Mike Reviews Diablo 3...and then plays some more

Blizzard has always felt like a revolutionary company. They have flagship games: Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo and World of Warcraft all seemed to revolutionize-- or at the very least carve an independent niche in – the strategy, role playing and massively online roleplaying genres. I don’t think any other video game companies can claim this kind of success. So when you fast-forward 10 years or so past the debut of these great games, and it’s time to make a sequel, what happens?

It’s not that Diablo 3 isn’t a good game. I’ve logged way, way too many hours since it came out Tuesday night, and I genuinely enjoy playing it (even on a lag-riddled, slow computer). But...it feels like it’s a sequel and nothing more. Blizzard has dropped the revolutionary attempts to change something fundamental about what everyone else is doing and opted for a graphics reboot with some fun gameplay. All their improvements or changes feel like Blizzard is following some of the current trends (little penalty for in-game death, skill sets that aren’t locked in stone) and not making them.