RETARDS? God! Almost everyone who bought this game (99 percent i bet my ass) already knows what to expect from a diablo game amd they make the game for 12 year olds and meckbeards who play nothing but call of booty. I cant wait to see how intheir next patch they make the game playable as a fps and with iron sights and perks!

[koh]

Your rage induced rant briefly touched on the English language I think, but I need a more cunning linguist to make sure.

[shackdaddy]

The checkpoints aren't really that bad though. The only thing I'm annoyed with is the damn online requirement. I mean, I'm not going to whine about it but it's extremely frustrating...

The disconnects don't bother me because I expected it but when I start to lag it kinda pisses me off...

[Megaton]

If half the things in all these angry user reviews are true, it sounds like they completely overhauled it for casuals.

[Bimkoblerutso]

It feels more...streamlined, in some areas, but much more fleshed out in others.

For instance, as unique as the classes in Diablo 2 felt, the classes in Diablo 3 feel worlds apart from each other. For better or worse, success with a given class has shifted almost completely away from skill trees and class-based builds.

Skills are learned automatically with leveling and can be augmented with runes for an added bit of customization. But runes and abilities can be changed at any time, so the focus has essentially shifted to real-time tactics and skill reallocation for specific situations.

I can't really decide if I like it better or worse at this point. I need a bit more time...I wish Blizzard would get their crap together with the servers and bugs.

[vallencer]

The problem is is all these people who "reviewed" the game, and yes i use that term lightly, haven't gotten past normal. From what i've read in real reviews and from the developers themselves they say normal is essentially a breeze. But everything after that just gets harder and harder. Especially inferno mode.

[Fatty]

Game didn't cure cancer and make a fat-free brownie that doesn't disappoint in the flavor department, so 0/10.

[nix]

woah... do they not have an offline option? i thought i'll play on my Macbookpro at office when i don't have work.

[rdgneoz3]

No offline mode... I know, such a great idea. It'd be handy right now since the American servers are in maintenance because people are having problems logging on and such...

They said it was so people didn't hack / cheat since it has a real money AH in the game, etc...

[MRMagoo123]

they prob only added that so they could make it online only lol i have a free copy of it wating to be dl because i got an annual wow pass but i cant be arsed getting it.

[Soldierone]

It has "single player" but you have to be connected to online to play it. And you can't just register it online like Starcraft 2, you have to be online.....

Thats whats breaking the game.....

[ATi_Elite]

.....this was announced like 2 years ago!! Get over it, always Internet connected games are the wave of the future.

Server problems.......typical day 1 crap!

I haven't played Diablo III yet (too busy with Tera and the Arma II zombie mod Day Z) to comment on the other issues!

[christheredhead]

That would be an annoying future for sure. Being unable to play single player because the login servers have issues is laughable.

[fatboyfsx]

"Get over it, always Internet connected games are the wave of the future."

I'd like to see a pros and cons list of this, just out of curiosity.

[Felinox]

I agree its probably the future, but is sucks nonetheless. I live in a squirrel ridden suburb where im constantlyb getting "squirrel chew" and have to have the cable co come fix it twice a year. But it takes about ten days to get fixed each time.
Doesnt help that i cant shoot the bastards and neighbors on bothsides have squirrel feeders.
Anyway back to the point. Requireing a constant conection sucks.

[Somebody]

That's a future that I will truly hate and will not be a part of.

[Dark_Overlord]

Same here.

My internet was down for a week recently, and I had no problems just putting a game in my PS3 and playing it. With this stupid shit, I'd essentially be locked out of the games I had purchased for that week :/

[Somebody]

Which is also why I set my Steam client offline all the time unless for some essential updates. You never know when the internet might crap out on you. Which was exactly what happened last week. My internet suddenly went down and I decided to play some Steam game only to remember that I forgot to set it to offline mode. Imagine the horror on face seeing that...

Yes, I have other games that doesn't use Steam that I could play to pass the time until the internet is back but...imagine it happened in the future when ALL the games are required to be online all the time.

[Chucky2003]

they should be bashed till the end of time,because if this is gonna pass by and nobody will say something,it could be the beginning of a new trend,and there is no excuse,buying a game then not be able to play whenever i want ..they are mocking me,fuck them and their game,i won't be buying it

[ATi_Elite]

Games being PERMANENTLY connected to the Internet are the wave of the future to prevent piracy and eliminate the second hand market like Game Stop so

GET OVER IT or quit playing games all together!

MMO's are already that way (MMO's are taking over gaming), not too long before most PC games are that way, Xbox720 is leaning towards that idea, PS4 is considering it as well!!

[Fatty]

You are so smart! All your points are very well argued! Your use of exclamation marks is commendable! Always-on DRM doesn't make people angry! MMOs are taking over gaming, which is why WoW and other MMOs are losing subscribers! People shouldn't be mad about things that get in the way of enjoying a game! GET OVER IT!

[MRMagoo123]

so youre saying if you dont have the internet you shouldnt game ? you are an idiot of epic proportions
wtf is that comment "MMO's are already that way (MMO's are taking over gaming" of course massively multiplayer online games are online only you nob.

[Bimkoblerutso]

^Seriously. Proponents like to argue that gamers with internet connections far outweigh gamers without internet connections, but that's completely missing the point. What about laptop gaming? What about ISP downtime? What about simply not wanting to have to deal with the constant potential for lag?

There are a wealth of scenarios to consider when taking gamers WITH internet connections into account. I have an internet connection and I STILL think singleplayer online gaming is ridiculous.

[Chucky2003]

facepalm, i really want to see your world,the one that everywhere you go there is an internet connection,cause clearly you live in another world than mine

[TheGameFoxJTV]

But....this isn't a MMO. This game doesn't even have to be played Multiplayer in any way whatsofuckingever.

[SandwichHammock]

I laugh at people that are buying into this "game". This is one of the biggest FUs to gaming right now and it amazes me how people don't realize it or are just forcing themselves to be okay with it. Online mode only? An auction house with an option to buy/sell using real money where Blizztavision gets a cut on the transaction? If this was F2P I would understand. But, come on! So you are paying $60 for the ability for the publisher to make more money?

I thought it was bad enough for them to chop up StarcraftII, but this is a new low.

[CLOUD1983]

3.5/10 hmmm that's too much for this garbage that Blizzvision put the name Diablo on top in order to make some fast cash, stay away dont bother with this cartoonish over-simplified casual piece of sh1t, this game is Diablo as much FFXIII is FF.

[reznik_zerosum]

d2 was even more cartoonish and simplified than d3,u could play on every difficulty with only one spell and destroy everything,just remember acts/worlds in d2 they were dark as pixar film.d3 is great sequel,lets just hope gaming community will mature some day.

[Megaton]

You've obviously never played D2, but have you even seen pics of it? It couldn't be further from "cartoonish". It had a very dark and gothic art style, and fans were furious when they saw the new art direction was WoW-cartooney.

[Killman]

Sounds like this game got Activisioned in the A......

[ISNeko]

Lol. What did anyone expect? Maturity? On the internet?

[dark-hollow]

the pressure on the servers is probably going crazy.

[StayStatic]

Screw Metacritic